John Milton

An edition of Milton's later work rk includes the text of six books of Paradise Lost, The History of Britain and the whole of Samson Agonistes. Through his introduction, commmentary and full annotations, Tony Davies sets the works in their political and cultural contexts, and discusses such themes as the `heroic'; sexuality and gender; and Milton's interrogation of the meaning of history.

This is the fourth volume to be published in Oxford's 11-volume edition of the Complete Works of John Milton, the first complete scholarly edition for nearly 100 years. It brings together (for the first time in a single volume) Milton's English writing in prose on the political issues that exercised him throughout his life - civil and religious liberty, republicanism and the constitution of a free commonwealth, the rights and duties of citizens, resistance of tyranny and the role of military force in securing national stability. The eleven pieces here presented in chronological order, from The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649) to Milton's last prose work, his translation of the proclamation announcing the election of John Sobieski as King of Poland (1674), articulate his responses to the unprecedented events of the seventeenth century - civil war, regicide, the Commonwealth, Cromwellian rule, the Restoration of monarchy and the restored Stuart regime -- events which shaped the social, political and religious structures of modern Britain. They do so with unrivalled polemical and rhetorical skill, instinct with revolutionary fervour and political idealism. Each title is freshly edited from newly examined and collated copies of either the first and subsequent seventeenth-century editions or of the manuscript record to give the most accurate and authoritative texts. A headnote to each analyses and discusses (often with new evidence) its composition, production and reception. A very substantial general introduction sets the writings in the context of European intellectual history and of contemporary British controversy and polemic. References and allusions to events and to texts are elucidated by full and detailed annotation and commentary which takes full account of recent Milton scholarship but also often draws on original research. Taken together, these features constitute the definitive edition of these texts for the 21st century. Both editors are established seventeenth-century scholars with expertise particularly in the political and religious literature of the Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration periods.

Originally published in 1903, this collection gathers together the poetry of John Milton in a single volume. The text is carefully edited by William Aldis Wright (1831–1914), a renowned scholar of the time and a Milton specialist. In the preface Wright explains the reasons behind favouring particular editions and various editorial judgements, the end result being an attempt to remain as close to Milton's original vision as possible. There are numerous critical notes, but in accordance with a generally unobtrusive approach, these are contained towards the end of the text. This remains a fine edition that will be of value to anyone with an interest in Milton scholarship and the history of English literature.

Title: The Poetical Works of John Milton. A new edition, ... revised from the text of T. Newton by T. A. W. Buckley]. Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC. The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Milton, John; Buckley, Theodore Alois William; Newton, Thomas; 1880.]. viii. 570 p.; 8 . 11609.f.17.