An aggressive written argument, usually involving political or religious matters. The word is derived from the Greek word for “war,” and it was a popular form of writing in ancient Greece. Milton’s Areopagitia is a polemic.
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The timeline below shows where the term Polemic appears in Areopagitica. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Areopagitica
Milton addresses “the High Court of Parliament” directly. The reason for his polemic, he claims, is “no other than the joy and gratulation which it brings to all...
(full context)