Keat's Paradise Lost

This edition and analysis of John Keats's marginalia in his personal copy of Milton's epic poem makes available for the first time all of Keats's Paradise Lost annotations and textual markings. It is the most accurate and fully annotated edition of the marginalia available. Accompanying discussion analyzes patterns and themes in the marginalia, dates them, and explores the practice of writing in books in the early 19th century. Lau's work presents new primary Keats material and offers the first formal study of this neglected aspect of Keats's canon.Keats's marginalia convey a wealth of information about his reading habits and aesthetic tastes generally, as well as about his life, personality, and creative process. They also enhance our understanding of Milton's deep and far-ranging influence on Keats's thought and work. In addition, the book makes an important contribution to the study of marginalia as a genre -- one that flourished in the Romantic era. Finally, it helps to document a stage of history in the reception of Milton's poem and therefore will be of interest to Milton scholars as well as to Keats and Romantics scholars.