"Matter of glorious trial"

"Based on her close study of the philosophical movements of Milton's mind, Sugimura discovers the 'fluid intermediaries' in his poetry that are neither strictly material nor immaterial. In doing so, Sugimura uses Paradise Lost as a fascinating window into the intersection of literature and philosophy, and of literary studies and intellectual history. Sugimura finds that Milton displays a tense and ambiguous relationship to the idealistic dualism of Plato and the materialism of Aristotle, and she argues for a more nuanced interpretation of Milton's metaphysics." -- rear cover.