This edition, the sixth, includes the first set of scholarly annotations ever published or Paradise Lost evidencing the increasing scholarly interest in Milton's poem. It is unclear whether Tonson contracted Patrick Hume to complete the notes, or if he purchased them outright. The notes have been criticized as weak by many scholars and contains mostly explanations of arcane terms as well as etymology and some brief interpretation.

Two editions, the 1688 and 1674, were used in preparing this text, resulting in some small improvement to the overall quality of the text. However, many errors in punctuation, spelling and even meter remained.

This edition also used Medina's illustrations printed from the original plates. This has resulted in a lower quality impression because of the wear on the plates after several printings.