Book excerpt: Excerpt from Comus, L'allegro, IL Penseroso, and Lycidas: With Other of Milton's Shorter Poems The shorter poems of Milton that make up this volume comprise a group of poems among the most precious in English verse. They are classics in our literature, and as such must take their place wherever English poetry is read or studied. Milton is our most difficult poet, and calls for study; yet these poems are his least difficult work, and offer the student, therefore, not only their own worth as poetry, but also the easiest approach to the study and love of Milton. It is the aim of this volume to help the teacher (who counts more than any book) not alone in preparing students for examination, but also in leading them to a true appreciation of Milton's poetry, in and for itself. To this end several poems, not usually required in the examinations for college entrance, have been included in the volume. The notes, it is hoped, will prove full, but not over-full. Needed help is given in regard to obsolete words, in illustration of Milton's borrowings, in explanation of his allusions, metaphors, the more difficult points in his prosody and (a neglected subject) his rimes; but non-essentials have been resolutely omitted. It is always a pleasing duty to acknowledge one's indebtedness to one's predecessors - who, in the present case, form a long line from the early editors such asWarton, Todd, and Newton, to the veritable host of modernwitnesses, moreparticularly Masson, Verity, and especially Osgood, whoseadmirable Classical Mythology of Milton's English Poems, has imposed a lasting obligation upon every student of Milton. Due credit, it is believed, has been given in all cases, except such matters as have become commonplaces of Miltonic criticism. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.