Divided Empire

Divided Empire: Milton's Political Imagery, Volume 1, is a scholarly work of English literary criticism that analyzes the connection between John Milton's political career and his major poetry. Robert Thomas Fallon examines how the poet's time as Secretary for Foreign Languages influenced the imagery found in Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. The text explores the presence of kings, senators, and diplomats within these works, reflecting the public acts of diplomacy and warfare Milton witnessed during his government service.

Rather than treating these poems as political testaments or ideological critiques, Fallon argues that the political imagery serves to illuminate a deeper spiritual message. This study of European literary criticism focuses on the struggle between metaphysical forces of good and evil. Divided Empire: Milton's Political Imagery, Volume 1, shifts the critical focus to how historical events shaped the art, rather than what the poetry says about those events.