近年來西方對於英國詩人彌爾頓的研究，逐漸對彌爾頓在非英語系國家的接受史產生興趣，其中在華文世界和日本對彌爾頓的接受與詮釋，已受到相當的關注。自1960年代起，便有日本及美國學者著手整理彌爾頓在日本的接受史；而彌爾頓在華文世界的接受史，雖然亦有部分研究，但是主要集中在1949年以前的中國本土，至於其他地區如香港、臺灣的情形，則未見討論。
在華文世界中，臺灣在英美文學研究的領域與英美文學的接納、傳播已經建立起自己的傳統。由於1949年部分重要作家及知識分子遷臺，而使臺灣英美文學接受史(包含彌爾頓接受史)承繼了部分中國本土的傳統，然而在特殊的歷史時空下，臺灣也發展出自己獨特的接受與詮釋的角度。因此，對於彌爾頓在台灣接受史的爬梳，將有助於我們對於彌爾頓在華文世界的命運有更全面的了解。此外，考量到中國與台灣文化的歷史關聯，以及日本與華文世界在地理及文化上的相近之處，納入彌爾頓中國與日本的遭遇做為一種對照，將更能反映出彌爾頓與台灣及東亞文化相遇時所面臨的處境及影響的因素。

John Milton, lauded as the most significant poet after William Shakespeare, is often considered a literary treasure of the English nation. However, there has been a rising interest in Milton’s reputation in cultures other than the English speaking world in recent years. Among the non-English speaking cultures being studied, receptions of Milton in the Japanese- and Chinese-speaking worlds have been examined carefully. Several reviews on the development of Milton scholarship in Japan have been published since the 1960s. Research on the reception history of Milton in China in late-Qing China and the early 20th century has been conducted, although investigations on Milton’s stature in China beyond 1949 as well as in the other parts of the Chinese-speaking world such as Taiwan and Hong Kong are yet to be done.
The historical-cultural links between Taiwan and China suggests continuity while political separation has resulted in metamorphosis in the reception of Milton in Taiwan as opposed to the earlier development in China. It is therefore interesting to conduct an overview on the images of Milton in Taiwan so as to complete the picture of Milton’s reception in the Chinese-speaking world. While examining the reception history of Milton in Taiwan with respect to its relation with earlier reception in China, an understanding of Milton’s fate in the neighboring Japan will enable us to consider the factors that might be involved in Milton’s cross-cultural journeys to the Far East and to bring some light on the nature of Milton’s fate in East Asia.