John Milton - Delphi Complete Works of John Milton (Illustrated) (Delphi Poets Series)

Few collections of John Miltons poetry were published during his lifetime. His first printed poem was On Shakespear in 1630, which was anonymously included in the Second Folio edition of Shakespeares works:

ON SHAKESPEAR

WHAT needs my Shakespear for his honourd Bones,

The labour of an age in piled Stones,

Or that his hallowd reliques should be hid

Under a Star-ypointing Pyramid?

Dear son of memory, great heir of Fame,

What needst thou such weak witnes of thy name?

Thou in our wonder and astonishment

Hast built thy self a live-long Monument.

For whilst to thsharne of slow-endeavouring art,

Thy easie numbers flow, and that each heart

Hath from the Leaves of thy unvalud Book,

Those Delphick lines with deep impression took,

Then thou our fancy of it self bereaving,

Dost make us Marble with too much conceaving;

And so Sepulcherd in such pomp dost lie,

That Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die.

In 1645 Milton published Poems , a collection of poetic works divided into English and Latin sections. It comprises Milton s youthful poetry in a variety of genres, including notable works such as An Ode on the Morning of Christs Nativity , the famous masque Comus and the pastoral elegy Lycidas . The octavo volume was issued by the Royalist publisher Humphrey Moseley. At the time, Milton was a keen advocate of republican politics, but it is uncertain to what extent the collection adopted his views. Milton s publisher was known to support Royalist poets at the time, but the collection also contains praises of aristocrats and traditionally Royalist forms, such as the masque.

A year before his death, Milton released a revised edition of the Poems , which also included 32 new works.