Review

"A beautiful new edition from Oxford.... Pullman's a shrewd choice for commentator. He's thrilled many young readers with 'His Dark Materials,' a fantasy trilogy inspired by his reading of Milton. In fact, with his commentary to guide us, this edition of 'Paradise Lost' seems backlit by Pullman's own epic."--Los Angeles Times

"What his volume lacks in learned detail, it amply makes up for in verve and sweep and in the sheer pleasure derived from Milton's language.... Presented in this way, the poem is so enticing that readers may ultimately agree with Mr. Pullman that 'no one, not even Shakespeare, surpasses Milton in his command of the sound, the music, the weight and taste and texture of English words.'"--Wall Street Journal

"A handsome, lean new edition of John Milton's astonishing Christian epic.... Novelist Philip Pullman is a delightful companion on the trip through the book."--Ron Smith, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Product Description

Paradise Lost is the great epic poem of the English language, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle ranges across heaven, hell, and earth, as Satan and his band of rebel angels conspire against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, motivated by all too human temptations, but whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love. This marvelous new edition boasts an introduction by one of Milton's most famous modern admirers, the best-selling novelist Philip Pullman. Indeed, Pullman not only provides a general introduction, but also introduces each of the twelve books of the poem. In these commentaries, Pullman illuminates the power of the poem and its achievement as a story, suggests how we should read it today, and describes its influence on him and his acclaimed trilogy His Dark Materials, which takes its title from a line in the poem. His observations offer a tribute that is both personal and insightful, and his enthusiasm for Milton's language, skill, and supreme gifts as a storyteller is infectious. He encourages readers above all to experience the poem for themselves, and surrender to its enchantment. Pullman's tremendous admiration and passion for Paradise Lost will attract a whole new generation of readers to this classic of English literature. An ideal gift, the book is beautifully produced, printed in two colors throughout, illustrated with the twelve engravings from the first illustrated edition published in 1688, with ribbon marker.

彌爾頓（1608～1674）英國詩人、政論傢。1608年12月9日齣生於倫敦一個富裕的清教徒傢庭。父親愛好文學，受其影響，彌爾頓從小喜愛讀書，尤其喜愛文學。1625年16歲時入劍橋大學，並開始寫詩，1632年取得碩士學位。因目睹當時國教日趨反動，他放棄瞭當教會牧師的念頭，閉門攻讀文學6 年，一心想寫齣能傳世的偉大詩篇。

1638年彌爾頓為增長見聞到當時歐洲文化中心意大利旅行，拜會瞭當地的文人誌士，其中有被天主教會囚禁的伽利略。彌爾頓深為伽利略在逆境中堅持真理的精神所感動。翌年聽說英國革命即將爆發，便中止旅行，倉促迴國，投身革命運動。

1641年，彌爾頓站在革命的清教徒一邊，開始參加宗教論戰，反對封建王朝的支柱國教。他在一年多的時間裏發錶瞭5本有關宗教自由的小冊子，1644年又為爭取言論自由而寫瞭《論齣版自由》。

1649年，革命陣營中的獨立派將國王推上斷頭颱，成立共和國。彌爾頓為提高革命人民的信心和鞏固革命政權，發錶《論國王與官吏的職權》等文，並參加瞭革命政府工作，擔任拉丁文秘書職務。1652年因勞纍過度，雙目失明。

1660年，王朝復闢，彌爾頓被捕入獄，不久又被釋放。從此他專心寫詩，為實現偉大的文學抱負而艱苦努力，在親友的協助下，共寫齣3首長詩：《失樂園》(1667)，《復樂園》(1671)和《力士參孫》(1671)。1674年11月8日卒於倫敦。