Bilbro, Jeffrey. “The Form of the Cross: Milton’s Chiastic Soteriology.” Milton Quarterly 47, no. 3 (2013): 127-148. doi: 10.1111/milt.12043
Abstract: While Milton’s mastery of rhetorical figures has long been admired and discussed (see Pallister, Wood, Broadbent, and George Smith), scant attention has been given to his use of chiasmus. Understanding how Milton employs this figure can illuminate his ideas about the Crucifixion. In turn, recognizing the medieval and Renaissance association between the event of the Crucifixion and the crossing structure of chiasmus can lead to a reassessment of the role the Crucifixion plays in Milton’s soteriology and a new appreciation for the vital connection between Milton’s poetics and his theology. In essence, the inverted shape of chiasmus enables Milton to enact the Son’s overturning work of redemption on the cross, and the contrasts drawn by the repetitions produced by this rhetorical figure depict the way this redemption reconciles seeming opposites.
