The Value of Milton

John Leonard is Professor of English at the University of Western Ontario. His books Naming in Paradise: Milton and the Language of Adam and Eve and Faithful Labourers: A Reception History of Paradise Lost, 1667-1970 won the Milton Society of America's James Holly Hanford Award. He became an Honored Scholar of the Milton Society of America in 2014 and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2015.

• 1. Areopagitica, toleration and free speech; 2. The minor poems and 'the power / to save'; 3. The political prose, 'in liberty's defence'; 4. Paradise Lost, the sublime poem; 5. Paradise Lost, 'solid good'; 6. Paradise regained, 'To the utmost of mere man'; 7. Samson Agonistes, tragedy and terror.

'John Leonard's authority as a preeminent Miltonist is widely acknowledged. His new book is a compelling tour de force: accessible, lively, informative, and critically acute. Leonard displays an uncanny analytic flair that shows rather than tells how an effective reading of Milton might be conducted, and he writes with such verve that it is hard to imagine a scholarly book on Milton more attractive and accessible to the intelligent general reader. The Value of Milton is entertaining - without being shallow or trivializing - and frequently wry, witty, and plain funny. It emphasizes Milton's relevance to issues that remain urgent and alive - yet without any hint that Milton is valuable merely because he is relevant today. This book has the power, amid serious discussion, to move to both laughter and tears. Repeatedly it left me feeling I had grasped the much-vaunted sublimity of Milton for the first time.' Dennis Danielson, University of British Columbia