David Scott Kastan Libri

“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” Blind, broken by the death of his wife and bitterly disappointed by the Restoration, Milton dictated his sweeping biblical epic Paradise Lost to a series of helpers. While the struggle between God and Satan rages across the cosmos, the human tragedy of Adam and Eve – the temptation and fall – is movingly depicted in language unsurpassed in its musicality and beauty. A staggering and audacious undertaking – seeking, in Milton's words, to “justify the ways of God to men” – Paradise Lost has been revered since its initial publication, inspiring writers from Mary Shelley to William Wordsworth, and is widely considered to be the greatest poem ever written in the English language.

A play alive with escapades and action, comedy and history, Henry IV, Part One begins the transformation of the madcap Prince Hal into the splendid ruler King Henry. In it a rebellion against King and State is juxtaposed with another rebellion–the riotous misbehavior of Hal and his companions, principally Falstaff. A superbly funny liar, coward, lecher, and cheat, the larger-than-life character Falstaff turns this great historical drama into a masterpiece of counterpoint and design. Each Edition Includes: • Comprehensive explanatory notes • Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship • Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English • Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories • An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography