The Cambridge Companion to Milton

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996 reprint of 1989 first edition. Laminated illustrated wrappers, 8vo,. xiv, 297 pp. From the preface - "This book, as its title suggests, is intended to provide friendly and helpful company for any student of Milton. .What follows.. is not a series of homogeneous encyclopaedia articles but eighteen original essays by eighteen different human beings who care about Milton, who would (and do) disagree with each other about innumerable issues, and who seek in an informative, responsible, often argumentative way to say something important about a subject they love. Unfortunately, this book does not include discussion of all of Milton's works, nor does it exemplify every major critical approach; such are the limitations of a single volume. But each contributor has been asked to try to do in a modest way what Milton himself so consistently does: by means of a particular style, angle of vision, or argument to encourage critical thought, further study, and a process of understanding. Moreover, despite the fact that this book is intended primarily for the serious student approaching Milton for the first time, I have invited each author to speak in his or her own voice, and without condescension. A few pencil marks in margin, otherwise Near Very Good.