Book Description
An authoritative new edition of Milton’s essential verse

John Milton, who abandoned early plans of becoming a clergyman to become a poet, was a master of almost every type of verse—from the classical to the religious, from the lyric to the epic. His writing reflected his radical views and his profound understanding of politics and power. This collection includes such early works as the devotional “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” “Comus,” and the pastoral elegy “Lycidas.” ... Read more

Book Description
There is a crying need for an accessible, comprehensive guide to John Milton for the thousands of students who make their way through his poetry every year on literary survey and seventeenth century literature courses. Where many previous guides have dragged their way through Paradise Lost Richard Bradford brings Milton to life with an overview of his life, contexts, work and the relationship between these, and of the main critical issues surrounding his work. ... Read more

Book Description
Series Editors: Kinley E. Roby, Northeastern University; Herbert Sussman, Northeastern University; Joseph Bartolomeo, University of Massachusetts; George Economou, University of Oklahoma; Arthur F. Kinney, University of Massachusetts

Twayne's United States Authors, English Authors, and World Authors Series present concise critical introductions to great writers and their works.

Devoted to critical interpretation and discussion of an author's work, each study takes account of major literary trends and important scholarly contributions and provides new critical insights with an original point of view. An Authors Series volume addresses readers ranging from advanced high school students to university professors. The book suggests to the informed reader new ways of considering a writer's work. A reader new to the work under examination will, after reading the Authors Series, be compelled to turn to the originals, bringing to the reading a basic knowledge and fresh critical perspectives. Each volume features:

• A critical, interpretive study and explication of the author's works
• A brief biography of the author
• An accessible chronology outlining the life, work, and relevant historical background of the author
• Aids for further study -- complete notes and references, a selected annotated bibliography, and an index
• A readable style presented in a manageable length

Book Description
Perhaps the greatest poet in the English language after Shakespeare, John Milton actually published very little until the appearance of Poems of Mr John Milton, both English and Latin in 1646, when he was thirty-seven.Including a wide range of his verse, this completely new selection of
Milton's finest poetry offers extensive passages from Samson Agonistes, Paradise Regained, and his most famous work, Paradise Lost.Accessible and fully annotated, this volume shows just why Milton's influence on English poetry and criticism has been incalculable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Beware of other reviews and summaries
Contrary to what other reviews and summaries might claim, this edition contains neither the complete work nor passages from "Paradise Regained" (aka "Paradise Found").

Milton's English, Italian, Latin, and Greek Poetry
This is an authoritative edition for anyone interested in John Milton.It includes poetry, prose, and commentary.

Unimpressive
Milton deserves better than this.Orgel and Goldberg boast that they have produced a radical Milton, but all they really offer is rehashed Alastair Fowler, without Fowler's erudition or eloquence.Many of the notes arejust plain ignorant.There are better editions out there.

Good edition, bad binding
This is an excellent edition of John Milton's works; it includes all the major works (Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes) and several of his sonnets, other poems, and prose tracts.The notes arethourough, although they are arranged at the back rather than footnoted.This cleans up the body of the text, but also requires constant flipping ofpages. And the pagesdo not hold together well. After a few weeks of use,mine were beginning to fall out! It is a good, affordable volume; but ifyou are planning a serious study, expect it to fall apart sooner or later. ... Read more

Book Description
A comprehensive, fully annotated edition oof Milton's poetry, including his epic, Paradise Lost.

In the course of his forty-year career John Milton evolved from a prodigy to a blind prophet, from a philosophical aesthete to a Puritan rebel, and from a Latinist poet who proclaimed the triumph of reason to an epic poet obsessed with the intractability of sin. A master of almost every verse style--from the pastoral, devotional, and tenderly lyrical to the supreme grandeur of his great epic, Paradise Lost, and his biblical "Greek tragedy," Samson Agonistes---Milton left a body of work unrivaled in literary history. Although he wrote Comus and "Lycidas" shortly after leaving Cambridge University, Milton devoted much of his adult life--and even sacrificed his eyesight--to defending the cause of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. Milton's later poetry, produced after Charles II's restoration led to the defeat of the Commonwealth, contains not only personally achieved theological insights but also a deep firsthand understanding of politics and power.

This edition presents Milton's complete English, Latin, and Greek poems, modernizing spelling, capitalization, and any punctuation likely to cause confusion. Fully annotated with glosses on the poems' biblical, classical, and historical allusions, this is the best place to start for readers wanting to come to grips with this giant in English literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Text corrupted by modernization
It's fine, to a point, to modernize spellings of certain words, provided it doesn't alter the pronunciation (changing "Sion" to "Zion" is a no-no). However, the editors of this volume have also chosen to modernize punctuation to the point that it screws up the rhythm. For example, the contraction "th'Aonian mount" that appears in the opening of Paradise Lost becomese "the Aonian", as if modern readers wouldn't be able to figure it out on their own. This kind of meddling adds extra syllables to lines, screwing up Milton's metre and also insulting the intelligence of readers. If you want a really fine edition, shell out some extra cash for the Hughes volume.

Perfect edition ofMilton from everynan's
This everyman's edition does not seem to the edition rated below by others because this has footnotes and not endnotes./ In addition to a wondeful introduction it also contains Aereopagetica and on education which i did not expect from the title. I was pleasanly surpiused by this organzation of the book. Thise works give a good overview of the works, =. Please excuse typos i have a neurologic disease.

The greatness of Milton "They also serve who only stand and wait"
Milton's greatness is evident not only in his greatest work'Paradise Lost' but also in 'Samson Agonistes' and the finest elegy in the language , " Lycidas".It is present in his sonnets and shorter pieces also , and " On His Blindness" is one of the great poems of world - literature.
Milton is a poet of the ear, and there is a powerful music in his verse. His tremendous learning may complicate his poetry for the modern reader, but there are depths in his lines for those who truly probe them.

bad edition
I don't like the endnotes vs. footnotes which are very hard to access and deal with, and I don't like the way the apostrophes are taken out and the words are 'modernized' as it breaks up the flows and rhythms of the works.

A Good Version
The anonymous review from "reader from the UK" has a slight whiff about it, I can't help but think - does the reviewer work at the publishers? I wouldn't quite go as far as he/she has in my praise. This is a good version, if not exactly the best. The poetry of course is unchallengeable - it's what's been done with the poetry that is important. The text is clear and easy to read; the notes are put at the back of the book, which is always a mixed blessing, but is probably the only practical option with a decently-annotated Milton. This version is cheaper than the definitive Fowler and Carey versions, and probably better for the non-specialist reader. The notes are good enough, but I would like more narrative guidance (in Paradise Lost particularly); occasionally some of his notes feel incomplete or unclear, and sometimes he leaves things out which I myself would have liked him to have mentioned or which I've seen mentioned (or reinterpreted) by someone else. I would also prefer a longer and more detailed introduction. But mostly the version is good, and is probably the first stop for most readers wanting to get to grips with Milton. My advice is only to go on from here, to other sources to give you a more detailed background. ... Read more

Book Description
It is distinctly paradoxical that John Milton--who opposed infant baptism, supported regicide, defended divorce and approved of polygamy--should be heard as a voice of orthodoxy.Yet modern scholarship has often understated or explained away his heretical opinions. This collection of essays investigates aspects of his works inconsistent with conventional beliefs, showing how Milton, as poet, thinker and public servant, eschewed dogma and regarded indeterminacy and uncertainty as fundamental to human existence. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Winner of the 1999 Irene Samuels Award
Dobranski and Rumrich have gathered an eclectic array of authors from around the world.The work includes authors from Wales, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.Dobranski and Rumrich note that modern critics of Milton often either explain away Milton's unconventional beliefs so as to create an orthodox Milton.Contributors in this work seek to place Milton within his historical context, whether in political or theological terms (Dobranski 1). All contributors have the common assumption that Milton wrote de Doctrina Christiana (6-7). The collection is separated into four parts: "Heretical theology," "Heresy and its consequences," "Heresy and community," and "Readers of heresy."

The first section seeks to define heresy.Janel Mueller's "Milton on Heresy," examines Milton's use of the word heresy.Mueller notes the first century use of the term. "The binary that constitutes the term `heresy' in its first-century Christian sense is not truth/error but church/sect, with the further associated oppositions of wholeness versus divisiveness, community versus splitting into groups" (25).Mueller argues that Milton uses the word heresy to refer simply to "choice" early in life (22-23).However, Milton changed his view of heresy later in life to fit shifting needs.The other articles in this section round it out well.

The second section, "Heresy and consequences," laments the downplay of Milton's heresy in recent critical works.The Introduction states that each chapter of this section "focuses on a single heresy-Arianism, Arminianism, and monism" (13).Rumrich exposes Milton's Arianism in his compelling article "Milton's Arianism: Why it Matters."Rumrich asks the question, "[. . .] how is it that so many early readers identified the epic as Arian, when most twentieth-century readers, despite the added evidence of de doctrina, have accepted the claim that Paradise Lost conforms to orthodoxy?" (77) He lists several people who identified Milton's Arianism previous to the finding of De Doctrina Christiana in 1825.Among these people are Daniel DeFoe and Thomas Macauley (76). Rumrich concludes that Milton's silence is due to Arianism carrying civil penalties, including burning at the stake.

Stephen. M. Fallon's `Elect Above the Rest': Theology as Self-representation in Milton" examines Milton's shift from his Calvinist upbringing toward Arminianism.Fallon employs limits those terms to describe opposing views of soteriology.Fallon proves how Milton's Armianism goes against the grain of the 1619 Synod of Dort.The synod, defending orthodox Calvinism, "warned against `curiously scrutinizing the deep and mysterious things of God'" (93).Fallon shows how Milton believed that, aided by the Holy Spirit, man could use reason to understand these deep mysteries.Fallon errs in a passing comment about Paul Sellin, another critic.Fallon writes, "He writes de doctrina Christiana is supralapsarian-and thus closer to Calvin than Arminius [. . .]" (98).Fallon falls prey to the common error that Calvin was supralapsarian.On the contrary, Calvin was an infralapsarianist, although the infralapsarianism/supralapsarianism debate occurred after his lifetime.In addition, all major Reformed creeds are explicitly infralapsarian.

The final article in this section, William Kerrigan's "Milton's Kisses," is a beautifully written and entertaining piece on lyrical kissing in the seventeenth century.
A sample of this prose will help express the style."I think of Milton in Book 4 of Paradise Lost as a great film director. Satan has arrived.The camera has discovered Adam and Eve.It is time to shoot the kiss" (126).The problem with this essay is it fails to explicate what the Introduction says it does: monism.Lyrical kissing is hardly heresy.

By the time one reaches the second half of the book, organization begins to break down.However, Stephen B. Dobranski's article fits well into the third section entitled "Milton and Heresy."The article, "Licensing Milton's Heresy," examines Milton's career as a licenser.Dobranski shows how Milton was very tolerant for the seventeenth century by analyzing what books Milton chose not to censor.Dobranski notes Milton's participation of passing the The Racovian Catechism.The Racovian Catechism explicitly adopts the Socinian heresy.Dobranski suggests, "Perhaps Milton's announcement to Parliament that he approved The Racovian Catechism, as reported by Aitzema, was a conscious attempt by the poet/secretary to create the perception of himself as an independent freethinker" (148).However, Dobranski does not believe his own suggestion.Furthermore, widening the scope of heterodoxy would eventually lead to the acceptance of Milton's own heresies."Milton may have nominally served as a licenser, in other words, but he still objected to pre-publication censorship and would have helped to draft the new, more lenient registration" (148).

Part four, "Readers of Heresy," contains only two chapters.The first chapter, Joan Bennett's "Asserting Eternal Providence: John Milton Through the Window of Liberation Theology," seems irrelevant to the book.Although Bennett does not call Milton a liberation theologian, she implies it.This article explains how liberation theology contains many inconsistencies and focuses on political action.So does Milton.The article is by far the longest in the book, but also speaks of Milton the least.

Joseph Wittreich's "Milton's Transgressive Maneuvers: Receptions (Then and Now) and the Sexual Politics of Paradise Lost," demonstrates the variety of reaction in early Milton critics and contemporary Milton critics.He gives particular focus to the sexual politics of contemporary criticism.Wittreich notes that contemporary critics assume universalism in their criticism."Typically, Bennett's allies presume that Milton's values are identical with their own, though occasionally a voice is heard saying that, whatever the enlightened values may be today, Milton's were the values of yesterday.In this latter regard, especially when the issue is Milton's misogyny, both sides in the debate [. . .] can agree" (255-256).Wittreich's impeccable logic exposes the biases of modern critics by laying bare their claims of neutrality.

In addition to sometimes having chapters that do not seem to fit, the book does contain a few typographical errors.Quoting Milton, Corns uses "perfeted" for "perfected" (47).In addition, William Kerrigan uses the word "entirety" where "entirely" should be used.Despite these errors, Milton and Heresy is an entertaining and informative collection. ... Read more

Book Description
Providing a close examination of Milton's wide-ranging prose and poetry at each stage of his life, Barbara Lewalski reveals a rather different Milton from that in earlier accounts.

• Provides a close analysis of each of Milton's prose and poetry works.
  
• Reveals how Milton was the first writer to self consciously construct himself as an 'author'.
  
• Focuses on the development of Milton's ideas and his art.

Customer Reviews (1)

An Enchanting Work
This is, indeed, the most exhaustive modern biography of John Milton. The renowned critic Barbara Lewalski, as usual, offers the students and scholars of Milton an enchanting biographical masterpiece that both narrates and captures Milton's story and history from his early childhood "The childhood Strews the Man" to his last breath "Teach the every Soul".Mocking Samuel Johnson's theory on writing a biography, Lewalski, without eating, drinking, or living in social intercourse with Milton, has succeed in writing an impressive biography of Milton through, as she mockingly asserts, living in intellectual and artistic intercourse with Milton. Reading this book, to the surprise of Johnson, one will find him/herself eating, drinking, and living social intercourse with john Milton thanks to the scholarly talent of Barbara Lewlaski. ... Read more

Book Description

Harvard Classics, Vol. 4

Customer Reviews (1)

The Self & the World
This book is an excellent companion piece to Milton studies, whether one is an undergraduate reading Milton for the first time, or a Milton scholar of a quarter-century's standing. Prof. Shawcross is recognized by his peersas the premier authority for Milton biography among scholars living today,and his former teacher, William Parker, held that rank for the previousgeneration. Though its approach is sufficiently psychological to earn it aclassification among the works of that discipline by Library of Congress,it is densely populated by matters biographical. It addresses textualissues intermingled with a reliable account of the events of Milton's life,and includes a goldmine of insights gleaned over the decades of Prof.Shawcross's own meticulous readings, making Milton's works not only morecomprehensible to the novice, but enriching the experience of reading themeven for an "old hand."

Prof. Shawcross's writing style islucid and non-pedantic, and the effort is a masterful one (not surprising,to anyone who knows his previous output). Like Nicolson's _Reader's Guide_of several decades ago, _The Self and the World_ provides the richbackground modern students need to understand the relevance of Miltonstudies to today's world -- only it does so even more successfully, in myopinion (and I have the greatest respect for Prof. Nicolson's work).

Iwould recommend this book to anyone teaching or studying Milton, at anylevel of expertise -- without reservation. ... Read more

Book Description
A.N. Wilson’s sympathetic and brilliantly analytical narrative places John Milton, the greatest poet of the seventeenth century, in the context of his political and religious ideas. ... Read more

Book Description
John Milton holds a crucial strategic position on the intellectual and ideological map of literary studies. In this provocative and liberating study, John P. Rumrich contends that contemporary critics have contributed to the invention of a monolithic or institutional Milton: censorious preacher, aggressive misogynist, and champion of the emerging bourgeoisie.Rumrich exposes the historical inaccuracies and logical inconsistencies that sustain this orthodoxy, and argues instead for a more complex Milton who was able to accommodate uncertainty and doubt. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Confusion and Error
In attempting to "re-invent" John Milton, Rumrich actually commits some of the same mistakes he accuses other critics of making.In refuting Milton's supposed Oedipal complex he re-analyzes Milton to be suffering from some sort of Maternal womb envy (to over simplify the argument).Rumrich claims that critics who argue that Milton suffers from an Oedipal complex are actually revealing more about themselves than about the poet -- so why would this theory not in turn apply to Rumrich himself?His idea that Milton desired to be some sort of hermaphrodite was interesting, but somewhat far-fetched.The digression Rumrich goes on in discussing the similarity between Newton's and Milton's religious beliefs is so completely unintrinsic to the argument he's attempting to make (that Milton held unorthodox religious beliefs) that it becomes quite perplexing as to why he's spending so much time on the views of Sir Isaac.So what if he and Milton shared this belief?And the concluding chapter on Chaos is quite fitting, as this book is a complex and confused amalgamation of ideas that fails to coalesce into any real coherence.Perhaps Rumrich's biggest mistake is stating that Paradise Lost reveals that God is Chaos.Simply b/c chaos is the womb of God and is essential to his existence, does not imply that Milton was saying God is chaos.Rumrich's illustration of Milton's disbelief in the trinity should be applied here: God the son is not the same or even equal to God the father. Duh.Extend Milton's reasoning here to refute your claim.
But all this being said, the book is certainly thought prevoking, and it is very, very important to realize that Milton was not simply a supporter of the standard religious dogma.He was a unique, and complex thinker, who examined his beliefs on almost every level.

Virginia product
I was a friend of John Rumrich's as a graduate student at the University of Virginia. He is a genius and this book explains why. He is now a distinguished Milton scholar at the University of Texas, and this book isthe culmination of his scholarly work. A must for any lover of Milton, orgreat scholarship for that matter. ... Read more

Book Description

Why do we hate Milton's God? Victoria Silver reengages with a perennial problem in Milton studies, one whose genealogy dates back at least to the Romantics, but which finds its most cogent modern expression in William Empson's revulsion at Milton's God and Stanley Fish's defense.

Thoroughly reexamining Milton's theology and its sources in Luther and Calvin, as well as theoretical parallels in the works of Wittgenstein, Cavell, Adorno, and Benjamin, Silver contends that this repugnance is not extrinsic but deliberately cultivated in the theodicy of Paradise Lost. From the vantage of a world riven by injustice, deity can appear to contradict its own revelation, with the result that we experience a God divided against himself. For as Job found in his sufferings, that God appears more ruse than redeemer. Milton's irony recreates this religious predicament in Paradise Lost to the intractable perplexity of his readers, who have in their turn fashioned an equally dissociated Milton--at once unconscious and calculating, heterodox and doctrinaire, heroic and intolerable.

Silver argues that, ultimately, these contrary Gods and antithetical Miltons arise from the sense we want to give the speaker's justification, which rather than ratifying our assumptions of meaning and the incoherence they foster, seeks fundamentally to reform them and thus to justify God's ways.

Customer Reviews (2)

Imperfect Sentences
Samuel Johnson famously quipped that Paradise Lost is a book that the reader admires and lays down, and forgets to take up again. The same may be said for this expensive, lengthy and largely incomprehensible (to me at least) book. It purports to be about the predicament of Milton's irony, which sounds promising andmotivitated me to take it on, but after a few agonizing chapters, I put it down and have not taken it up since. I think I get the general sense of what Silver's thesis is about, but it is sure imperfect. The problem is Silver's writing style which is insensitive to the reader, or at least those not steeped in academe. An example from the Introduction: "But if allegory can effectively bowdlerize the sense of a text, the presumption of irony can just as easily deracinate it, since irony argues an ambivalence or instability of meaning with something like the same metamorphic effect as allegory, and very likely the same ulterior motive-our desire not to be made uneasy by the order of truth Milton is thought to assert in Paradise Lost." This is writing worthy of the most obscure philosophers. I puzzled over this sentence and many other similar ones struggling to tease out the meaning, but with little success even with the aid of a dictionary. My English 101 prof would have circled this sentence with a red pencil and summoned me to his office. I gave the book a rating of three stars for the sense that probably lurks there (at least according to other reviews by respected scholars) as well as the benefit of the doubt that it might be writ larger than I can intellectually handle.

Elegant prose and insightful analysis
This reading of Milton's irony has the great virtue of not explaining "what Milton meant," which is a silly thing for a book of literary criticism to do anyway. Instead, Silver makes an argument about Milton's subtlety that is, itself, enacting its own ironies and complexities. Sets the standard for Miltonists. ... Read more

Book Description
John Milton is, next to William Shakespeare, the most influential English poet, a writer whose work spans an incredible breadth of forms and subject matter. The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton celebrates this author’s genius in a thoughtfully assembled book that provides new modern-spelling versions of Milton’s texts, expert commentary, and a wealth of other features that will please even the most dedicated students of Milton’s canon. Edited by a trio of esteemed scholars, this volume is the definitive Milton for our time.

In these pages you will find all of Milton’s verse, from masterpieces such as Paradise Lost–widely viewed as the finest epic poem in the English language–to shorter works such as the Nativity Ode, Lycidas, A Masque, and Samson Agonistes. Milton’s non-English language sonnets, verses, and elegies are accompanied by fresh translations by Gordon Braden. Among the newly edited and authoritatively annotated prose selections are letters, pamphlets, political tracts, essays such as Of Education and Areopagitica, and a generous portion of his heretical Christian Doctrine. These works reveal Milton’s passionate advocacy of controversial positions during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth and Restoration periods.

With his deep learning and the sensual immediacy of his language, Milton creates for us a unique bridge to the cultures of classical antiquity and medieval and Renaissance Christianity. With this in mind, the editors give careful attention to preserving the vibrant energy of Milton’s verse and prose,while making the relatively unfamiliar aspects of his writing accessible to modern readers. Notes identify the old meanings and roots of English words, illuminate historical contexts–including classical and biblical allusions–and offer concise accounts of the author’s philosophical and political assumptions. This edition is a consummate work of modern literary scholarship.

Praise
“Over the coming months, [John Milton’s] 400th anniversary will be celebrated in many different ways, but it is highly unlikely that any of the tributes he receives will do as much for him as the appearance of the Modern Library edition of his collected poetry and selected prose.The edition is a model of its kind, well designed and attractively produced. There are scholarly but unintimidating footnotes and helpful introductions to the major works. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized -- a difficult decision but the right one….A great deal has been packed in, but Milton has still been left room to breathe. The whole enterprise is meant to be reader-friendly, and it succeeds.” — The Wall Street Journal

“This magnificent edition gives us everything we need to read Milton intelligently and with fresh perception. You could take it to a desert island, or just stay home and further your education in a great writer.”
–William H. Pritchard, Amherst College

“For generations of readers Milton has been the measure of both eloquence and nobility of mind. For the next generation this new Modern Library volume will be the standard: it is meticulously edited, full of tactful annotations that set the stage for his work and his times, and it brings Milton, as a poet and a thinker, vividly alive before us.”
–Robert Hass

“Years ago I began a series of poems about Milton and his daughters. Ever since, I have been combing through Milton’s poems and prose for those moments when the poet would turn and speak to the poet in me. It is in the new Kerrigan-Rumrich-Fallon edition that I now find prompt rejoinders to questions, ready clarifications of problems, and a more intimate dimension of that formidable adjective Miltonic.”
–Richard Howard

“A superb edition of the great poet, with modernized spelling, lucid introductions to each work, illuminating footnotes, and fresh prose translations of poems in Latin, Greek, and Italian. This will surely be the edition of choice for teachers, students, and general readers too.”
–Leo Damrosch, Harvard University

“The introductions alone constitute a fine new book on Milton, beautifully written, challenging and balanced, with equal care and insight given to textual, biographical, historical, literary-historical and literary-critical concerns. It is a book to last a lifetime.”
–James Earl, University of Oregon

“In this landmark edition, teachers will discover a powerful ally in bringing the excitement of Milton’s poetry and prose to new generations of students. In the clarity of its overall conception, its thoroughness, and its never-faltering attention to literary and historical detail, the Modern Library Milton serves almost as another teacher–patient, thoughtful, endlessly concerned with genuine comprehension.”
–William C. Dowling, Rutgers University

“The editors display a remarkable combination of scholarly rigor and sensitivity to literary values, expressed in prose of exemplary clarity and extraordinary grace; even the notes, concise as well as precise, approach a kind of epigrammatic brilliance. A superb edition.”
–Edward W. Tayler, Columbia University

“The editors succeed gloriously, meeting the needs of the whole spectrum, from general readers to advanced students. A modernized text, one sensitive to Milton’s poetic rhythm, illuminates both the author’s meaning and artistry. It’s a beautiful edition–a home worthy of its subject.”
–Marina Favila, James Madison University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

By far the best edition for the undergrad
As far as "Paradise Lost" is concerned, this book has superb annotation that is not as overbearing (though useful) as the edition by Fowler; notes are clear and concise, with verse cross-refrences and citation of many commentators. As an undergrad, I can greatly appreciate such reader friendly texts that elucidate obscure or outdated words and phrases, affording a lot more time to enjoy Milton otherwise spent in a dictionary. It also has a great introduction to PL, as well as selected illustrations.

An Amazing Volume
For many of us, this is the volume of Milton for which we have been waiting.The Notes are useful without being overwhelming & the selection from his prose work is very generous.Overall, this is a significant offering to all lovers of poetry, 17th Century literature, and theology.Together with the newly published edition of Shakespeare's First Folio, this edition of Milton is the bedrock of English Literature and should not be read, but re-read for a lifetime. ... Read more

Book Description
John T. Shawcross's groundbreaking new study of John Milton is an essential work of scholarship for those who seek a greater understanding of Milton, his family, and his social and political world. The Arms of the Family employs extensive new archival research to scrutinize several misunderstood elements of Milton's life, including his first marriage and his relationship with his brother, brother-in-law and nephews. Shawcross examines Milton's numerous royalist connections, complicating the conventional view of Milton as eminent Puritan and raising questions about the role his connections played in his relatively mild punishment after the Restoration.

Unique in its methodology, The Arms of the Family is required reading not only for students of Milton but also for students of biography in general. Entire chapters dedicated to Milton's brother Christopher, his brother-in-law Thomas Agar, and his nephews Edward and John Phillips, illuminate the domestic forces that helped shape Milton's point of view. The final chapters reconsider Milton's political and sociological ideology in the light of these domestic forces and in the religious context of his three major poetic works: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regain'd, and Samson Agonistes. The Arms of the Family is a seminal work by a preeminent Miltonist, marking a major advance in Milton studies and serving as a model for those engaged in family history, social history, and the early modern period. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Achievements of the Left Hand
Co-edited by John T. Shawcross, whose synopses of the arguments and critical and bibliographical history of Milton's prose works in the Appendix would alone make it a valuable addition to any reader's shelf,this book contains a collection of essays by some of the most prominentscholars of the genre (including Profs. Shawcross and Lieb). It is a"must read" for anyone interested in Miltonic thought, and thoughout of print, will be worth the effort to locate. ... Read more

Book Description
A lively, in-depth discussion of PARADISE LOST.Students are taken on an exciting journey of discovery through every scene or chapter.Also included are unique text notes, ideas for term papers, notes on the author's life as well as a glossary. ... Read more