{"product_id":"9781853264108","title":"The English Poems of John Milton","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWith an Introduction and Notes by Laurence Lerner, formerly Professor of English at the University of Sussex.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Milton (1608-74) has a strong claim to be considered the greatest English poet after Skakespeare. His early poems, collected and published in 1645, include the much loved pair \u003cem\u003eL'Allegro\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eIl Penseroso\u003c\/em\u003e ('the cheerful man and the thoughtful man'), \u003cem\u003eLycidas\u003c\/em\u003e (his great elegy on a fellow poet) and \u003cem\u003eComus\u003c\/em\u003e (the one masque which is still read today). When the Civil War began Milton abandoned poetry for politics and wrote a series of pamphlets in defence of the Parliamentary party, then in defence of the execution of Charles I: these include his great defence of the freedom of the press,\u003cem\u003e Areopagitica.\u003c\/em\u003e In the course of this work he lost his sight, and was blind for the last twenty years of his life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\r\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring this time he wrote his two great epics,\u003cem\u003e Paradise Lost \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eParadise Regained\u003c\/em\u003e, and his retelling of the story of Samson as a Greek tragedy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"John Milton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":42890739155104,"sku":"9781853264108","price":5.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/8637\/5072\/products\/BNCImageAPI_f862554d-16f1-4ca9-9df2-150a262c1fdb.jpg?v=1672352612","url":"https:\/\/rivendell-books.com\/products\/9781853264108","provider":"Rivendell Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}