The major works

This edition brings together a unique combination of Miltons poetry and prose - all the English verse together with a generous selection from the major prose writings - to give the essence of his work and thinking. Miltons 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 and Magistrates. 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 Miltons career in relation to the political and religious upheavals of his time. The extensive notes cover syntax, vocabulary, historical context, and biblical and classical allusions. The introduction traces Miltons changing conception of his own vocation, and the critical reception his work has received over the past four centuries.