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.

"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 )