Navigation

Tag Archives | Jeffrey Bilbro

Jeffrey Bilbro

By on October 16, 2013 in Faculty Publications

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.

Jeffrey Bilbro

By on September 3, 2013 in Faculty Publications

Bilbro, Jeffrey. “Lahiri’s Hawthornian Roots: Art and Tradition in “Hema and Kaushik”.” Critique 54, no. 4 (September 2013): 380-394.

Abstract: Hawthorne explores—in “The House of Seven Gables” and particularly “The Marble Faun”—how some artistic methods attempt to fix the past and escape tradition’s grip while others participate in the reformation and revitalization of tradition. Lahiri draws on Hawthorne’s ideas and characters as she probes—in “Hema and Kaushik” and especially its final story, “Going Ashore”—how one’s relation to the past affects and even determines one’s ability to live out a hybrid, postnational identity.

Jeffery Bilbro

By on November 13, 2012 in Faculty Publications

Bilbro, Jeffrey. “The Ecological Thought.(Book Review).” Christianity and Literature no. 4 (2012): 693.

Abstract: In his latest book, Timothy Morton provides those scholars who are interested in the growing field of ecocriticism but not sure what all the fuss is about with a provocative, accessible introduction to the radical implications and intriguing possibilities that ecology offers for cultural theory. Those looking for literary analysis or an overview ofthe current state of environmental literary theory should turn elsewhere—starting with Lawrence Bueil’s excellent, if now slightly dated. The Future of Environmental Criticism: Environmental Crisis and Literary Imagination (2005). In The Ecological Thought, Morton leaves behind the close textual analysis, high-level theory, and, thankfully, the impenetrable prose, of his previous book. Ecology without Nature: Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics (2007). Instead, he offers a series of probing thought experiments and far-reaching cultural and theoretical analyses that explore ecology’s cultural implications. Morton’s style embodies the provocative irony that he argues the ecological thought demands as he takes on the role of “the irritating Columbo-style guy at the back of the room, the one who asks the unanswerable question” (115). So while many of Morton’s answers suggest that his conception of :he ecological thought is not as radical as he thinks it is, or as it perhaps should be, his questions challenge scholars in the liberal arts to wrestle with the consequences of ecology’s recent scientific discoveries.

Jeffrey Bilbro

By on September 26, 2012 in Faculty Publications

Bilbro, Jeffrey. “Who Are Lost and How They’re Found: Redemption and Theodicy in Wheatley, Newton, and Cowper.” Early American Literature 47, no. 3 (2012): 561–589. doi:10.1353/eal.2012.0054.

Abstract: The article critiques poems which focus on the themes of redemption, theodicy and the African American slave trade, including the poem “On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield,” by Phillis Wheatley, “Olney Hymns,” by John Newton and “Charity,” by William Cowper. The relationship between the poetry of Newton, Wheatley and Cowper and the abolition movement is discussed.

Jeffrey Bilbro

By on July 4, 2012 in Faculty Publications

Bilbro, Jeffrey. “Preserving “God’s Wildness” for Redemptive Baptism.” Christianity & Literature 61, no. 4 (Summer 2012): 587-622.

Abstract: An essay is presented which focuses on the belief of John Muir, member of the Disciples of Christ, in immersing himself in the Sierra by partaking in its divine natural redemption. It says that Muir preached the “gospel of glaciers” to bring people to the wild baptism where they would be cleansed by divine love. It mentions the letter written by Muir to his friend, Jeanne Carr, on the fall of man and the wonders of Redeeming Love.