Selected Poems

by John Milton

Book Overview

Best known as the author of the epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton (1608-74) was also an accomplished writer of shorter verse forms. This treasury presents twenty of the best of these works: "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," "On Shakespeare," "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," "Comus, A Mask," "Lycidas," "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont," "On His Blindness," "On His Deceased Wife," "Samson Agonistes," and more.
In this carefully chosen...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 048627554X
• ISBN13: 9780486275543
• Release Date: January 2016
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.2" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Milton, England hath need of thee

This volume includes most of the short poetry or one of the greatest of all English poets. Among the poems are what is considered the finest elegy in the English language ( Lycidas) the great verse - drama (Samson Agonistes) and what is without question one of the most moving poems in the English language( To his Blindness). There are of course many editions and anthologies in which these poems are published and commented on extensively. 'Dover' provides the bare text itself as the minimum price.

Good Collection, Extensive Annotation in Appendix

The World's Classics "Selected Poetry" by John Milton is virtually a complete collection of his English poetry. The price is low, the font size is quite adequate, and best of all it offers extensive annotation, a real asset to most readers. The annotation is located in an appendix rather than as footnotes on each page. I first read a page of poetry unaided, moved to the appendix to browse the appropriate "footnotes", and then returned to the page of poetry. This may sound awkward, but it worked well. Unlike many collections, this edition contained all of Milton's English sonnets, several which I had not encountered before. The lengthy "Paradise Lost" is moderately abridged and a new reader might find this a good way to become acquainted with Milton's epic poem. But a better approach is to read the unabridged Norton edition of "Paradise Lost". Look at the various reader reviews and decide for yourself. I particularly enjoyed Samson Agonistes, a rather long, but not difficult poem. I suggest first reading the Biblical story of Samson in Judges, Chapters 13-16, to better appreciate Milton's development of this classic story. The suffering of the blind Samson in captivity is poignant, particularly as Milton himself was blind and aging when he created this remarkable poetic story.

Great Price, Good Selection, But Sparse Footnotes

Excluding the lengthy epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, this Dover Thrift edition provides nearly all of John Milton's poetry that you are likely to encounter, including the 45-page dramatic poem Samson Agonistes.I recommend this Dover edition, but with some reservation. The price is low, the print is large and easy to read, but the footnotes are sparse. I relied on both a good dictionary for help with archaic words and on Thomas Bulfinch's "The Age of Fable" for aid in unraveling obscure poetic references to Greek and Roman mythology.If you don't have some familiarity with Shakespeare or other 17th century poets or writers, you might consider an edition with more complete annotation. I suggest either the Oxford World's Classics "Selected Poetry" by John Milton (more extensive footnotes, but somewhat inaccessible in an appendix) or the Everyman edition, "Complete English Poems, Of Education and Aeropagitica" (footnotes at the page bottom, but the print throughout is a bit small.)