It only becomes better when you know the backstory of the author and the context in which it was written. John Milton was a talented diplomat who spoke multiple languages and was very well respected by his peers who admired him for his intelligence and good character. He supported a popular uprising against the incompetent king of England out of a sense idealism. The revolution was initially a success but the democratic government that should have replaced the king turned into an even more unpopular dictatorship. The monarchy was restored, most revolutionaries where executed and Milton was banished to the country side where he lived out his final years in poverty going blind due to cataracts growing in his eyes. He dictated the story of Paradise Lost to a scribe to explain how hard it is to change the word for the better, "To serve in heaven or to rule in hell" as he would put it. This was his final act of rebellion, to cast satan as a personable anti hero.
I’m not a big lit guy but I read this. The first 10% was hard to get through due to how different Milton’s english is from my own. However I’m glad I did. It got progressively easy to read until it was as natural as anything else. What a payoff.<p>Never before or since have I read something where I was consistently floored by the beautiful, sometimes breathtaking, use of my native language. Some passages stay with me probably forever, like Adam’s description of Eve.<p>Highly recommended.
I read this for the first time last year and it far exceeded my expectations. Some tips for reading<p>- use something with footnotes to explain the copious literary references to earlier works<p>- but also don’t get hung up on the references, they’re not crucial to the story<p>- do try to get into the rhythm of the iambic pentameter, it really makes some of the poetic phrases shine<p>Even if you’re familiar with the traditional Genesis story, there will be tons of surprises, both amusing (ex. the angels inventing artillery in their war on heaven) and poignant (ex. Adam and Eve’s briefly contemplating suicide rather than bear children into a cursed world)
"Abashed the Devil stood, and saw how awful goodness is"<p>I heard that from the movie "The Crow" and as a huge fan of the movie I looked up _everything_ that the movie referenced. I eventually bought the book and read it through, over the course of a few days, twice.<p>English is not my first language, and it took me great effort, I felt dumb and ignorant throughout the whole thing, both times I read it through, but I still gleamed something from it, it's the best version of the story of the creation of hell and lucifers fall that I've read, and I loved how it didn't seem to take sides, it makes god look like kind of a malevolent dictator.
Milton is also critical to the intellectual history of certain Western ideas which we take for granted. His <i>Aeropagetica</i> articulates the first (at least in English) full-throated defense of free speech, and his proposal and defense of (effectively) no-fault divorce acknowledge perforce the essential equality of men and women.<p>(Don't be distracted by Milton's own inability to demonstrate fidelity to either ideal - especially not the second. The logical consequences of his assertions are radically modern, whether or not he fully appreciated them.)
If you want a short taste of Milton's verse, read sonnet 23. It'll help you to know that a) the literary reference isn't important to completely "get", b) he'd gone blind, c) his (first) wife had died from complications of childbirth, and d) this is a dream sequence.<p>[I tried pasting it in, but can't persuade it to format itself in a way that will be readable. Here's the link:<p><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44746/sonnet-23-methought-i-saw-my-late-espoused-saint" rel="nofollow">https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44746/sonnet-23-metho...</a><p>Seriously, read it. The last line is unbearably beautiful and sad.]<p>Milton also wrote poetry (well-regarded by those able to judge) in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. (Out of all of them - plus English - Hebrew was his favorite, for what that's worth.) He's is my nominee for the most formidably well-educated person in history.
Among the many works influenced by this, I love this one: <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Right_Hand" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Right_Hand</a><p>It’s also mentioned in Cave’s Song of Joy.
There are parts of <i>Paradise Lost</i> that read like science fiction, like Satan's ascent through Hell (as yet uninhabited, because no one yet has sinned!), and through a Ptolmaic (which, yes, was an intentional anachronism) cosmos to sneak his way into Earth.<p>Other bits read like a super-hero story. The fight between Satan and the archangel Michael is fabulous: they tear whole trees out of the ground to use as spears!<p>Gustov Dore's engraved illustrations are moody and epic and magnificent. I'd love to see what Frank Miller could do with some of those scenes.
After reading the complete Shakespeare, it is a natural continuation to go on to read the complete Milton. Outside the core of Paradise Lost/Regained, Samson Agonistes is another gem, and Lycidas is of course a classic poem.<p>The way Milton uses English the language exalts it into the profundity of Latin. One feels Milton's words are of sanctified origins; it feels as though they are coming from a higher power.<p>One random connection: In the same way Milton dictated his writing, Debussy dictated his music. To some extent this method may free the mind's work from the tedium of transcribing thought, and allow for more free-flowing expression in creation.
I very recently picked up Dante, and got on an online course to help with it. I had some bravado about lit and thought, "hey, Milton is next!"<p>Now, I'm all through Inferno and Purgatorio, and I gotta say, Paradiso is not turning out to be all that compelling for me. Milton? Not so sure anymore.
Phew. I was afraid that this was going to be some attempt to be not about Milton.<p>My best friend gave me this book a few decades ago. I hadn't read it during my literature course years. I read it and we discussed it for months. A worthwhile effort.