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Binghamton University

Enemy life: theorizing exile through Milton, Shelley and Byron

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This dissertation investigates the contemporary discourse and conceptions of exile as it is presented by Milton, Shelley and Byron. Utilizing biopolitical theory as a lens, it posits that the Satanic iteration or narrative of exile embodies the reality of worldly exile. As such the dissertation explores the complex framing and subsequent deconstruction of Satanic and human subjectivities found in <em>Paradise Lost, Prometheus Unbound, Manfred</em> and <em>Don Juan</em>. The dissertation examines <em>Paradise Lost</em> for its competing narratives of exile, Adam and Satan, and explores notions of home, transgression, the purification rituals which are the origin of sovereign Power and the parody that Satan's exilic body presents. The dissertation examines <em>Prometheus Unbound</em> against the grain of many traditional reading, focusing on the agonistic-audial subjectivity it produces for its exilic subject and its stance in rehabilitating the exile as an integral member of society for their very apartness. Finally, the dissertation examines <em>Manfred</em> and <em>Don Juan</em> for its Ironic, decentered representation of exile as a fundamentally human, transgressive condition.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
English, General Literature, and Rhetoric
Year
2018

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Berger, Robert L

Subjects

dc:subject × 7

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:orb.binghamton.edu:dissertation_and_theses-1065

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Binghamton University
Base URL
orb.binghamton.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Berger, Robert L. Enemy life: theorizing exile through Milton, Shelley and Byron. Dissertation thesis, 2018. https://orb.binghamton.edu/dissertation_and_theses/61