A Concise Companion to Milton / Edition 1

by Angelica Duran

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470656532
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	12/01/2010
Series:	Concise Companions to Literature and Culture , #39
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors ix

Introduction Angelica Duran 1

Part I Surveys

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

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

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

Part II Textual Sites

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

5 Milton's Heroic Sonnets Annabel Patterson 78

6 The Lives of Lycidas Paul Alpers 95

7 A Mask: Tradition and Innovation Katsuhiro Engetsu 111

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

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

10 The Ecology of Paradise Lost Juliet Lucy Cummins 161

11 The Messianic Vision of Paradise Regained David Gay 178

12 The Nightmare of History: Samson Agonistes Louis Schwartz 197

Part III Reference Points

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

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

Index 270

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The collection is remarkable for its collegiality. It not only respects the newcomer but allows the various contributors to follow up questions of interest to them, thus providing new insights even for long-time Miltonists." (Milton Quarterly, April 2009)

"Above all, among the current crop of books, an essay that makes A Concise Companion to Milton worth buying all on its own, is Karen Edwards on "Gender, Sex and Marriage in Paradise Lost". (Times Literary Supplement, December 2008)

"These 14 essays (plus introduction) largely succeed in their aim to 'provide readers with key guides to understanding the great influence and endurance' of the works of John Milton...The sections devoted to surveys and reference points will be especially useful for those struggling to understand Milton in his historical and cultural context." (Choice)

Editorial Reviews

"The collection is remarkable for its collegiality. It not only respects the newcomer but allows the various contributors to follow up questions of interest to them, thus providing new insights even for long-time Miltonists." (Milton Quarterly, April 2009)

"Above all, among the current crop of books, an essay that makes A Concise Companion to Milton worth buying all on its own, is Karen Edwards on "Gender, Sex and Marriage in Paradise Lost". (Times Literary Supplement, December 2008)

"These 14 essays (plus introduction) largely succeed in their aim to 'provide readers with key guides to understanding the great influence and endurance' of the works of John Milton...The sections devoted to surveys and reference points will be especially useful for those struggling to understand Milton in his historical and cultural context." (Choice)

From the Publisher