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Paradise Lost: A Norton Critical Edition
“Teskey’s revised edition is as open as it is authoritative. There’s a genuine reverence for the poetic wisdom of Paradise Lost conveyed in these pages, and an equal sense that this is a poem we should be wrangling with on matters of race, religion, politics, and gender. New critical selections in each of those areas, augmented annotations, and a quick-reference Glossary of Names make this an ideal edition for learning—and for luxuriating in—this monumental poem.” —RAYNA KALAS, Cornell University
This Norton Critical Edition
The 1674 text of Paradise Lost, with emendations and adoptions from the first edition and from the scribal manuscript. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized for student readers.
An illuminating introduction and abundant explanatory annotations by Gordon Teskey.
Source and background materials, including Milton’s greatest prose work, Areopagitica, in its entirety and key selections from the Bible.
Topically arranged commentaries and interpretations—seventy-eight in all, thirty-nine of them new to the Second Edition—from classic assessments to current scholarship.
A glossary of names and suggestions for further reading.
About the Series
Read by more than 12 million students over fifty-five years, Norton Critical Editions set the standard for apparatus that is right for undergraduate readers. The three-part format—annotated text, contexts, and criticism—helps students to better understand, analyze, and appreciate the literature, while opening a wide range of teaching possibilities for instructors. Whether in print or in digital format, Norton Critical Editions provide all the resources students need.
This Norton Critical Edition
The 1674 text of Paradise Lost, with emendations and adoptions from the first edition and from the scribal manuscript. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized for student readers.
An illuminating introduction and abundant explanatory annotations by Gordon Teskey.
Source and background materials, including Milton’s greatest prose work, Areopagitica, in its entirety and key selections from the Bible.
Topically arranged commentaries and interpretations—seventy-eight in all, thirty-nine of them new to the Second Edition—from classic assessments to current scholarship.
A glossary of names and suggestions for further reading.
About the Series
Read by more than 12 million students over fifty-five years, Norton Critical Editions set the standard for apparatus that is right for undergraduate readers. The three-part format—annotated text, contexts, and criticism—helps students to better understand, analyze, and appreciate the literature, while opening a wide range of teaching possibilities for instructors. Whether in print or in digital format, Norton Critical Editions provide all the resources students need.
620 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2021
11 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
John Milton
3,775 books2,253 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 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 15, 2025
Probably closer to 3.5 stars. While Milton’s style is magnificent, his descriptions enchanting, and his dialogue between Adam and Eve fascinating—I disagree with him giving words to the Godhead. Flannery O’Connor said that a good story cannot be reduced, just expanded—and I think that to be true—but by putting words into the mouth of God that we haven’t been given, Milton does not expand the Genesis story, rather, he corrupts it.
I think Christians can and should take the architecture of Biblical stories to write fiction, but they should do so in a way that is saying something true. If Milton had used the story of the Garden as a framework and wrote a fictional epic using allegory and metaphor to allude to Eden—he would’ve made a work that was more truthful.
I think Christians can and should take the architecture of Biblical stories to write fiction, but they should do so in a way that is saying something true. If Milton had used the story of the Garden as a framework and wrote a fictional epic using allegory and metaphor to allude to Eden—he would’ve made a work that was more truthful.
May 1, 2025
My review is specifically regarding the version of Paradise Lost, as this is not my first reading of the book, and upon further readings, it only gets better to me.
I would highly recommend this version to people interested in having background on Milton, as it serves as a good introduction to becoming a longtime student and friend of Milton's. The introduction here is nicely done, providing a solid background to a new student. The spelling is cleaned up a bit from the original, which provides clarity of reading without diminishing the poetic quality and richness of language from Milton's original text. Along with those, the excerpts from Milton's critical reception in the back are extremely helpful for beginning to understand a 360 year conversation about how to read Milton well.
I would highly recommend this version to people interested in having background on Milton, as it serves as a good introduction to becoming a longtime student and friend of Milton's. The introduction here is nicely done, providing a solid background to a new student. The spelling is cleaned up a bit from the original, which provides clarity of reading without diminishing the poetic quality and richness of language from Milton's original text. Along with those, the excerpts from Milton's critical reception in the back are extremely helpful for beginning to understand a 360 year conversation about how to read Milton well.
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May 22, 2025Meep 😵💫
November 4, 2025
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected I would and honestly, more than anything I am just accomplished to have finally finished this! Milton is incredibly complex and complicated, and while this book has been treated with a lot of reverence, there’s a lot problematic with this book too. It was hard to separate the Bible from Milton’s retelling at times, and I often had to remind myself of the differences of the two while Milton pulls from so much scripture. From his depiction of politics, gender roles, race, and the concept of “who’s to blame,” there is just SO MUCH to talk about. My only complaint about this is that for such a fascinating book, the ending was SUCH a boring letdown.
Big fan of adding my class books to my reading log and I think everyone should do it too.
Looking forward to Paradise Regained!
Big fan of adding my class books to my reading log and I think everyone should do it too.
Looking forward to Paradise Regained!
November 28, 2025
incredibly beautiful and compelling and i understand how this changed the creature but 3.5 for personal enjoyment
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews