This Norton critical edition includes:

The 1674 text of "Paradise Lost", with corrections and adaptations from the first edition and the manuscript. The spelling and punctuation have been modernized for students. An enlightening introduction and ample explanatory notes by Gordon Teskey.

Source material and background, including Milton's premier work, "Areopagitica", in its entirety, and selected excerpts from the Bible.

Thematically organized comments and interpretations—one hundred seventy-eight in total, thirty-nine of which are new in the Second Edition—from classic evaluations to contemporary research.

A glossary of names and suggestions for further reading.