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Odes, Pastorals, Masques

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First published in 1975 as part of the Cambridge Milton series, this volume brings together Milton's early religious odes, pastorals, and masques, including Ode on the morning of Christ's nativity, L'allegro, Il penseroso, Arcades, Comus, and Lycidas. Each work is given its own introduction, and is accompanied in most cases by extensive notes, commentaries, and appendices. Designed for use by the individual student, the class, and the teacher in schools, colleges, and universities, the Cambridge Milton offers a unique emphasis and approach to the poetry, which encourages individual resourcefulness in the exploration of the texts.

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 1975

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About the author

John Milton

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People best know John Milton, English scholar, for Paradise Lost , the epic poem of 1667 and an account of fall of humanity from grace.

Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.

Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.


John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.

Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.

William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."

Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.

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