Written at a time of personal and political crisis in Milton's career (1658-65), Paradise Lost is the greatest epic poem in English literature. It had an immense influence on the English Romantics and, through them, on modern poetry. This Norton Critical edition is based on the 1674 edition of the poem, the last to appear in Milton's lifetime, with a few emendations and adoptions from the first edition and from the scribal manuscript, and noted. Gordon Tesky provides readers with a freshly edited text intended for those approaching Milton for the first time. Spelling and punctuation have been modernized, the latter within the limits imposed by Milton's syntax. The text of Paradise Lost is accompanied by an introduction, an introduction, an account of Milton's life, ample annotations, a glossary, and suggestions for further reading. Also included is an unusually rich criticism section, which collects forty-eight diverse commentaries and interpretations, culled from the enormous body of scholarly writing on the poem. -- From Back Cover.