The aim of this thesis is to compare the poetic delineation of the character of Satan in Paradise Lost with that of Lucifer in Lucifer and Adam in Ballingschap, and to consider the influence of the genre in each case , not in order to prove similarities or differences , but rather to allow the characters to illuminate each other. Both Satan and Lucifer develop progressively from angel to devil in the course of the poem or play. However, this process is more than just a physical metamorphosis, or even a moral degeneration. It is in each case a process of identity change, intensely and consciously experienced by the character. The fall is a movement from God to Self. The unfallen creature's integrity consists in his submergence in the Being and Will of God; for the fallen creature integrity means a separate, independent self-hood. In rebelling against their role and duty as Archangel, Satan and Lucifer rebel against submergence in the Being of God and thus against their very nature and the order of things. Consequently they experience personal and psychological disintegration. From this condition of imbalance and uncertainty they both develop to a new state of personal reintegration and unequivocal identity, now as Arch-fiend. In neither case is the process instant or entirely concurrent with the physical fall into Hell. Rather, it is protracted, hence the division of this thesis into sections that focus on the different stages in the development: Archangel, Arch-rebel and Arch- fiend (introduction, p. ii-iii).

This study argues for a more widely-conceived cultural sphere that allows the complex and multifarious interactions of both English and Dutch cultures in the early modern period to be explored more fully. My lenses are the works of John Milton and Andrew Marvell, and the relations that they and their work had with the United Provinces and its people. The thesis has a two-part structure. The first half introduces Dutch contexts, being a brief introduction to major areas of early modern Dutch culture, while the second shows how these contexts were influential on, and reflected by, Milton and Marvell. The first four chapters therefore consider areas that had an impact on England and its political and literary writers. These include, in Chapter I, stereotypes and first impressions of the Dutch Republic in English travelogues; representations of the Dutch in these works often surfaced in satirical work on the Dutch during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Another concern is the literary milieu of the United Provinces, including print culture, literary circles, and ideas of educational reform. Other chapters in Part I discuss two highly influential aspects of Dutch religious life, Arminianism and toleration - both of which had repercussions for Protestantism in England - politics and trade, in particular works on Dutch republicanism and trade, in which England became the United Provinces’ greatest rival. Part II then explores Dutch culture, nation and stereotyping in Milton and Marvell. It demonstrates the far-reaching involvement of Dutch printing culture, especially visible in the publication history of Milton’s Defenses. It also interrogates literary similarities in the works of two Dutch authors, Constantijn Huygens and Joost van den Vondel, with Milton’s Paradise Lost and Marvell’s Upon Appleton House, respectively. The last two chapters identify traces of Dutch Arminianism and toleration in Milton’s Samson Agonistes, Marvell’s Remarks, and Rehearsal Transpros’d, part I and II; and compare versions of republicanism in Samson Agonistes and Vondel’s Samson, of Heilige Wraak, as well as discussing Anglo-Dutch rivalry in their works. This thesis demonstrates the deep and abiding importance of Anglo-Dutch relations to the works of two canonical English authors. Literary, intellectual and politico-religious exchange between England and the United Provinces was more entrenched than it has previously been portrayed.

Proefschrift Maastricht. / Met lit. opg., index. - Met samenvatting in het Engels en Deens.