The First Annotator of Paradise Lost and the Makings of English Literary Criticism

The 321 dense folio pages of commentary on Paradise Lost attributed only to "P. H." and published by Jacob Tonson in 1695 initiated founding moves of vernacular English literary scholarship. Their accomplishment has been obscured since their publication by the anonymity of the author, traditionally identified as "Patrick Hume," a Scottish schoolmaster. Using bibliographic and textual evidence, this article contends that "P. H." was Peter Hume, a Nonconformist servant in the Restoration Royal Household from 1668 until his death in 1707, and explores the implications of his identity upon our understanding of this foundational work of English literary scholarship.