This volume offers a series of fresh explorations of the life, writing, and reputation of John Milton. The ten papers take us inside Milton's verse and prose, into the context of the events and the intellectual debates within which they were written, and into the later worlds within which his reputation evolved and fluctuated. Key topics discussed include: his political beliefs and career; the characteristics of his poetry - especially Paradise Lost ; the literary influences upon his verse; his perception of women; and the ways he has been seen since his death. John Milton: Life, Writing, Reputation will be essential reading not only for scholars and students of literature, but for all those interested in Milton's work and reputation over the last four centuries.