John Milton's Paradise Lost

<p>John Milton's epic poem <em>Paradise Lost</em> (1667) is a literary landmark. His reworking of Biblical tales of the loss of Eden constitutes not only a gripping literary work, but a significant musing on fundamental human concerns ranging from freedom and fate to conscience and consciousness.</p><p>Designed for students new to Milton's complex, lengthy work, this sourcebook:</p><p>* outlines the often unfamiliar contexts of seventeenth-century England which are so crucial to <em>Paradise Lost</em><br>* completes the contextual study with a chronology and reprinted documents from the period<br>* examines and reprints a broad range of responses to the poem, from early reactions to recent criticism<br>* reprints the most frequently studied passages of the poem, along with extensive commentary and annotation of unfamiliar or significant terms used in Milton's work<br>* provides cross-references between the textual, contextual and critical sections of the sourcebook, to show how all the materials can be called upon in an individual reader's encounter with the text<br>* suggests further reading for those facing the huge array of critical work on the poem.<br>With an emphasis on enjoying as well as understanding what can be a somewhat daunting work, this sourcebook will be a welcome resource for anyone new to <em>Paradise Lost</em>.</p> Introduction 1: Contexts, Contextual Overview, Chronology, Contemporary Documents; From John Milton, Manuscript of Milton’s Minor Poems (Facsimile, 1899); From John Milton, Of Education, To Master Samuel Hartlib (1644); From John Milton, Areopagitica; A Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, To the Parlament of England (1644); From John Milton, The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649); From the speech made by King Charles I at his execution (1649); From John Milton, The Readie and Easie Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, 2nd edition (1660); From Edmund Waller, ‘To The King, Upon His Majesty’s Happy Return’ (1664); From John Milton [?], De Doctrina Christiana (pub. 1825); John Milton, ‘The Verse’, Paradise Lost (1674); From John Dryden, Virgil’s Æneis (1697); From Helen Darbishire, The Early Lives of Milton (1932); From The Life of Mr John Milton by John Phillips [actual author, Cyriack Skinner]; From The Life of Mr John Milton by Edward Phillips (1694); 2: Interpretations, Critical History, Early Critical Reception 3: Key Passages, Introduction, Book-by-book Breakdown of Paradise Lost (1674), Internal Chronology of Paradise Lost 4: Further Reading, Recommended Modern Editions of Paradise Lost, Biographies, Collections of Critical Essays, Recommended Studies of Paradise Lost, Glossary, Index