"Exactest Proportion": The Iconoclastic and Constitutive Powers of Metaphor in Milton's Prose Tracts

Abstract

In a pitched battle over the state's basic terminology, thousands of pamphlets poured from the English press after censorship ended in 1640-41—the meanings of the words "king," "people," and "tyrant" were just a few thrown into question. John Milton quickly entered the fray, and his works have recently been read for their destabilizing tendencies in that struggle, the way their iconoclastic metaphors challenge the language of reified power. This paper examines tells another side of the story, exploring Milton's use of mathematical language to correct metaphor and bring law into harmony with both man's reason and God's will.