John Milton

by John Milton, Jonathan Goldberg (Editor), Stephen Orgel (Editor)

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.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Literature, The World, German Literature, Classics

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 6, 1994

About the author

People 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.

Reviews

[Redsteve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection contains a broad sampling of Milton’s works – Not just Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonsites, but also shorter poems (in English, Latin, and Greek), political and religious essays, and personal correspondence. One thing that hits you in reading Milton is that, for a guy who is mainly famous for a religious poem, he uses a lot of references from classical mythology. Like, a WHOLE LOT. Like more than references from the Bible. In many cases it’s almost like Norse kennings, where you need to understand the reference to know what he’s saying. In his defense, this sort of thing was pretty much mandatory if you were educated and writing in the 17th Century. His essays do cover many of the hot button issues in the England of his day, including divorce, education, the peoples’ relationship with the monarchy, and organized religion. Now I’m the first person to admit that, in my own writing, I never met a comma I didn’t like, but some of Milton’s prose really makes it look like he took 3-5 shorter sentences, removed the periods and replaced them with commas. Fair warning, if you aren’t well read on 17th Century England, much of what he writes is pretty obscure (and you’ll spend a lot of time in the end notes just to decipher his “plain English” – for example, the meanings of many words has changed to the point where you THINK you know what he’s saying, but he’s actually making the opposite point. 3 stars. “Paradise Lost” is still a classic (if you can stomach the sexism, Biblically ordained or no) and some of the poetry still holds up, but, much of his writing isn’t going to engage the modern reader

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Milton was an amazing man - did you know that he read every single book in print at the time of his life? (Not many, granted, but still!) There's a lot of good stuff in here, but really you could skip it all if you just read Paradise Lost, Milton's epic poem about the Fall of Lucifer from Heaven and Adam and Eve from Eden. I read it as a part of a college class my sophomore year, and it totally ignited a enduring fascination with the Fall and its consequences. It is an epic poem, which means that it requires concentration, but it is awesome.

[Buffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never picked up JM before, now is your chance to own the best collection you'll ever find complete with excellent footnotes and a hilarious cutting remark from Milton himself regarding his own portait that's featured at the front of this book. This is the volume we used to learn about Milton's works in our "Poetry of Milton" class with John Rumrich at UT-Austin. This was my absolute FAVORITE class during my five years at UT! Damn, graduation's a bitch.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not the best Milton student by any stretch of the imagination, but I survived total immersion fairly well. Oh, "Comus." Oh, Areopagitica. Really, Paradise Lost is what saves it all.

[Dave]

To be honest, I only read Samson Agonistes (and only for class). Maybe one day I'll go back and read Paradise Lost and Regained.

[Nita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skimmed. Not my bag. Granted, I know jack about judeo xian anything so most references meant nothing to me. His thoughts on education ("an academy of 150 persons") were interesting.

[James Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Milton is great, I don't care what Eliot says. :) (even if Eliot is my favorite poet)

[Albie]

John Milton (The Oxford Authors) by John Milton (1991)