Social Proof: Professors and Communities

I'll admit I did drag my feet a bit when doing this since I was reluctant to contact people, but I'm glad I did. Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen some of the faults my argument may have. As far as social proof goes, I was able to find some great sources through different communities. I emailed a couple of professors, one being Joan S Bennett, a retired professor from the University of Deleware and Jeffrey Shoulson, a professor I found on Academia.edu. To professor Bennett I sent this message: 


Hello Professor Bennett, 

My name is Heather Moon, and I am an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University. I read your article "God, Satan, and King Charles: Milton's Royal Portraits," and I found it fascinating. I particularly liked when you said that King Charles was like Satan in that they were both usurpers of the power that God had given them. It was a very interesting idea and it helped me to see Milton's political side in Paradise Lost. 

I do have a specific question that you might be able to help me with. I have been doing some research on Milton and his connection to his character Satan in Paradise Lost. I noticed some similarities between Milton and his character Satan, mainly that they are both ambitious, they both fight against authority, and they're both radicals. I also noticed that the views and style in Satan's speeches are similar so some of Milton's early work, particularly in his piece Against Prelaty. I've been theorizing that Milton may have been putting his own personality and views into his character Satan in order to fight against the church, particularly against the idea of the authority of the prelates and possibly Calvinism. I know you've done a lot of research on Milton's Satan. Do you have any thoughts on this matter or where I might go for further research? Thank you.

Sincerely, 

Heather Moon 

She hasn't answered back yet. To Jeffrey Shoulson, I sent this message: 

Hello Jeffrey, 

I’ve been reading some of your papers and I found them fascinating, particularly your book about Milton and Hebraism, Hellenism, and Christianity. 

I have a specific question that you might be able to help me with. I’ve been doing some research on Milton and his connection to the character Satan in Paradise Lost. I’ve noticed some similarities between Milton and his character Satan, mainly that they are both ambitious, they both fight against authority, and they’re both radicals. I also noticed that the views in Satan’s speeches are similar so some of Milton’s early work, particularly in his piece Against Prelaty. I’ve been theorizing that Milton may have been putting his own personality and views into his character Satan in order to fight against the church, particularly against the idea of the authority of the prelates and possibly Calvinism. Do you have any thoughts on this matter and where I might go for further research?

He responded quickly with this message: 

Dear Heather,
Thanks for your email. This is a fascinating, if well-worn topic. Numerous readers—both poets and critics—have found Milton in Satan and Satan in Milton. Most famously, as you may know, William Blake observed that the reason Milton wrote “in fetters” when he was writing about God and wrote so energetically when he was writing about Satan was because he “was of the Devil’s party without knowing it.” Others have sought to make even more extensive cases for this sort of thing. You might have a look at William Empson’s book, Milton’s God, which seeks to develop some of these ideas more systematically, of a but polemically.
Good luck with your work.
Jeffrey Shoulson

Finally, I signed up with the MiltonL community and posted a question to those scholars. My question was similar to the one I sent to Jeffrey Shoulson. A few have responded with some interesting insights and references. Michael E Bryson sent me a message, saying: 

You'll want to look at Neil Forsyth's work--The Satanic Epic (2003) and The Old Enemy (1987)--to start with. Others here will have plenty of additional suggestions, but Forsyth should be at the top of your list.

Another user, srevard, said: 

Interesting that you mention only Satan.  Have you noticed similarities between
Milton and (in Paradise Lost) God, the Son, Abdiel, Raphael, and other figures
who may illustrate aspects of a rather complex author-figure's personality? And
it may be worth noticing also that in Paradise Regained Satan's temptations and
the Son's refutations/rejections of them offer later versions, perhaps not so
much revised as refined, of "personality-projections" by this author-figure. 

Overall, the responses I've received have helped me see that my topic may need a little tweaking and that I have some promising sources that can help me more specifically in my research. This social interaction has been really helpful and I hope to use it to narrow my topic and refine my argument.