Over the long reception history of the Miltonic corpus Milton's treatment of sensory
perception as well as the sensory qualities (or lack thereof) observable in his poetry and
prose have given rise to often heated debate. Combining recent scholarship in the field of
sensory studies with a conceptual-metaphor approach this study proposes a new angle on Milton
and the senses arguing for the central importance of sensory discourse in both his poetry and
prose situating the author's approach to perception in its early modern context and
highlighting throughout the interlocking claims to experiential knowledge and poetic merit that
characterize sensory discourse in Milton. A particular focus is on Milton's earliest poetry and
prose - his Latin elegies and 'prolusiones' - as well as on the four proems to 'Paradise Lost'.
