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The Riverside Milton
The first one-volume anthology of John Milton's complete poetry and selected prose to be published in over 30 years, The Riverside Milton reflects the highest quality and most current scholarship. As editor of The Milton Quarterly for 30 years, Roy Flannagan is uniquely qualified to survey Milton's work. Pedagogy includes a comprehensive index designed to help students from undergraduate to graduate levels conceive paper topics; factual introductions; extensive annotations with references; margin definitions; and a chronology.
1248 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
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About the author
John Milton
3,772 books2,242 followersPeople best know John Milton, English scholar, for
Paradise Lost
, the epic poem of 1667 and an account of fall of humanity from grace.
Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.
Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.
John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.
Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.
William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."
Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.
Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.
Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.
John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.
Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.
William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."
Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 30, 2008
For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as that soul whose progeny they are; nay, they do preserve as in a vial the purest efficacy and extraction of that living intellect that bred them.
As good almost kill a man as kill a good book: who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye.
And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play on the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?
I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.
--Such is the finest paragraph yet composed in the English language. And that this isn't from Paradise Lost elevates Milton to poetic heights immeasurable.
As good almost kill a man as kill a good book: who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God's image; but he who destroys a good book, kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were, in the eye.
And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play on the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting misdoubt her strength. Let her and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse in a free and open encounter?
I cannot praise a fugitive and cloistered virtue, unexercised and unbreathed, that never sallies out and sees her adversary, but slinks out of the race, where that immortal garland is to be run for, not without dust and heat.
--Such is the finest paragraph yet composed in the English language. And that this isn't from Paradise Lost elevates Milton to poetic heights immeasurable.
April 23, 2017
What do you want me to say? It's Milton. He's canonical for a reason. That being said, I personally have a love/hate relationship with his oeuvre: I adore some of his minor poems like sonnets 19,23, "On Christ's Nativity" and "Lycidas," as well as his major works such as Paradise Regained , Samson Agonistes, and parts of Paradise Lost. I even enjoy some of his prose works, like Areopagitica and Of Church Doctrine . That's not to say that some of his work, and his style in general, aren't absolutely maddening at times (his syntax and spelling alone make him a potential candidate for lunacy). Plus, there's the rampant misogyny and ornamental, sometimes-awkward language of his time period to consider. Despite all that, he's certainly worth your time, especially if you're at all interested in the history and development of poetry as an art form.
Recommended: Sonnets 19 and 23, "Lycidas," Paradise Lost and Regained , Samson Agonistes , Areopagitica
Recommended: Sonnets 19 and 23, "Lycidas," Paradise Lost and Regained , Samson Agonistes , Areopagitica
January 14, 2010
Between January 1st 2006 and January 14th 2010 I undertook to read The Riverside Milton, beginning with "Paradise Lost" and then going back to read the rest of Milton's works in the order presented by Riverside. I am in awe. Milton may well be the Vergil of the English tongue; his philosophy and theology as important as his art. It gave great pleasure to read even juvenalia and correspondence of Milton's; the only time I did not find pure delight with him was in his dense theological treatises, which were works of genius if not interesting to me personally. I am glad I undertook to read Milton slowly and to savor every syllable, and I am somewhat sad to have reached the end of the quest now.
October 21, 2007
It took them long enough to put this together. The footnotes are a little bit eccentric, but its still nice to have all the puritan bastard's works in one place.
May 11, 2011
Textbook for Harp's Milton course Spring 2011
Paradise Lost
Paradise Regained
Samson Argonostis
Lycidus
Sonnets
Prose
more...
Paradise Lost
Paradise Regained
Samson Argonostis
Lycidus
Sonnets
Prose
more...
March 9, 2023
Though it would be unfair to say I've read "all" of this book, I can't tell you what an extraordinarily invaluable resource it has been for me over the years in teaching Milton and in thinking about his work.
May 7, 2017
Love his work.
Read
January 19, 2023(Areopagitica, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonisties)
February 14, 2012
A vast, heavy, expensive, and cumbersome book but also the best overall survey of Milton's literary output ever brought together in one volume. Overall, Roy Flannagan did a masterful job on this book and it's clear it was very much a labor of love. Some of his footnotes seem overly lengthy but all the same, there are real gems in these notes that are absent from other scholarship I've encountered on Milton. There is a feeling of triumph in being able to approach Milton in one volume and know you're able to discern greater information about his works than you might over the span of ten other books.
When this book was published, The New Criterion ran a very good review of it—as they commonly do when something grand is published on someone old and highly-respected—and it is worth seeking out that review for more details of this volume and a more nuanced take on its merits and faults alike than I can provide.
In any case, Milton is not Eliot or V.S. Pritchett: he is not meant to be read on a train in a slim little book with a damaged and coffee-stained cover but to be approached in a cozy den or study with a massive, hefty, book like this one.
When this book was published, The New Criterion ran a very good review of it—as they commonly do when something grand is published on someone old and highly-respected—and it is worth seeking out that review for more details of this volume and a more nuanced take on its merits and faults alike than I can provide.
In any case, Milton is not Eliot or V.S. Pritchett: he is not meant to be read on a train in a slim little book with a damaged and coffee-stained cover but to be approached in a cozy den or study with a massive, hefty, book like this one.
May 8, 2011
This is the edition from which I was introduced to Milton. It is edited by Roy C Flannagan.
The Riverside Milton contains the complete works of John Milton (poetry and prose) and is densely annotated, but many of Flannagan's notes--though he does appear to want to present opposing views to his own--state as fact several points (mainly concerning Milton's theodicy and his views on freewill and determinism) which are still up for grabs, for this reader.
This is a great introductory edition for readers who plan to study Milton's complete works in depth. But you may come away from it with a sense of Milton's purpose for writing the three epics (Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes) which is at least as much the editor's projection as the poet's.
CP
5/7/2011
The Riverside Milton contains the complete works of John Milton (poetry and prose) and is densely annotated, but many of Flannagan's notes--though he does appear to want to present opposing views to his own--state as fact several points (mainly concerning Milton's theodicy and his views on freewill and determinism) which are still up for grabs, for this reader.
This is a great introductory edition for readers who plan to study Milton's complete works in depth. But you may come away from it with a sense of Milton's purpose for writing the three epics (Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes) which is at least as much the editor's projection as the poet's.
CP
5/7/2011
May 31, 2011
Yep, I'm a dork, but I'd give this one six stars if I could. (Except for the footnotes on Lycidas. No, Mr. Flannagan, I do NOT need to know that much about the composition history of the poem, I just need you to define strange words for me and unpack Milton's archaic references.)
Used this book for my first Milton-centric English class and fell even further in love with Milton in the process. Found myself even coming to like the editor, whose footnotes possess the occasional personal quirk when you'd least expect it. Read his footnoting philosophy in the introduction. You will not be disappointed.
Used this book for my first Milton-centric English class and fell even further in love with Milton in the process. Found myself even coming to like the editor, whose footnotes possess the occasional personal quirk when you'd least expect it. Read his footnoting philosophy in the introduction. You will not be disappointed.
February 22, 2009
I really enjoyed Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. There were some parts that dragged, and it's a lot of work to read and understand it. Like Shakespeare, the more you read it, the easier it gets. The Adam and Eve characters are quite interesting and for that reason alone make these stories worth reading. Paradise Lost is a rather insightful work regarding The Fall and Adam and Eve.
March 31, 2009
I thought that if I gave Milton another try, I'd finally like him. Maybe I'm still not mature enough to enjoy the density of his work. I appreciate Milton's contribution to literature and I think his rants against Catholicism are hilarious, but he bores me into deep sleeps time and time again.
January 18, 2020
Read for Dr. Donnelly's Milton course at Baylor (Spring 2014). Paradise Lost, Areopagitica, Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, and Treatise of Civil Power were on my list for prelims. Flannagan died in 2020.
August 21, 2007
i took a star off, because this is the heaviest book I had to carry around in college.
February 3, 2009
Oh yeah, baby.
October 23, 2010
This should go right next to your copy of Riverside Shakespeare
April 23, 2014
I hate Milton.
December 12, 2007
Still working on Paradise lost but I love hi poetry.
January 10, 2008
A great edition for studying Milton's works; very comprehensive, with detailed notes.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews