John Milton Complete Shorter Poems (eBook)

Stella Revard is Professor Emerita of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, with a Ph. D. in English Literature from Yale University. Her two previous books on Milton, The War in Heaven: Paradise Lost and the Tradition of Satan's Rebellion (1980) and Milton and the Tangles of Neaera's Hair: The Making of the 1645 Poems (1997), won Hanford awards from the Milton Society of America.

Note on This Edition xii

Acknowledgments xii

List of Illustrations xiii

Chronology xiv

Textual Introduction xxi

Introduction to the 1645 Volume: Poems of Mr. John Milton 1

English and Italian Poems 11

Introduction to the Poemata, 1645 125

Elegiarum Liber Primus 143

Sylvarum Liber 203

Introduction to Poems, &c. Upon Several Ocassions, 1673 289

Latin and Greek Poems Added in 1673 339

Poems Added to Sylvarum Liber In 1673 342

Sonnets Published in 1694 357

Unpublished Latin Poems 369

Appendix 513

Select Bibliography 545

Textual Notes 555

"This new edition gives us an accurate picture of how
Milton's publication of his shorter poems evolved across a
lifetime. Its main strength, in my opinion, is that Revard
will introduce readers who might otherwise not have considered
Milton as a literary polyglot to the 1645 Poemata and other Latin
and Italian poems in their proper contexts, which cannot but enrich
such readers' understanding of Milton's
work." (Milton Quarterly, 2011)
"A splendid student edition. Remarkably fresh and
uncluttered, it offers strong historical context as well as
specific linguistic guidance for the modern reader. Priority goes
to the poetry and the decision to return to original spelling
proves no hindrance but rather seems to deepen the reader's
engagement with the texts. An outstanding edition which is easy to
handle and to use."

"Original spelling and punctuation are retained, and in all
other ways the volume prioritizes accessibility and clarity, with
chronology, introductions to each section and ample but not
swamping footnotes to each poem. The introductory essays do not
assume scholarly knowledge, and they make every poem seem vibrant,
and vital to Milton's development as a writer."(TLS, April
2010)
Margaret Kean, St. Hilda's College, University of Oxford