A Concise Companion to Milton

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