Comus
-
- 8,99 €
-
- 8,99 €
Publisher Description
Comus – Illustrated by Arthur Rackham and written by John Milton is considered one of Milton’s timeless pieces.
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost(1667), written in blank verse. Milton’s poetry and prose reflect deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. Writing in English, Latin, Greek, and Italian, he achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644)—written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship—is among history’s most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and freedom of the press.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) was one of the premier illustrators of the early 20th Century. He illustrated many books, the first of which was published in 1893. Throughout his career he had developed a very individual style that is was to influence a whole generation of children, artists and other illustrators. His haunting humour and dreamlike romance adds to the enchantment and fantasy of children’s literature.
Pook Press celebrates the great 'Golden Age of Illustration' in children's classics and fairy tales - a period of unparalleled excellence in book illustration. We publish rare and vintage Golden Age illustrated books, in high-quality colour editions, so that the masterful artwork and story-telling can continue to delight both young and old.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Milton's "A Mask. Presented at Ludlow Castle," itself based on the ancient English folktale "Childe Roland," makes an odd choice for adaptation into a picture book, even on the heels of Hodges's and Hyman's collaborations St. George and the Dragon and The Kitchen Knight. In masques, after all, the characters stand around and declaim, briefly act or more likely dance, and then declaim again-the charms of which don't translate in this stiffly paced retelling. The protagonists, at least, are children, here named Alice, John and Thomas. Separated from her brothers in a dark wood, Alice is ensnared by Comus, a sorcerer who is the offspring of Circe and Bacchus. She resists his proffered drink-which would turn her into a half-beast like all his followers-and is rescued by her brothers, with the magic aid of a Good Spirit and the local river nymph. This deus ex machina plot, typical of masques, is cleansed of Milton's thematic obsession with Alice's virginity and possible loss of it, although a few of Hyman's paintings suggest the sexual undertones. Hyman compensates in part for the brittle narration by cleverly suggesting a stage with curtain-opening imps, also furnishing a deeply gloomy and haunted wood, a horrifically comic mob of monsters and the bright dawn of a happy ending. This volume may give a taste of 17th-century English pageantry and appeal to parents seeking adaptations of classic works, but it is probably too mannered to kindle much enthusiasm in young readers. Ages 5-8.