Yep, I'm still reading the Harvard Classics, even if I'm reading them slowly.
The fourth volume of the Harvard Classics consists of the collected poetry of Milton. I read this in three separate volumes: Minor Poems (I commend this edition due to it's extensive and well linked footnotes), Paradise Lost, and Paradise Regained.
There's not much to say about these; having read them I can see why Milton is considered to be one of the greatest English authors of all time, even if for myself I lack the taste for poetry and knowledge of the many allusions he makes to truly appreciate them to their full.
I did appreciate seeing a different view on the common Bible stories that Milton was retelling though; both the fact that he essentially interpreted the regaining of Paradise to have happened during Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness rather than on the cross, and that his interpretation of the first sin, and the relationship to Adam, Eve, and authority in inter-sexual relationships was very foreign to most modern eyes.
We're now moving on to Emerson; I've actually started already, and so far I'm not a fan of the Essays (though I'll reserve judgement until I've read a bit more), but English Traits sounds rather interesting.
