Science and magic were in the process of rapid evolution between the times that Spenser began writing, and Milton ceased. Their interest in these ideas are reflected in the number of times related ideas are deployed in their writing. This commonplace entry is by no means exhaustive, but the quantity and variation between the occurrences of these ideas demanded a careful approach to data collection. Because the Paradise Lost engages natural philosophy, or science, and The Faerie Queene uses magic so frequently the collection began by tracing the occurrences of the words “science” and “magic” themselves, before slowly spiraling outward to include textual moments that instantiate these or related ideas without using these specific verbal token.
Science and Magic in Paradise Lost and The Faerie Queene
Science and Magic in Paradise Lost
Science and Magic in The Faerie Queene
