John Milton Complete Shorter Poems

An important and innovative edition of Milton's shorter verse & the first volume to present the poems with the original spelling and pronunciations intact, offering readers the opportunity to experience the vitality of the poems as they were experienced by Milton's contemporaries:

• Includes Milton's original Latin poems, with a new English translation on facing pages for cross-comparison
• Serves as a companion to Lewalski's Paradise Lost and Loewenstein's prose selections of Milton
• Features both collected and uncollected poetry in English, Latin, and Greek, the latter two with translations
• Retains original spelling and punctuation of Milton's 1645 Poems and his 1671 Paradise Regained and Sampson Agonistes
• Offers readers comprehensive footnotes, marginal glosses, chronology, bibliography, and longer discussions in introductions to sections

Note on This Edition xii

Acknowledgments xii

List of Illustrations xiii

Chronology xiv

Textual Introduction xxi

Introduction to the 1645 Volume: Poems of Mr. John Milton 1

English and Italian Poems 11

The Stationer to the Reader 15

On the morning of CHRISTS Nativity 16

A Paraphrase on Psalm 114 28
Psalm 136 29

The Passion 32

On Time 35

Upon the Circumcision 36

At a solemn Musick 38

An Epitaph on the Marchioness of Winchester 40

On May morning 43

On Shakespear 44

On the University Carrier 45

Another on the same 46

L’Allegro 48

Il Penseroso 53

Sonnets 59

I O Nightingale 59

II Donna Leggiadra 60

III Qual in Colle Aspro 61

Canzone 62

IV Diodati, e te’l dirò 63

V Per certo i bei vostr’occhi 64

VI Giovane piano 65

VII How Soon Hath Time 66

VIII Captain or Colonel, or Knight in Arms 67

IX Lady That in the Prime of Earliest Youth 68

X Daughter to That Good Earl 69

Arcades 70
Lycidas 74

A Mask of the Same Author. Title page 81

To the Right Honourable, John Lord Vicount BRACLY 82

The Copy of a Letter Writt’n By Sir HENRY WOOTTON 84

The Persons 87

A MASK Presented At LUDLOW-Castle, 1634 88

Introduction to the Poemata, 1645 121

The Poemata, 1645 125

Translator’s Note: The Latin Poems 127

Testimonia 128

Haec quae sequuntur de Authore testimonia 130
Joannes Baptista Mansus ad Joannem Miltonium 132
Ad Joannem Miltonem Epigramma Joannis Salsilli 132
Ad Joannem Miltonum (Selvaggi) 132
Al Signor Gio. Miltoni (Antonio Francini) 134
JOANNI MILTONI LONDINIENSI (Carolus Datus) 140

Elegiarum Liber Primus 143

Elegia prima ad Carolum Diodatum 144

Elegia secunda. In obitum Præconis Academici Cantabrigiensis 152

Elegia tertia. In obitum Præsulis Wintoniensis 154

Elegia quarta. Ad Thomam Junium 158

Elegia quinta. In adventum veris 168

Elegia sexta. Ad Carolum Diodatum 178

Elegia septima. 186

Haec ego mente [Retraction] 192
In proditionem Bombardicam 194
In eandem 195
In eandem 196
In eandem 197
In inventorem Bombardæ 198
Ad Leonoram Romæ cantentem 199
Ad eandem 200
Ad eandem 201

Sylvarum Liber 203

In obitum Procancellarii medici 204

In quintum Novembris 210

In obitum Præsulis Eliensis 224
Naturam non pati senium 230
De Idea Platonica 236
Ad Patrem 240
Psalm 114 248
Philosophus ad regem 250
Ad Salsillum 252
Mansus 256

Epitaphium Damonis 266

Introduction to Poems, &c. UPON Several Occasions, 1673 284

English Poems Added in 1673 289

On the Death of a fair Infant dying of a Cough 293

Sonnets 297

XI a Book Was Writ of Late Call’d Tetrachordon 297

XII on the Same 299

XIII to Mr. H. Lawes, on His Aires 300

xiv [On y^e religious memory of m^rs Catharine Thomason] 301

xv (18) On the late Massacher in Piemont 302

xvi (19) When I consider how my light is spent 304

xvii (20) Lawrence of virtuous Father 305

xviii (21) Cyriack, whose Grandsire 306

xix (23) Methought I saw 307
The Fifth Ode of Horace. Lib. I 308
Ad Pyrrham. Ode V 309
At a Vacation Exercise in the Colledge 310
On the new forcers of Conscience under the Long PARLIAMENT 314

Psalms 316

I 316

II 316

III 317

IV 318

V 319

VI 320

VII 321

VIII 323

LXXX 324

LXXXI 326

LXXXII 328

LXXXIII 329

LXXXIV 330

LXXXV 332

LXXXVI 333

LXXXVII 335

LXXXVIII 336

Latin and Greek Poems Added in 1673 339

Poem added to Elegiarum Liber in 1673 340
Apologus de Rustico & Hero 340

Poems Added to Sylvarum Liber in 1673 342
In Effigiei Ejus Sculptorem 342

Ad Joannem Rousium 344

Introduction to the Uncollected Poems 354

Sonnets Published in 1694 357

To my Lord FAIRFAX 358

To Oliver Cromwell 360

To Sir HENRY VANE 362

To Mr. CYRIAC SKINNER Upon his Blindness 366

Unpublished Latin Poems 369

Carmina Elegiaca 370

Verses in Lesser Asclepiads (Ignauus Satrapam) 372

Introduction to Poems Published in 1671 373

Introduction to Paradise Regained 375
Paradise Regained 381

Book I 385

Book 2 401

Book 3 416

Book 4 431

Introduction to Samson Agonistes 451
Samson Agonistes 457
Of that sort of Dramatic Poem which is call’d Tragedy. 461

The Argument 462

The Persons 463

Samson Agonistes 464

Appendix 513

Bridgewater Maske 515

Manuscript of songs by Henry Lawes from A Mask 539

Trinity Manuscript: a page from A Mask 543

Select Bibliography 545

Textual Notes 555

Textual Notes to English and Italian Poems, 1645 557

Textual Notes to Poemata, 1645 565

Textual Notes to English Poems Added in 1673 569

Textual Notes to Sonnets Published in 1694 572

Textual Notes to Unpublished Poems 574

Textual Notes to Paradise Regained 575

Textual Notes to Samson Agonistes 577

“This new edition gives us an accurate picture of how Milton’s publication of his shorter poems evolved across a lifetime. Its main strength, in my opinion, is that Revard will introduce readers who might otherwise not have considered Milton as a literary polyglot to the 1645 Poemata and other Latin and Italian poems in their proper contexts, which cannot but enrich such readers’ understanding of Milton’s work.” (Milton Quarterly, 2011)

"Original spelling and punctuation are retained, and in all other ways the volume prioritizes accessibility and clarity, with chronology, introductions to each section and ample but not swamping footnotes to each poem. The introductory essays do not assume scholarly knowledge, and they make every poem seem vibrant, and vital to Milton's development as a writer."(TLS, April 2010)“A splendid student edition. Remarkably fresh and uncluttered, it offers strong historical context as well as specific linguistic guidance for the modern reader. Priority goes to the poetry and the decision to return to original spelling proves no hindrance but rather seems to deepen the reader's engagement with the texts. An outstanding edition which is easy to handle and to use.”

Margaret Kean, St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford

The Editor

Stella P. Revard is Professor Emerita of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, with a PhD in English Literature from Yale University. Her two previous books on Milton, The War in Heaven: Paradise Lost and the Tradition of Satan’s Rebellion (1980) and Milton and the Tangles of Neaera’s Hair: The Making of the 1645 Poems (1997), won Hanford awards from the Milton Society of America.

JOHN MILTON COMPLETE SHORTER POEMS WITH ORIGINAL SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

Edited by Stella P. Revard

Universally hailed as one of the greatest poets of the English language, John Milton bequeathed an unrivaled body of work to the modern world. While best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost, Milton’s literary brilliance encompassed all manner of verse forms, including the ode, mask, short epic, and classical drama. This Complete Shorter Poems is the first critical edition to present his poems in their original form — with all the intricacies of Milton’s language intact. Original spelling and punctuation have been carefully maintained, and the poems’ rhythms and cadences, often lost in modernized versions, are made accessible. Readers finally have the opportunity to experience the richness and vitality of Milton’s works just as they were received by his contemporaries.

Included are Milton’s complete collection of 1645 Poems, with the English poems reproduced in the order in which Milton arranged them in 1645, followed by his Latin poems with new English translations easily accessible on facing pages. Also featured are Milton’s two great works that appeared together in 1671 , Paradise Regained; and the poetic drama modeled on classical Greek tragedy, Samson Agonistes. The addition of invaluable, non intrusive footnotes, marginal glosses, and insightful introductions by noted Milton scholar Stella Revard will serve to illuminate the wealth of Milton’s literary allusions and greatly enhance the reader’s appreciation of his genius. Together, this new volume is a crucial addition to Milton scholarship and a fitting tribute to mark the occasion of the four-hundredth anniversary of the great poet’s birth in 1608.

JOHN MILTON COMPLETE SHORTER POEMS WITH ORIGINAL SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION

“A splendid student edition. Remarkably fresh and uncluttered, it offers strong historical context as well as specific linguistic guidance for the modern reader. Priority goes to the poetry and the decision to return to original spelling proves no hindrance but rather seems to deepen the reader’s engagement with the texts. An outstanding edition which is easy to handle and to use.
Margaret Kean, St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford