Paradise Lost (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by John Milton, John Bradshaw, John Lemoinne, et al.

Book Overview

&&LIParadise Lost&&L/I, by &&LBJohn Milton&&L/B, is part of the &&LIBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&LI &&L/Iseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LIBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LIBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/Ipulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" &&L/P&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"As a young student, &&LBJohn Milton&&L/B fantasized about bringing the poetic elocution of Homer and Virgil to the English language. Milton realized this dream with his graceful, sonorous &&LIParadise Lost&&L/I, now considered the most influential epic poem in English literature.&&L/P&&LP style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" &&L/PA retelling of the biblical story of mankind's fall from grace, Milton's epic opens shortly after the dramatic expulsion of Satan and his army of angels from Heaven. What follows is a cosmic battle between good and evil that ranges across vast, splendid tracts of time and space, from the wild abyss of Chaos and the fiery lake of Hell to the Gate of Heaven and God's newly created paradise, the Garden of Eden. Controversy still swirls around Milton's magnificent and sympathetic characterization of Satan, a portrait so compelling that many critics have maintained that he is the true hero of the story. &&LBDavid Hawkes&&L/B is Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. His books include &&LIIdols of the Marketplace&&L/I (2001) and &&LIIdeology&&L/I (second edition, 2003), and he has contributed articles to &&LIThe Nation&&L/I, the&&LI Times Literary Supplement&&L/I, and the &&LIJournal of the History of Ideas&&L/I.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593080956
• ISBN13: 9781593080952
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
• Length: 496 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The definitive Paradise Lost resource

It is a laborious read, but John Milton's Paradise Lost is worth it. First published in 1667, Paradise Lost remains, many contend, the greatest poem ever published in English, and Milton is deemed second only to Shakespeare among the pantheon of English writers. When reading Milton, be prepared for hundreds of references to Greek and Roman mythology that few of us (myself included) are familiar with as well as works saturated in biblical references and allusions and much obscure vocabulary. Happily, this Norton Critical Edition includes hundreds of notes--footnotes, so there is no disruptive flipping back and forth! This edition also offers dozens of critical essays on Paradise Lost, some dating back to its publication, a couple of Milton's prose works and an extensive glossary. Whether reading for pleasure or for (school) credit, this NCE of Paradise Lost is a godsend.

an Invaluable text

I ordered this text to help write a paper, and it has ended up serving as my primary text for my research. The text is at least as good as any of the other editions I have looked at, the footnotes are top-notch, and the critical articles are some of the siminal works. My only gripe is that there are no visual markers in the text for the footnotes, they are simply at the bottom of the page, signified by line number. Because of this, I sometimes don't realize that there are footnotes on a particular line, but this is a minor problem.

"Once lost, but I was found"

Rating Paradise Lost on a 5-star chart is not even fair.Some books are not to be rated at all, `cos they do deserve more.Paradise Lost deserves your time and your mind.