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The Eleventh International Milton Symposium, 20‐24 July 2015, University of Exeter

2016; Wiley; Volume: 50; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/milt.12160

1094-348X

Miklós Péti,

Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment

Miltonists gathered in Exeter, the capital of Devon, England, from 20 to 24 July 2015 to celebrate their favorite author at the 11th International Milton Symposium. After the metropolitan settings of the London and Tokyo symposia in 2008 and 2012, now a relatively small city surrounded by beautiful countryside accommodated the conference. Although, as Edward Jones pointed out during the symposium, there are no records suggesting that Milton ever visited Exeter, his family certainly did (his brother Christopher even resided there briefly in 1645-46), and the city played a significant role in the Civil War period. With a cityscape dominated by the imposing towers of its ancient cathedral, Exeter might well be small, yet the Streatham Campus of the university proved spacious enough to host, entertain, and provide professional space for nearly 150 scholars from eighteen countries on six continents (many of whom were accommodated on campus). Situated upon one of the highest hills in the city, the campus is a fine place to broaden one's literal and figurative horizons: well-kept old and modern university buildings are scattered conveniently amidst much pleasant greenery with footpaths leading to the stunning Forum complex (opened in 2012) near the top. From the Forum's terraces one can see as far as the rural fields and forest patches at the town's edges, a landscape whose tranquil beauty is variously offset by clouds endlessly rolling in from the Atlantic. It was in and around the Forum that the main events of the symposium took place. The great Alumni Auditorium provided the venue for the five plenary lectures and two special sessions, the parallel panels occupied five seminar rooms nearby, while coffee, tea, snacks, and meals were served in Forum Street, the large, wood-and-glass-roofed communal space in the center of the building. A marketplace, several cafés, and a university library open 24/7 all radiating out from Forum Street catered conveniently for anyone who wished to relax, convene with friends, or just get away from it all during the busy week. Not that the rich program would have prompted such escapes: during the plenaries and the panels communal spaces fell silent and empty, to be reinvigorated again in coffee and lunch breaks. Most of us came to Exeter to learn about new developments in Milton studies and to present our recent work, but also to meet old friends and to make new ones, and this social and professional buzz was amply matched throughout and even beyond the conference with an equally vibrant presence on social media. The twitter hashtag #IMS11Exeter had been active more than a year before the conference started, and, besides featuring a “live feed” from contributors during the conference, it still actively testifies to the lasting impact of the symposium. Of course, the venue and the up-to-date media coverage could only function so well within the framework of the organizers’ excellent hospitality. Karen Edwards, co-organizer Philip Schwyzer, and a band of Exeter PhD students led by Philippa Earle worked tirelessly to make things smooth and seamless for all involved. Some of the tasks they faced were daunting, indeed! As in all such events, parallel panels had to be reorganized and sometimes even relocated on the spur of the moment, but in Exeter two planned plenary lectures had to be changed at very short notice. On Wednesday John Leonard kindly stepped in for David Quint (who could not make it to the conference), and on Friday Alexandra Walsham (who got delayed on the other side of the globe) gave her plenary talk on a video (recorded and presented spectacularly for all the rush). At a conference of this size the organizers also inevitably have to deal with a plethora of personal requests and problems, but Karen Edwards and her crew took all such vicissitudes with stoic cheer and at the same time oversaw every detail—including the thoughtful design of the conference accessories by Richard Carter as well as the tastefully presented, but also tasty and varied buffet lunches—with loving care and sprezzatura. As the moral of an old fable says, it is impossible to please all, yet, on parting from Exeter “all seemed well pleased.” Even a quick glance through the contents of the program (a pdf of the booklet is available at http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofhumanities/english/conferences/IMS11_Programme.pdf) shows the immense variety of the parallel panels both in the topics covered and the national provenance of the participants. Many of the international delegates came from countries (France, Germany, Italy, Japan) where the study of Milton—established for decades or even for centuries—has developed in fruitful interaction with the Anglo-American mainstream. However, for the first time in the history of Milton symposia, IMS 11 also provided a forum for quite a few scholars from places hitherto unknown or little known in Milton studies (Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle and the Far East). Milton would certainly have appreciated the widening horizons and the linguistic and cultural diversity of the discipline devoted to his work as well as the considerable number of Miltonists coming from far “beyond the Hercynian wilderness” to learn from and contribute to the work of their western colleagues. Since in such a short report it is impossible to do justice to the diversity of ideas and approaches, and since my account would necessarily be partial and fragmented, in the following brief review of the five days of the symposium, I will refrain from mentioning any particular paper, but will try to list most of the topics addressed in the parallel panels. The conference officially started on Monday, 20 July with a brief opening speech by Karen Edwards and Philip Schwyzer, which was followed by a plenary lecture, the first in the series of four talks featuring prominent Canada-based Milton scholars. It is admittedly difficult to be the first speaker at any event: expectations and excitement are high and the audience's attention is probably at its keenest. Mary Nyquist from the University of Toronto faced these challenges with admirable success and grace, and, consistent with her most recent work, she also challenged the audience to rethink the representations of servility, kingship, and republicanism in the wider context of seventeenth-century culture, but also in particular cases in Milton's work. This inspiring start was matched by a wide range of similarly inspiring parallel panels with topics including, among others, the erotics of Paradise Lost, Milton's Latin poetry, Milton and the reform of the church, Milton's angels, Milton's body, and Milton in new worlds. In the afternoon, a special session was devoted to OUP's Oxford Scholarly Editions Online with special focus on volumes of the Oxford Milton published in the series. The session, chaired by Gordon Campbell, contained both a thorough demonstration of the conveniences of the online editions and less formal discussion on the accessibility of such databases. The day ended with a reception in a beautiful setting: wine and snacks were served in the dining room of the university's imposing Reed Hall, but the serene summer evening prompted most of us to continue to drink and chat outside, in the lovely botanical garden featuring some stunning exotic species of trees and plants that thrive in Devon's benevolent climatic conditions. One of the busiest days of the conference, Tuesday, saw a plenary, three sessions of parallel panels (altogether 12 different panels), another special session, the meeting of the Standing Committee of the International Milton Symposium, and a concert in Exeter Cathedral by the Tallis Scholars. Paul Stevens from the University of Toronto opened his plenary lecture by ironically registering a protest concerning the number of Canadian keynote speakers at the conference, and then continued in a similarly witty manner to expound on the Miltonic presence in Jane Austen and George Eliot. His focus on the motif of “condescension” (originally ascribed by Milton's Adam to Raphael) spectacularly illustrated the “secular displacement of grace” in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novels. The multitude of panels preceding and following the plenary covered both traditional and novel trends in Milton studies: Milton's iconoclasm, his poetics, and his special interpretation of Old Testament places and motifs were as much discussed as the emerging Chinese Milton scholarship, Milton in the Arab world, Milton and the law, and Milton's latest (twenty-first century) adaptations and reworkings. The special session chaired by Thomas Corns focused on the future of the academic book in the increasingly online world of academic publications. The discussion covered a wide range of ideas, and in many ways served as the sequel to the more rigorous demonstration of Monday's session. In the evening most of us headed to Exeter Cathedral where the Tallis Scholars, one of the most renowned vocal ensembles in Britain and the world, showcased secular and religious works from the works of three Thomases (Morley, Tomkins, and Weelkes), Orlando Gibbons, and John Milton Sr. After Gordon Campbell's brief introduction the concert started with three pieces by Milton's father: the beautiful voice of the singers, the excellent acoustics of the cathedral, and the evening sun shooting through the gothic tracery all worked together to render this an unforgettable evening. Wednesday saw only one morning session of parallel panels followed by a plenary address, and several options of excursions in the afternoon. The morning sessions dealt with Miltonic soundscapes, filmic and other adaptations, and questions of education in Milton's work. This was also the time of an exciting roundtable discussion on Milton and Newton chaired by Stephen Dobranski, and featuring Stephen Fallon, Sarah Hutton, Laura Lunger Knoppers, John Rogers, and Nigel Smith. The highlight of the day was, however, the plenary lecture that John Leonard (University of Western Ontario) stepped in to deliver with incredible wit and élan. The talk fell into two distinct parts both demonstrating the topicality of Milton's work: first we learned about how Satan's tactics resembled those of a professional con-man, and then we were treated to a meticulous reading of Sonnet 8 (“Captain, or Colonel, or Knight in Arms”) through the perspective of a World War II anecdote. After lunch a group of participants got on the bus to visit Montacute House on the border of Devon and Somerset. Having completed a tour of this gem of Elizabethan architecture and its Long Gallery (featuring a great number of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery in London) visitors could enjoy a cup of a tea in the house's sunny garden. Another group of delegates opted to explore the already familiar ground of Exeter's ancient cathedral under the expert guidance of Mark Stoyle. There was also time to discover Exeter's city center: the well-kept Quay with its late seventeenth-century Custom House, the ancient Guildhall on High Street, and the remains of Rougemont Castle whose gatehouse (built by William the Conqueror) was used as a prison during the Civil Wars. After the relaxing interlude of Wednesday afternoon, it was exciting to get back for the intensive last two days of the symposium. Thursday's busy program featured fifteen parallel sessions, a plenary lecture, a special session, and a roundtable discussion. The day closed with the customary Gala Dinner in the elegant location of the university's Great Hall. The papers in the parallel panels represented a wide spectrum of interests in Milton studies: from Milton's scholarship through his reception in the eighteenth century to his views on slavery, both traditional and innovative approaches were duly honored. The plenary speaker, Maggie Kilgour from McGill University, directed our attention to hitherto unnoticed—or neglected—aspects of Milton's reception of Shakespeare. Besides highlighting several places in Milton's early poetry where the juxtaposition with Shakespeare's works opens new vistas of interpretation, the talk also provided new models to think about the two bards’ relationship (e.g., the model of Homer and Hesiod in ancient Greece). A lively roundtable discussion (featuring Gordon Campbell, John Coffey, Neil Keeble, Thomas Corns, and Catherine Gimelli Martin) dealt with the vexed questions of Milton's Puritanism, while during the special session entitled “Milton in the Classroom” (organized by Dr. Chloe Preedy of Exeter's Cornwall campus) delegates listened eagerly to ideas and feedback on their work from undergraduate students. This was only one of many occasions during the symposium when the organizers promoted dialogue between younger generations and established Milton scholars; another came at the end of the day at the Gala Dinner where the generous seating arrangement made it possible for those at the beginning of their careers to socialize and network with the long initiated. On Friday morning, the Forum was suddenly filled with dripping umbrellas, and it felt quaintly fitting that on farewell the weather should exert its sympathy. Short of encouraging post-symposiac pleasures of “divinest Melancholy,” however, the last day's program offered intense and thought-provoking panels, the last of the brilliant plenaries, and a special session on New Directions in Milton Studies. Cambridge professor Alexandra Walsham's fascinating talk, recorded with the help of the Centre for the History of Emotions at the University of Melbourne and projected on the big screen in the Auditorium, provided a meticulous study of “moral biology” and “spiritual genetics” focusing on conceptions of original sin in early modern England and Calvinist theology (the video is available at: https://vimeo.com/140864865). Miltonists who patiently waited until the end of the week to deliver their paper must have been pleasantly surprised by the unflinching interest in their work: indeed, the panels offered a wide range of subjects from Milton's scholarly associates to Milton and Baxter, Milton's representations of the body, Milton in Italy, and the Restoration Samson. The final special session, initiated by Karen Edwards and Philip Schwyzer, gave scope to recent postgraduates who made their debut at IMS11. A light-hearted coda to the exciting but also exhausting week, the conversation sprinkled with lively wit and friendly dissent became a wonderful articulation of mutual respect and goodwill between different generations of scholars. In her brief closing speech Karen Edwards called attention to the fact that the adjective “international” in the title of the conference has acquired new significance: never had there been participants from so many different countries in the history of Milton symposia. Far from diluting Milton studies, this diversity, along with the organizers’ conscious involvement of younger generations of scholars has, at least in this reviewer's opinion, greatly enriched the discipline and will guarantee its continuing prestige in the changing world of humanities. If we add to this the kind hospitality of our Exeter colleagues, the superb venues and catering, and the predominantly gracious Devon weather, then it is no wonder that these five days should remain a truly memorable professional and personal experience for all.1