A two-volume history of the criticism of John Milton's epic 'Paradise Lost', tracing the major debates as they have unfolded over the past three centuries.

Short, accessible essays from fifteen recognized Milton specialists touching on the most important topics and themes in Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost and the Making of English Literary Criticism identifies the early reception of Paradise Lost as a site of contest over the place of literature in

William Poole recounts Milton's life as England’s self-elected national poet and explains how the greatest poem of the English language came to be written. Ho