A Concise Companion to Milton

A Concise Companion to Milton provides readers with essential guides to appreciating the works of John Milton, and to understanding the great influence they have had on literature. The book consists of twelve short, newly-commissioned chapters written by internationally respected scholars from Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Combining brevity, depth and accessibility, it is an ideal first critical work on Milton.

The companion opens with a series of essays explaining how and why Milton’s works established their central place in the English literary canon. The ensuing chapters follow Milton’s major works in chronological order, clarifying complex issues that are particularly relevant to our contemporary society. Also included in the volume are a chronology and select bibliography detailing the events of Milton’s life and works alongside relevant world events.

Notes on Contributors ix

Introduction 1
Angelica Duran

Part I Surveys

1 A Reading of His "left hand": Milton's Prose 7
Robert Thomas Fallon

2 "Shedding sweet influence": The Legacy of John Milton's Works 25
John T. Shawcross

3 "The world all before [us]": More than Three Hundred Years of Criticism 43
Roy Flannagan

Part II Textual Sites

4 First and Last Fruits of Education: The Companion Poems, Epistola, and Educational Prose Works 61
Angelica Duran

5 Milton's Heroic Sonnets 78
Annabel Patterson

6 The Lives of Lycidas 95
Paul Alpers

7 A Mask: Tradition and Innovation 111
Katsuhiro Engetsu

8 The Bible, Religion, and Spirituality in Paradise Lost 128
Achsah Guibbory

9 Gender, Sex, and Marriage in Paradise 144
Karen L. Edwards

10 The Ecology of Paradise Lost 161
Juliet Lucy Cummins

11 The Messianic Vision of Paradise Regained 178
David Gay

12 The Nightmare of History: Samson Agonistes 197
Louis Schwartz

Part III Reference Points

Select Chronology: "Speak of things at hand/ Useful" 217
Edward Jones

Select Bibliography: "Much arguing, much writing, many opinions" 235
J. Martin Evans

Index 270

Angelica Duran is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Purdue University. A Milton specialist, she is on the editorial board of Milton Quarterly and is currently working on two book-length projects entitled Milton among Spaniards and Milton in Hispanoamerica. Her book on The Age of Milton and The Scientific Revolution is forthcoming in 2007.

A Concise Companion to Milton provides readers with essential guides to appreciating the works of John Milton, and to understanding the great influence they have had on literature. The book consists of twelve short, newly-commissioned chapters written by internationally respected scholars from Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Combining brevity, depth and accessibility, it is an ideal first critical work on Milton.

The companion opens with a series of essays explaining how and why Milton’s works established their central place in the English literary canon. The ensuing chapters follow Milton’s major works in chronological order, clarifying complex issues that are particularly relevant to our contemporary society. Also included in the volume are a chronology and select bibliography detailing the events of Milton’s life and works alongside relevant world events.