The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton (Modern Library)
by John Milton
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Book Summary Information
Author: John MiltonEditor: William Kerrigan
Editor: John Rumrich
Editor: Stephen M. Fallon
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-13
ISBN: 0679642536
Number of pages: 1408
Publisher: Modern Library
Book Reviews of The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton (Modern Library)
Book Review: Milton over Time
Summary: 5 Stars
The obligatory remark encompassing modern appreciation for Milton was given to us from T.S. Eliot, who believed that, "of no other poet is it so difficult to consider the poetry simply as poetry, without our theological and political dispositions... making unlawful entry." It is impossible to surmise and internalize Milton's poetry without also having to take in the historical aura of the radical man - the Milton of Parliamentary holy war and old-timey religious conservatism. His dour presence floats down to us through filtered history and infuses his poetical works with our new, never-ending quest to search for the motivation of the artist through his or her art. It is this unfair, skewed lens through which we seek the man through the work that we distort "Lycidas" into a declaration of war against the Anglican priesthood rather than a young poet's fearful hope of obtaining Fame before he, too, dies. This skewed lens that views "Comus" as solely a piece of political resurgence of a disgraced Earl's family rather than a confident poet's first attempt to fuse epic aesthetics with austere Christian doctrine. And this skewed lens that lessens the infinite importance of "Paradise Lost," its indelible impact on all major writers in English since, to a longish document of literary curio of occasional allegorical significance.
There is a great deal of time, politicking, and structure to overcome when reading Milton, whether just being introduced to his work or continually engaged with it. These troubles in reading him seep through most of his poems and prose. And even without the myth of the poet clouding his meaning, he was a terribly learned writer, and his work can be difficult to approach for even the casual scholar.
Which is why this edition of Milton's poetry and prose possesses a magisterial significance over all other currently and formerly published editions. William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon have done a remarkable job of assuaging the gaps between wizened Milton and a contemporary readership. As stated in this edition's general preface, the aim of this publication was to make his "poetry and prose...almost entirely modernized." The numerous footnotes (thank God, an edition that sagaciously gives us the explanations on the same page as the text, rather than the obsolescent Oxford World Editions than continue to insist on annoying, certainly close to psychically debilitating when reading, endnotes hidden in the last coarse pages of the book) flesh out the world and the mind of Milton for the interested reader, lessening the mental interruptions caused by frequent Google searches for this ancient God, or that historical figure, or that poetical allusion, which editions with fewer, less thorough, or even no footnotes require as supplement to make Milton tenable.
This is a comprehensive publication, the likes of which I wish were made more often. It is a shame, hurtful to our overall cultural integrity, that we generally look on Milton as a religious wacko, or his work as a quagmire of venous allusions, because his poetry his so achingly beautiful, his philosophical observations still probing and important to our time, his love to reunite the past literary traditions with the current so drastically needed by our disenfranchised society hammering itself slowly to pieces in search of something dear to hold on to and unite our affairs. Like the thousand pieces of Osiris' scattered body that Milton offers us in "Areopagitica" as an allegory to fractured Truth, we too can find meaning in Milton's embattled name and work in the difficult, pluralistic today.
Summary of The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton (Modern Library)
John Milton is, next to William Shakespeare, the most influential English poet, a writer whose work spans an incredible breadth of forms and subject matter. The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton celebrates this author's genius in a thoughtfully assembled book that provides new modern-spelling versions of Milton's texts, expert commentary, and a wealth of other features that will please even the most dedicated students of Milton's canon. Edited by a trio of esteemed scholars, this volume is the definitive Milton for our time.In these pages you will find all of Milton's verse, from masterpieces such as Paradise Lost-widely viewed as the finest epic poem in the English language-to shorter works such as the Nativity Ode, Lycidas, A Masque, and Samson Agonistes. Milton's non-English language sonnets, verses, and elegies are accompanied by fresh translations by Gordon Braden. Among the newly edited and authoritatively annotated prose selections are letters, pamphlets, political tracts, essays such as Of Education and Areopagitica, and a generous portion of his heretical Christian Doctrine. These works reveal Milton's passionate advocacy of controversial positions during the English Civil War and the Commonwealth and Restoration periods.
With his deep learning and the sensual immediacy of his language, Milton creates for us a unique bridge to the cultures of classical antiquity and medieval and Renaissance Christianity. With this in mind, the editors give careful attention to preserving the vibrant energy of Milton's verse and prose, while making the relatively unfamiliar aspects of his writing accessible to modern readers. Notes identify the old meanings and roots of English words, illuminate historical contexts-including classical and biblical allusions-and offer concise accounts of the author's philosophical and political assumptions. This edition is a consummate work of modern literary scholarship.
Praise
"Over the coming months, [John Milton's] 400th anniversary will be celebrated in many different ways, but it is highly unlikely that any of the tributes he receives will do as much for him as the appearance of the Modern Library edition of his collected poetry and selected prose. The edition is a model of its kind, well designed and attractively produced. There are scholarly but unintimidating footnotes and helpful introductions to the major works. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized -- a difficult decision but the right one..A great deal has been packed in, but Milton has still been left room to breathe. The whole enterprise is meant to be reader-friendly, and it succeeds." - The Wall Street Journal
"This magnificent edition gives us everything we need to read Milton intelligently and with fresh perception. You could take it to a desert island, or just stay home and further your education in a great writer."
-William H. Pritchard, Amherst College
"For generations of readers Milton has been the measure of both eloquence and nobility of mind. For the next generation this new Modern Library volume will be the standard: it is meticulously edited, full of tactful annotations that set the stage for his work and his times, and it brings Milton, as a poet and a thinker, vividly alive before us."
-Robert Hass
"Years ago I began a series of poems about Milton and his daughters. Ever since, I have been combing through Milton's poems and prose for those moments when the poet would turn and speak to the poet in me. It is in the new Kerrigan-Rumrich-Fallon edition that I now find prompt rejoinders to questions, ready clarifications of problems, and a more intimate dimension of that formidable adjective Miltonic."
-Richard Howard
"A superb edition of the great poet, with modernized spelling, lucid introductions to each work, illuminating footnotes, and fresh prose translations of poems in Latin, Greek, and Italian. This will surely be the edition of choice for teachers, students, and general readers too."
-Leo Damrosch, Harvard University
"The introductions alone constitute a fine new book on Milton, beautifully written, challenging and balanced, with equal care and insight given to textual, biographical, historical, literary-historical and literary-critical concerns. It is a book to last a lifetime."
-James Earl, University of Oregon
"In this landmark edition, teachers will discover a powerful ally in bringing the excitement of Milton's poetry and prose to new generations of students. In the clarity of its overall conception, its thoroughness, and its never-faltering attention to literary and historical detail, the Modern Library Milton serves almost as another teacher-patient, thoughtful, endlessly concerned with genuine comprehension."
-William C. Dowling, Rutgers University
"The editors display a remarkable combination of scholarly rigor and sensitivity to literary values, expressed in prose of exemplary clarity and extraordinary grace; even the notes, concise as well as precise, approach a kind of epigrammatic brilliance. A superb edition."
-Edward W. Tayler, Columbia University
"The editors succeed gloriously, meeting the needs of the whole spectrum, from general readers to advanced students. A modernized text, one sensitive to Milton's poetic rhythm, illuminates both the author's meaning and artistry. It's a beautiful edition-a home worthy of its subject."
-Marina Favila, James Madison University
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