The Major Works

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, 2003 - 966 pages
This authoritative edition was originally published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode. It brings together a unique combination of Milton's poetry and prose - all the English verse together with a generous selection from the major prosewritings - to give the essence of his work and thinking.Milton's influence on English poetry and criticism has been incalculable, and this edition covers the full range of his poetic and political output. It includes Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes as well as major prose works such as Areopagitica and The Tenure of Kings andMagistrates. As well as all the English and Italian verse, the volume includes most of the Latin and Greek verse in parallel translation. Spelling has been modernized, and the poems are arranged in order of publication, essential to an understanding of the progress of Milton's career in relationto the political and religious upheavals of his time. The extensive notes cover syntax, vocabulary, historical context, and biblical and classical allusions. The introduction traces both Milton's changing conception of his own vocation, and the critical reception his work has received over the pastfour centuries.
 

Contents

POEMS 1645
3
On the Morning of Christs Nativity Upon the Circumcision 301356
10
At a Solemn Music
17
Penseroso
25
Qual in colle aspro
31
ENGLISH POEMS ADDED IN 1673
73
On the Same I did but prompt the age
79
UNCOLLECTED ENGLISH POEMS
85
Of Education
226
Areopagitica
236
The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates
273
From Second Defence of the English People
308
The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth
330
Paradise Lost
355
Paradise Regained
619
Samson Agonistes
671

On the Fifth of November
124
To my Father
135
To Salzilli
141
Damons Epitaph
149
GREEK POEM ADDED IN 1673
162
From An Apology for Smectymnuus
173
The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce
182
FAMILIAR LETTERS 1674
717
From Christian Doctrine
723
Notes
735
On the Lord General Fairfax
786
Further Reading
960
To Charles Diodati
963
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

John Milton, English scholar and classical poet, is one of the major figures of Western literature. He was born in 1608 into a prosperous London family. By the age of 17, he was proficient in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Milton attended Cambridge University, earning a B.A. and an M.A. before secluding himself for five years to read, write and study on his own. It is believed that Milton read everything that had been published in Latin, Greek, and English. He was considered one of the most educated men of his time. Milton also had a reputation as a radical. After his own wife left him early in their marriage, Milton published an unpopular treatise supporting divorce in the case of incompatibility. Milton was also a vocal supporter of Oliver Cromwell and worked for him. Milton's first work, Lycidas, an elegy on the death of a classmate, was published in 1632, and he had numerous works published in the ensuing years, including Pastoral and Areopagitica. His Christian epic poem, Paradise Lost, which traced humanity's fall from divine grace, appeared in 1667, assuring his place as one of the finest non-dramatic poet of the Renaissance Age. Milton went blind at the age of 43 from the incredible strain he placed on his eyes. Amazingly, Paradise Lost and his other major works, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, were composed after the lost of his sight. These major works were painstakingly and slowly dictated to secretaries. John Milton died in 1674.

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