Once Upon the Orient Wave: Milton and the Arab Muslim World

by Eid Abdallah Dahiyat, Mohammad Shaheen

John Milton's poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are among the greatest pieces of writing in the English language. Like other writers of his time, Milton had only a sketchy idea of Islam and the Arab world, from travellers and linguists who had made the arduous journey to and from the Middle East. But buried in his works are signs that Milton had absorbed ideas and influences from Islam and Arab culture. Professor Dahiyat shows how from the Middle Ages, partly as an attempt to counteract Islam with Christianity, a wide range of writers and researchers spoke, read and wrote Arabic and published books in the earliest days of printing which Milton could have read. Dahiyat then shows how many different references there are to the Orient and Islam in Milton's writings, and discusses the later response of Arab writers and scholars to Milton's major works.

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Banbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book examines different points of the intersection of Milton and his works, and the Arab world. There is no evidence that Milton knew Arabic, or had much familiarity with primary Arab or Islamic sources. Milton was of course subject to the prevailing anti-Islamic biases of his time and place, but according to Mr. Dahiyat, not virulently so. Of most interest is the discussion about several Arabic commentators who interpreted the character of Satan as an heroic character--a revolutionary fighting even though defeat is certain.