Publication Date
2026
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Crowley, Timothy
Degree Name
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Legacy Department
Department of English
Abstract
Paradise Lost is a complex poem that not only contains John Milton’s rendition of the Genesis creation narrative and the Fall of humankind but also provides a voice for his unique theology. This dissertation argues that Milton’s creative use of the three disparate concepts of consuming and digesting knowledge, chaos, and the night sky allows him to respond to Lucretian atomism, to address questions regarding the mortality of the soul, and to navigate the scientific discoveries of the seventeenth century, especially the astronomical discoveries of Galileo Galilei. An examination of digestion, chaos, and night helps shed light on Milton’s unique blend of Christianity, ancient atomism, and contemporary science which I refer to as Christian materialist monism. In Milton’s theological system, all things in the universe are made of matter with no distinction between body and soul. However, some beings are comprised of more rarefied matter due to their proximity to God. The matter which comprises all things in the universe originated from God, and Milton refers to this as “one first matter.”
In addition to the Christian Bible, Milton elicits the aid of Lucretius’s first-century BCE poem De Rerum Natura and Ovid’s first-century CE poem Metamorphoses to assist in accomplishing his goal of uniting ancient atomism and contemporary science with Christianity. Collating Paradise Lost with Milton’s prose treatise De Doctrina Christiana provides an additional tool for revealing Milton’s theology. Through his work, Milton demonstrates how theology can evolve and remain true to the central tenets of one’s belief system as human knowledge advances.
Recommended Citation
Pfeifer, Conny M., "Lucretius, Ovid, and Milton in Seventeenth-Century England: First Matter, Creation, and Food Of Angels" (2026). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8233.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8233
Extent
220 pages
Language
en
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
Included in
Classical Literature and Philology Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Other Religion Commons
