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Home  »   About Us  »  Exhibitions and Events  »  Citizen Milton

An exhibition celebrating the 400th anniversary of the birth of John Milton (1608–74)

The Bodleian Library’s winter exhibition is a tribute to John Milton, perhaps the most important English-language poet of the seventeenth century and one of the first advocates of civil liberties. Focusing on the ever current idea of 'citizenship', the exhibition tells a story through word and image of this great writer’s abiding ideas, linking his artistic and political activities. The exhibition is curated by the acclaimed Milton scholar Dr Sharon Achinstein, Fellow of St Edmund Hall.

Celebrating the quatercentenary of Milton’s birth, the display presents Milton’s major works in important and beautiful editions from the Bodleian Library’s collections including the rare first edition of Areopagitica and the first twelve-book edition of the greatest epic poem in the English language, Paradise Lost, printed in octavo format, with a portrait engraving made by William Dolle.

A unique aspect of the display explores the relationship John Milton enjoyed during his lifetime with the Bodleian Library through its Librarian, John Rouse. On display are the author’s own presentation copies of his prose and early poetic works, as well as two original manuscript poems written by him as he made the gift. It was the Bodleian Library which hid and saved Milton’s works when in 1660 the government ordered his books to be burnt. The exhibition also looks at Milton the man through the display of objects such as his own writing case, donated by a descendant.

The second section of the exhibition concentrates on the lasting power and influence of Milton’s works and his activity in subsequent political and artistic movements, from the later debates over copyright to the French Revolution. Highlights of this section include:

• Blake’s original illuminated engraving of his Heaven and Hell
• Shelley’s unpublished notebook doodles and poetic fragment on Milton
• Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she chided Milton for his poor view of women
• perhaps the earliest written response to Paradise Lost, a letter written by Sir John Hobart soon after publication of the work which proclaimed its sublimity

Milton’s ideas and words have developed a flourishing afterlife, providing inspiration for the works of renowned artists, type-makers and illustrators such as John Martin, Mary Groom, Arthur Rackham and Samuel Palmer, whose magnificent painting ‘The Prospect’ is being lent by the Ashmolean museum. Very recent interpreters of Milton, including Geoffrey Hill, Tony Harrison and Philip Pullman, also have their works represented.

Chris Fletcher, Head of Western Manuscripts, said: ‘The Bodleian holds one of the world’s finest collections of English Literature.  This, together with Milton’s very close associations with the Library, makes it the perfect place in which to celebrate publically the poet’s achievements and his legacy.’

The exhibition is one of the two major exhibitions that the Bodleian Library organizes annually featuring distinctive items from its world-renowned collections.

Opening hours

Monday to Friday:
9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Saturday:
9.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Exhibition Room
Old Schools Quadrangle
Catte Street
Oxford

8 December 2007 to 26 April 2008

The exhibition closes for Easter from Friday, 21 March to Monday, 24 March 2008 inclusive.

Admission is free.

BODcast Library

Listen to audio recordings from the opening night of the exhibition.