Product Description

In Paradise Lost Milton produced poem of epic scale, conjuring up a vast, awe-inspiring cosmos and ranging across huge tracts of space and time. And yet, in putting a charismatic Satan and naked Adam and Eve at the centre of this story, he also created an intensely human tragedy on the Fall of Man. Written when Milton was in his fifties - blind, bitterly disappointed by the Restoration and briefly in danger of execution - Paradise Lost's apparent ambivalence towards authority has led to intensedebate about whether it manages to 'justify the ways of God to men', or exposes the cruelty of Christianity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7447 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
John Milton (1608-1674) spent his early years in scholarly pursuit. In 1649 he took up the cause for the new Commonwealth, defending the English revolution both in English and Latin - and sacrificing his eyesight in the process. He risked his lifeby publishing The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth on the eve of the Restoration (1660). His great poems were published after this political defeat. John Leonard is a Professor of English at the University of Western Ontario.

Customer Reviews

An Excellent Edition
A work almost without parallel in terms of length and epic nature, the blind Milton beautifully captures what he believes in relation to the creation story. Using a blend of Greek myth from his extensive knowledge of classical literature, polemic verse which is at times intoxicating (particularly in the presentation of the quasi-hero Satan), and his own religious convictions, Milton presents at once a complex and enthralling tale. It also seems to reveal his inner difficulties with the subject matter, as the many fascinating contradictions regarding pre destination and Adam and Eve¡¦s position as free beings suggest. William Blake pointed out that the ease which Milton found talking about Satan instead of God suggested that he was like many other poets, ¡¥of the devils party without knowing it.¡¦ To read it is a pleasure devotedly to be wished (the best version is probably the Penguin Classics), but expect to be challenged and provoked in equal measure. This edition is without a doubt the best you can buy, with an outstanding introduction, ¡¥Table of Dates,¡¦ ¡¥Further Reading¡¦ section, and a ¡¥Note on the text.¡¦ The Notes at the back of the book are nearly always insightful and useful, and try as much as possible to be accurate about the possibly source for each of Milton¡¦s numerous literary references, most of them to the Classical authors and to Greek mythology. Highly Recommended.

just incredible
I rank Milton's talents which are at their very best in Paradise Lost with the all time greats of English and world literature. For centuries poets spoke of their admiration for Milton and Shakespeare as the English classics, a position he unfairly lost and to whom we can thank the feeble likes of Leavis. The epic follows the events surrounding the biblical story in genesis of the fall of man. For his epic Milton introduces the war in Heaven between the faithful and the follows of Satan; the latters entering the Serpent and seducing Eve and the couple eventual expulsion from Eden. A dry summary of what is written in the most elevated verse. Theological issues are fleshed out through the story and it is so pliable to interpretation. Shelley who was an Atheist(and annoying) thought it highlighted the incongruities in the Orthodox Christian God, Blake thought Milton was of the Devil's party without knowing it and C.S.Lewis found it a pillar of Orthodox Christendom. Im with Blake. No figure comes of especially well from the melee. Satan wallows in his own spite and God seems like an unimpassioned lawyer, whereas Adam and Eve feel like victims of two sides and ultimately God. Please dont be put off feeling its some kind of anti-religious propaganda -you can still believe in an impersonal God, read Jung,realise Hindu's see evil as part of the Ultimate Deity Brahman's nature and hosts of other ideologies didnt develop the Western fixation of making God just a big superman with a benevolent beard, I prefer a God with a dark side- I write all this because I dont want anyone to pass up the chance of reading this. As well as theology Milton tackles politics. It isn't difficult to see how someone who supported the regicide of Charles I, had an office in Cromwell's republic could have depicted the tension and difficulties between the King of Heaven and his Rebel opponent who is a mixture of admirable and reprehensible qualities.
All in all I think Milton is a writer of epics who sits comfortably on my shelf by Dante, Homer, Virgil and an English dramatist whose name escapes me.

A book that is seriously misjudjed
When I first heard of Paradise Lost Ithought it would be boring and extremely hard to read. But you can imagine my shock when I started to read the first few lines and found that they flowed, which made it so effortless to read. Paradise Lost tells of Adam and Eve, Satan, God and Angels. It spans throught time and the universe from the depths of Hell and Chaos to Heaven. It tells of original sin and in a way contradicts Miltons beliefs as God as being good and Satan evil. The God in Miltons epic seems cruel and forever planning mans downfall to be used for his own measures and to redeem himself when he 'forgives' man time and time again, for something which he forwardly planned. This book is excellent if you are considering reading more classical literature as it in my opinion eases you in gently. Read it!