Paradise Lost

(Paperback)

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A revision of the Prentice Hall edition of 1962. David Scott Kastan preserves the quality and character of Hughes's richly annotated edition in this masterful revision, which includes a thorough updating of the text, notes, and bibliographies to reflect the scholarship of the last half-century. Kastan's new introductory essay engages the pressing questions the poem raises for contemporary readers, focusing on the literary, religious, and political dimensions of Paradise Lost that have made its reading a demanding yet always exhilarating experience.

Reviews

[A]n exemplary job both of presenting the major topics of Paradise Lost and of entering the selva oscura of Milton criticism. . . . Students and scholars alike will appreciate the balanced approach to the complexities, difficulties, and conundrums of Milton's poem and the criticism on it. Kastan's prose is not just lively but chiseled, and it is destined to affect students. --Patrick Cheney, Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900
Kastan is an exemplary editor, attuned to emerging critical currents, yet steeped in the scholarship of an earlier tradition, aware of the text's provenance and reception, alert to its topicality. His introduction, a model of theoretically informed, politically committed, historically grounded criticism, makes this edition of Paradise Lost all you would expect from one of the most erudite and perceptive figures in the field. --Willy Maley, Modern Language Review
This is a superb edition, a model of careful editing and judicious annotation. --Leslie Brisman, Department of English, Yale University
"Thank you for sending this impressive edition. . . . Having edited Paradise Lost myself (Norton, 2005), I was curious and keen to see Professor Kastan's. I agree wholeheartedly with the claim (more diplomatically put) that the punctuation of the 17th century editions has no authority and that its proponents are avoiding the problem of syntax. The notes are learned and informative, without excess, and it's good to have the text of Edward Phillips' Life." Gordon Teskey, Harvard University
"This is an excellent edition of the poem. . . . Well edited, accessible, and engaging Introduction. Also nicely produceda sturdy, attractive book on good paper. I love it!" Lisa Schnell, University of Vermont
"This is the best edition of Milton. . . . The introductory material and support apparatus provide the contextual information necessary for my students to not only understand Milton's text, but to appreciate it as well. I will certainly be using this edition again and again." Tim Melnarik, Department of English, California State University, San Bernardino
"Suitable, not overwhelming, notes and apparatus. You may be sure I'll order it in future." Dr. Stephen Teichgraeber, Concord Academy

Author Bio

John Alvis is Professor of English at the University of Dallas and the Institute for Philosophic Studies.