Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)

Amazon has the bad habit of lumping reviews of multiple editions of a book without regard as to author/editor or publisher, to the detriment of the buyer's choosing an edition, so I write to make a few comments on the 984,562 editions of "Paradise Lost" listed for purchase. I have used the titles as listed by Amazon to help find the editions I refer to, and, with the exception of the books by Kastan, Lanzara, and BookCaps, the ones I discuss below are ones I own and am familiar with.The version with an introduction and comments by Pullman has text that is large and readable, line numbers and some nice illustrations, taken from the first illustrated edition, published in 1688. It is a nice copy for those who want just the text of the poem. The text is based on Stephen Orgel's 2008 Paradise Lost (Oxford World's Classics) which has been modernized presumably with respect to capitalization, spelling and punctuation. The comments by Pullman are worthwhile, but, while he may be a very good writer, he is not a scholar of Milton. Unlike Orgel, there are no annotations or notes to explain Milton's often arcane language and allusions.For readers seeking annotated versions, I suggest the following.The ultimate edition of Milton is Alastair Fowler's Milton: Paradise Lost: it has been called the Bible of Milton scholars; one review I saw called it suitable for graduate students majoring in Milton. It is one of the few available based on the first edition of "Paradise Lost", published in 1667, but Fowler states that it also includes the additions made in the second edition of 1674 --- the version that most of today's editors use. Know that Fowler has produced a very, very scholarly version with many, many notes, sometimes to the point that they leave only two or three lines of the poem on the page, so I strongly urge using the "Look Inside" feature before deciding to buy it. I recommend Fowler's 1998 Milton: Paradise Lost (2nd Edition) edition in used paperback ---- reissued in 2006 with a new cover and much higher price.The blurb from the publisher on the Pullman webpage misleads the reader by mentioning "This is the first fully-annotated, old-spelling edition ..." It ain't (as the small print says). I can't find the actual book this blurb refers to, there are several that might be the one mentioned. One such version, with very favorable recommendations, is Barbara K. Lewalski's 2007 Paradise Lost that reproduces the original language, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and italics of the 1674 text. Its annotations are on the same page. Again, I would again urge potential buyers to "Look Inside." (Incidentally, I was able to find a .pdf copy of it online).Another annotated edition, again with those on the same page, that sticks close to the original 1674 text (but with some minor modernization) is Merritt Y. Hughes' Paradise Lost (Hackett Classics), first published in 1935, and revised in 1962. It is advertised as one popular with college professors for their classes, whatever that may mean. From what I gather, Fowler has replaced Hughes as the scholarly version to use.The edition by Hughes was taken in 2003 by David Scott Kastan (Paradise Lost (Hackett Classics)) and edited more extensively, again with the annotations on the same page. Incidentally, Kastan's comments on how he edited, along with comments on any editor's choices when dealing with Milton, are well worth reading, and can be found under "Textual Introduction" using the "Look Inside" feature. I urge reading them to understand how and why there are so many different editions of Milton.Yet another annotated edition that comes close to the original is by John Leonard's Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics). The ad for this version states that the text has been modernized to the degree of reducing some capitals and italics, and correcting the spelling and some punctuation. It is annotated, but not to the degree of Fowler --- but the notes are at the back of the book rather than the bottom of the page as seems customary and which I personally find difficult to use because of constantly having to flip between pages. Again, I would urge potential buyers to "Look Inside."There are many other scholarly editions available in addition to the ones I have mentioned here, including one online at the John Milton Reading Room at Dartmouth College.For those who might like a less challenging version of "Paradise Lost", I suggest BookCaps "translation" (Amazon's words, not mine) Paradise Lost In Plain and Simple English or at an even less difficult level, Joseph Lanzara's John Milton's Paradise Lost In Plain English: A Simple, Line By Line Paraphrase Of The Complicated Masterpiece. Should those prove too difficult, there might be somewhere a copy by Classics Illustrated comics, although a search by Google turns up nothing --- perhaps they never published one.Since each edition of "Paradise Lost" has its strengths and weaknesses, how does the buyer go about selecting an edition for purchase? To me, it's rather like buying a car --- ultimately based upon personal preference, but in this case, rather than engine and body style, determined by the way the editor has modified Milton's language and added annotations, and their degree of adherence to his original language --- some editors produce as little modernization as possible to retain Milton's original meter and rhythm for reading aloud, while others try for a more modern sound. I would suggest using the "Look Inside" feature, to see what the editor has done, to help making a decision.Whichever edition you buy ---- and I recommend the one by Lewalski ---- may you find great enjoyment in reading what I consider the greatest epic poem in the English language --- although you might agree more with what Donald Sutherland's character, Jennings, had to say about it in the movie "Animal House": "Now what can we say about Milton's "Paradise Lost"? It's a very long poem. It was written a long time ago, and I'm sure a lot of you have difficulty understanding exactly what Milton was trying to say. ..... Don't write this down, but I find Milton probably as boring as you find Milton. Mrs. Milton found him boring too. He's a little bit long-winded, he doesn't translate very well into our generation, and his jokes are terrible."

Regardless of edition, Paradise Lost is one of the finest books ever written, and possibly my favorite. While the subject matter is Christian, the book's greatness transcends religious categories, and I would recommend it equally to secular readers. It is uniformly spectacular in describing heaven, earth, and hell, angels and mortals. However the portrayal of Satan is particularly remarkable. At the start, though at his lowest point, he appears an idealistic hero - championing freedom and the power of the human/angelic mind against a more powerful oppressor. However, as it says in the beginning, his "high words [bear] semblance of worth not substance." As his situation improves, he's revealed as a hypocrite enslaved by his own pride, who increasingly disgusts even himself.As others have pointed out, this is a beautiful edition of the book, well bound with big type. The Dore illustrations are a huge plus, and for me it's hard to imagine buying an edition without them. Blake's are the only real competition, and done in a very different style.For the text, there are two issues that may be a challenge for first-time readers. One, as noted by others, there are no annotations. Honestly, vast sections of the book go by with nothing you'd want to look up anyway. A couple parts have tricky allusions (part of Book I comes to mind), but they're few enough to look up elsewhere, and Milton usually spends a couple lines giving you the gist of what he's referring to.The second issue is spellings, which are modernized. While unneeded, this generally makes reading slightly easier without altering pronunciation. For "ed" endings, modern pronunciations (winged) are spelled normally, while the extra-syllable form (wing-ed) is indicated by a grave symbol. When "the" appears before a vowel, this edition doesn't specify whether to elide (as in, th'Aeonian mount). Hence you either have to infer based on the number of syllables (usually 10 per line) or simply ignore the issue. I was concerned at first, but upon reading it's barely an inconvenience at all. All or most of the other elisions remain explicit.Overall, this is a superb edition, and perfect if you want a nice hardback containing the Dore illustrations.

Every christian should try to read this book. It speaks to 'justifying the ways of God with Man'. Helps to understand the fall of man, the character and work of the devil, the perfect justice of God in judgment of the devil, man, the fallen angels and even the judgement of His own Son, when he bore our sins on the cross.

slightly damaged but other than that it's in good condition inside and is a great read!

The book is not cool like Harry Potter. Just kidding. It was delivered on time and in great shape. Also, it seems Eve is a bit of a troublemaker.

Really great! Perfect for the hillsdale college course

Arrived banged up around the edges. The biggest issue was a creases and ripples throughout the cover from printing. It's not very pretty, I wouldn't put it in a collection but it can be read. I'm not very impressed though.