A Lacanian metaphorical reading of John Milton’s unconscious in Peter Ackroyd’s Milton in America

Peter Ackroyd’s Milton in America presents a fictionalized John Milton whose psychological and moral trajectory challenges conventional portrayals of the poet. This study applies Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, particularly the Mirror Stage and the concept of the Other’s Desire to examine Milton’s progressive alienation across three pivotal episodes of unconsciousness: his near-drowning at sea, his rehabilitation by Native Americans, and his descent into violence and debauchery during a celebratory feast. Using textual analysis and metaphorical reading, the research interprets these episodes as stages in Milton’s failed attempts at self-recognition, highlighting the tension between dependence, rebellion, and the illusion of absolute autonomy. The analysis attributes Milton’s ultimate moral and psychological deterioration to his rejection of external mediating forces embodied by figures such as Goosequill, Indigenous Americans, and Kempis, reflecting the Lacanian insight that Ego development relies on the structuring influence of the Other. By reading Milton’s decline within a postmodern reinterpretation of Paradise Lost, the study argues that Ackroyd critiques modern excessive emphasis placed on unregulated free will, showing that attempts to transcend relational and symbolic constraints inevitably lead to fragmentation and self-destruction. This research offers a psychoanalytic reading of Ackroyd’s work, emphasizing the metaphorical significance of unconsciousness, misrecognition, and the Ego’s limitations, and advances the understanding of postmodern historical fiction as a vehicle for exploring the complexities of subjectivity, autonomy, and ethical power.