Milton’s 17th-century masterpiece benefits from computer technology to create this definitive multimedia experience. This CD-ROM includes the twelve books of Paradise Lost, the poem that for centuries has shaped Western imagination. The text, supported by a glossary and notes, can be searched by lines, by themes, or by key words or phrases. Excerpts from the Book of Genesis that parallel the text are included, along with an analysis of key figures in relation to their biblical prototypes and a discussion of the creation myth in literature. Virtual tutorials feature video interviews with Dr. Robert Wilcher, Dr. Tom Winnifrith, and Julie Jarvis, top Milton scholars. Feminist, New Historicism, Marxist, and Christian approaches to literary criticism are also included, plus commentary by period poets and writers such as Andrew Marvell, John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Voltaire, Samuel Johnson, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Matthew Arnold. A biography of Milton and a timeline highlighting events during the 17th century help place Milton’s work in a historical context. Teachers notes with suggested class activities, an art gallery of works on Creation themes by artists ranging from Michelangelo to Gustave Doré, an extensive bibliography, a compendium of memorable lines, and a print function complete this indispensable guide to Milton’s epic poem. The CD-ROM can be used with either Windows or Macintosh.