Preface; John Milton: significant dates; 1. Milton's social life Stephen B. Dobranski; 2. Milton's Ludlow masque Cedric Brown; 3. Lycidas J. Martin Evans; 4. Poems 1645: the future poet Colin Burrow; 5. Milton's politics Martin Dzelzainis; 6. Milton's prose Thomas N. Corns; 7. Milton's sonnets and his contemporaries R. F. Hall; 8. The genres of Paradise Lost Barbara Kiefer Lewalski; 9. Language and knowledge in Paradise Lost John Leonard; 10. The Fall and Milton's theodicy Dennis Danielson; 11. Milton's Satan John Carey; 12. Milton and the sexes Diane K. McColley; 13. Milton and the reforming spirit Georgia Christopher; 14. How Milton read the Bible: the case of Paradise Regained Mary Ann Radzinowicz; 15. A reading of Samson Agonistes Joan S. Bennett; 16. Milton's readers Nicholas von Maltzahn; 17. Milton's place in intellectual history William Kerrigan; 18. Milton's works and life: select studies and resources R. G. Siemens; Index.