John Milton (1608 1674) was arguably one of the best-read persons of his epoch. Milton s commonplace book reveals that in addition to the thoroughly humanistic education that he received at Trinity College Cambridge (1625 1632), he also conducted an extensively broad reading program of his own immediately after concluding his university studies, a program that included forays into nearly every branch of learning in a period that he affectionately referred to as his studious retirement (1632 1638). For more than 400 years, many literary critics have declared this monumental work, Paradise Lost, to be the greatest poem in the english language. Stallard contends that a full understanding of the Bible as the poem s primary inter-text is essential to appreciating the poem in its Puritan context. John Milton, Paradise Lost: The Biblically Annotated Edition is lavishly annotated with Biblical references that demonstrates that Milton was mining a wide variety of translations including the 1540 Great Bible, the 1560 Geneva Bible, the Bishops Bible of 1568, the Douay- Rheims of 1582, and the revised Authorized Version of 1612. This biblically annotated edition of Paradise Lost will be useful to scholars and students of Milton alike. That a lack of familiarity with the Bible should discourage students of english literature from reading the pinnacle achievement of one of the finest poets and minds in the english language is both sad and avoidable. This edition makes Milton more accessible, comprehensible, and enjoyable for everyone.
