Milton's Tercentenary An address delivered before the Modern Language Club of Yale University on Milton's Three Hundredth Birthday.

Milton's Tercentenary, an address by Henry A. Beers, celebrates John Milton’s three-hundredth birthday with a spirited defense of Paradise Lost and a probing reflection on Milton’s place in English letters. Delivered before the Modern Language Club of Yale University, this lecture combines literary criticism and historical perspective to trace how time and taste reshape our view of great epics. Beers situates Milton alongside Dante and Homer, surveys the rise of rivals from Dryden and Pope to Wordsworth and Browning, and examines why certain elements of Milton’s theology or classical references feel of their age while his verse, rhythm, and stylistic mastery remain compelling. He argues that epic stature endures even as interpretation shifts, and he highlights the poem’s sustained power despite changing critical fashions. Part lecture, part essay in literary history, the address clarifies how the parallax of each era alters our reception of canonical works without diminishing their stature. Ideal for students, professors, and listeners intrigued by poetry and criticism, this audiobook is a concise, readable introduction to Miltonian studies and the evolving art of literary judgment.