Best known as the author of the epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton (1608–74) was also an accomplished writer of shorter verse forms. This treasury presents twenty of the best of these "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," "On Shakespeare," "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," "Comus, A Mask," "Lycidas," "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont," "On His Blindness," "On His Deceased Wife," "Samson Agonistes," and more. In this carefully chosen selection, readers will discover the wide erudition, mastery of meter and rhythm, and superb artistic control that have earned Milton a preeminent place in English literature.