MILTON PARADISE LOST, BOOK I EDITED BY THE REV. H. C. BEECHING LATE EXHIBITIONER OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD Oxford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1887 [All rights reserved] ADVERTISEMENT. THE text followed in this edition is, with a few exceptions, that of Mr. R. C. Browne's edition, published by the Clarendon Press. For the convenience of those who come to the poem for the first time, a short running argument has been added. The Notes have been framed with a view of meeting the requirements of students of various ages; this must excuse what may appear the over-hardness of some and the oversimplicity of others. The essay on Milton's scansion is contributed by a friend. It is hoped that it will succeed in making intelligible the really simple, but (to judge by the notes of commentators) frequently misunderstood rules of Milton's prosody in Paradise Lost. As a guide to the young student the poetical elisions are marked in the text' by an apostrophe. I have to thank my friend Mr. J. W. Mackail, Fellow of Balliol College, for his kindness in revising the proof-sheets. |
