Sin, history, and liberty: Milton, Anna Letitia Barbauld, and Anne Grant in the 'Eighteen Hundreds'

My study examines the relationship between Anna Letitia Barbauld's Eighteen Hundred and Eleven, A Poem and Anne Grant's Eighteen Hundred and Thirteen, A Poem as well as Milton's presence in both texts. I argue that Grant does not merely offer a conservative counter to Barbauld's liberal condemnation of English politics during England's military engagement with Napoleonic France; rather, Grant provides a nuanced and balanced response to Barbauld in which Grant both acknowledges the faults of England and defends England as the source of liberty. Between these two positions is Milton, a towering cultural figure in England. Milton is not only a critic of English politics but also a champion of liberty. Thus, politically and poetically, Milton is the link between Barbauld's and Grant's prophetic poems.;In the first section of my study, I sketch Milton's Augustinian theology and politics with particular attention given to the Judeo-Christian paradigm of sin in Paradise Lost; I also chart his position within England's history and culture from the time of Milton through the period of Barbauld and Grant. In my second chapter, I examine Barbauld's religion and politics and how they are manifested in her poem, a poem that positions England as a fallen nation with no hope for regeneration. Finally, I examine Grant's theology and politics via her poetic response to Barbauld; Grant adopts Milton in her positioning of England as the fallen Christian hero and torch of liberty for the world.