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Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (Paradise #1-2)

by John Milton, Christopher Ricks (Editor), Susanne Woods (Introduction)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 2,304 ratings · 95 reviews

Milton's Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind's destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds - heaven, hell, and earth -

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Paperback, 357 pages

Published November 1st 2001 by Signet Classics (first published 1671)

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Jan 30, 2008 Katie Muffett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who doesn't read the Bible

Recommended to Katie by: uh, everyone? ever?

This book must be removed from high school syllabi immediately, and become the reserve only of those who can truly appreciate it. No teenager has ever been capable of grasping the infinite layers of brilliance in these poems, and it is doing the work a disservice to dessimate it into Cliff's Notes. I adore Milton so much that if he were to punch me in the boobs after each page of Paradise Lost/Regained, I would keep turning and turning until the bittersweet end.

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Apr 24, 2008 Richard Houchin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy, fantasy

As Blake said, "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet, and of the Devil's party without knowing it."

Milton's work is really, really good. It has epic gun battles between angels and demons, and titanic expressions of sheer will. Most remarkable, though, is Satan's character as a rebel hero. Milton's reliance on the apocrypha and the treasure trove of literary stories as his source material do h...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Ken Moten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry-stuff

[*I won't mark spoilers but will assume that if you read this you have read Paradise Lost or know the story of the creation of the world and the fall of man as recounted in the book of Genesis.]

"Some natural tears they dropp'd, but wip'd them soon;
The world was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide:
They hand in hand with wand'ring steps and slow
Through Eden took their solitary way." - Book XII Lines 645-649

I know what this book is usually based around a...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Linda I rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: john-milton, classic-literature

To be a fan of classic literature it is imperative to read, at least once, the powerful poetic epic that is "Paradise Lost". As far as "Paradise Regained", well...this story is not so illuminating, but is still a beautifully written poem. Most everyone living in a Western Civilization already knows the story: Satan is expelled from Heaven and decides to defile the new world God created. He sneaks into the Garden of Eden and finds a way to ruin God's plans by tempting Eve to eat from the tree of...more To be a fan of classic literature it is imperative to read, at least once, the powerful poetic epic that is "Paradise Lost". As far as "Paradise Regained", well...this story is not so illuminating, but is still a beautifully written poem. Most everyone living in a Western Civilization already knows the story: Satan is expelled from Heaven and decides to defile the new world God created. He sneaks into the Garden of Eden and finds a way to ruin God's plans by tempting Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge. Eve convinces Adam to do the same and, eventually, they get kicked out of Eden and set on their own.

Since I'm reading this for pleasure and not for academia, it took me a few pages to adjust to the style of writing, but once accustomed, it was easy to follow. The prose and word selection are incomparably beautiful. My favorite quotes from the story include:

"The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."

"Who overcomes
By force, hath overcome but half his foe."

"The world was all before them, where to choose
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide.
They, hand in hand, with wand'ring steps and slow
Through Eden took their solitary way."

As far as "Paradise Regained", the story starts with Satan attending the Baptism of Jesus and overhears the pronouncement that Jesus is the Son of God. Angry, Satan decides to overthrow God by tempting his son. While walking through the desert, Jesus is come upon by Satan offering creature comforts, power and knowledge. Jesus rejects all. In the end, Satan is undone by his own scheming and Jesus is left to fulfill his destiny. A destiny Jesus chose for himself in "Paradise Lost".

Admittedly, I like Satan's character in " Paradise Lost" better than in "Paradise Regained". He seemed rather defeated and whiny in "Regained", whereas he appeared charismatic and multi-dimensional in "Lost". I also enjoyed the fact that even God was shown to have some petulant qualities.

Recommended for those who are patient enough to become familiar with the writing style reminiscent of Virgil and Dante, and for those who love epic poetry.(less)

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Jun 11, 2008 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What can I say? I suppose I felt guilty giving "Paradise Lost" anything less than four stars! I'm certainly no serious judge of poetry, epic or other, but I'd never read Milton and felt it was time. It's amazing what you learn about a piece of literature without ever having read it. So with all the critical background noise of graduate school, I finally have Milton under my belt. The poem is impressive, to say the least, and enlightening on many levels, the most intriguing to me being Milton's v...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Clayton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Paradise Lost is bar-none the greatest work of literature in the English language, and I suspect it stands up pretty well against what the rest of the world has to offer. Milton took a handful of Bible verses and expanded them into 10,000 near-perfect lines on the nature of sin, temptation, good and evil. In it, he creates a powerfully sympathetic Lucifer, posits the single most persuasive argument for Human free-will ever attempted, and paints the fall of Man as the greatest tragedy of all time...more Paradise Lost is bar-none the greatest work of literature in the English language, and I suspect it stands up pretty well against what the rest of the world has to offer. Milton took a handful of Bible verses and expanded them into 10,000 near-perfect lines on the nature of sin, temptation, good and evil. In it, he creates a powerfully sympathetic Lucifer, posits the single most persuasive argument for Human free-will ever attempted, and paints the fall of Man as the greatest tragedy of all time.

If there is argument about who the story's hero is, it is because the story is told so objectively. Every character is treated as though he has something to offer and a story worth telling. Lucifer plays martyr to what he sees as a battle for independence from Tyranny, and is martyred a second time in a heroic final strike against his oppressor. God's story is the tragedy of creating a being who he knows is destined to disappoint him. Eve's story is the tragedy of embracing her weakness in a desire to be stronger. And Adam is given the ultimate choice: to continue in Paradise alone or fall with the woman he loves. Every aspect of the story has the potential to resonate with every reader, and every line is a study in expression and verse. There is simply nothing better.

Paradise Regained, on the other hand, is probably actually better. That is its tragedy. It is not as accessible by half as Paradise Lost, it is not as exciting or as varied, and at barely a third the length, it still will not find as many readers. It is a more beautiful poem and an even more perfect expression of a great thinker's ideas and talent, but it does not have the reach or appeal of its companion piece. It is the Seventh Seal to Paradise Lost's Citizen Kane.

If you have not read Paradise Lost, read it. If your mind is still young, it can be difficult at first. Push through, it's worth it. Then read Paradise Regained, if not for yourself, for Milton. He would've wanted you to. (less)

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Dec 29, 2012 Kari rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4 stars because there are imperfections in how the characters and their motives are written, and even how the simple facts of the events happened. I mean, you can tell that Milton read and searched and knew the Bible, which by far most people who try to retell Bible stories like this have not done and do not know, but I think if he'd done just a little more reading for, say, another half hour with regard to some sections, he'd have gotten it right, and so even better. But 4 stars because he real...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Dana rated it 3 of 5 stars

So, I do understand that this is a great classic. I can even see why. I don't think it stands the test of time, however. I found myself, nine times out of ten, laughing at the reactions and the situations, finding most of the figures portrayed in the book to be small children (and sometimes, they would come across as gangsters but I think that's my own special spin on this tale). Now, this is not a bad thing, per say. Speaking as someone who doesn't enjoy reading old English, the reactions of th...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Tin Wee rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Paradise Lost is a poem of the events leading to the fall of Satan, and his scheming to deceive Man to disobeying God as told in the Book of Genesis. Paradise Regained is a poem of Jesus' forty days in the desert, and how Satan attempts to sway him. Being a casual reader, I found this a very heavy going read, with long and convoluted verses that can get confusing if you let your concentration slip, or if you need to stop reading for whatever reason. I found myself going back and re-reading verse...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Robert Sorba rated it 1 of 5 stars

Ahem, what I meant to say was: I was not made for reading epic poetry...it is beyond me.

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Nov 08, 2012 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry, 17th-century, british, favorites

I don't think I'll give a full review of this poem, because surely at this point it doesn't need it! But I wanted to get down a few ideas that I had while reading through it.

One of the things that I think is so great about this poem, is that I'm not totally convinced that Milton had complete control over what he was doing. And I don't say that as an insult. Rather it's as if so many things were speaking through him gaining entrance into the poem.

One of these ideas that I think he plays with is t...more I don't think I'll give a full review of this poem, because surely at this point it doesn't need it! But I wanted to get down a few ideas that I had while reading through it.

One of the things that I think is so great about this poem, is that I'm not totally convinced that Milton had complete control over what he was doing. And I don't say that as an insult. Rather it's as if so many things were speaking through him gaining entrance into the poem.

One of these ideas that I think he plays with is the relation between heaven/hell/paradise. The traditional view, which is easy to see (especially if you enter the poem expecting to see it) is that heaven = good, hell = bad. This is basic Western binary thinking, where there are two halves and the first is superior to the second (heaven over hell). If we give power to this view, we can allow ourselves to feel moral superiority over hell and keep to the ways of heaven (of goodness). I think it's true that this way of thinking powers a lot of the ways we live as citizens of the Western tradition; no matter what you think is "good" or "bad", this view allows you to think of yourself as right, and others as wrong; you can engage in political debates with confidence because your side possesses everything that is good and right. Us and Them! Since earth is existing between these two forces, it will (obviously) be perverted by the bad (hell), and should keep to the good (heaven) whenever possible; the end goal for earth, of course, would be to reject hell completely and become a republic of the good (like heaven, which is the ideal) - which leads to utopian thinking.

There is, I think, another way to relate heaven, hell and paradise which is far more interesting - and, I believe, present within the poem as well (basically I think this is a sound reading of the poem). There are two forces existing in the universe (in chaos): heaven and hell. Both of these forces, and everything they represent, are absolute and pure in both heaven and hell. In other words, they are extreme versions of what they represent. In between these two forces is earth! Paradise! And I believe the earth is a paradise because it exists between these two forces. It is a space that is able to contain influence from both these forces in equal measure (that would be the ideal, anyway). So, both heave and hell, in their extremes, are undesirable states to be in, and represent an unbalanced ideal of living. Viewing heaven/hell/paradise this way breaks down the hierarchical structure of the heaven/hell binary, and this is represented in the poem: heaven isn't in the clouds, hell isn't below the soil: they merely exist elsewhere in the universe. Although you might counter that Satan is thrown "down" into the depths of hell: but really, does "down" have any meaning when you are hurtling through chaos?

I think both these viewpoints exist in the poem. I think there's a force in the poem that would have us believe that God is merely good, and Satan is merely bad. But I'm not convinced that Milton represents these God and Satan so simplistically. A lot of critical attention has already focused on the fact that Milton is quite sympathetic towards Satan, and that Milton's own political history would sympathize with the sort of liberty that Satan represents. The first two books follow Satan almost exclusively, and he seems more like a sort of hero than a villain of the story. At the same time I want to avoid romanticizing hell and Satan as some sort of alternative ideal to heaven (which would merely reverse the hierarchical binary). We can also recognize that Satan is indeed bad; and in the extreme of what he represents, he is undesirable (an absolute liberty from social structures and hierarchies). The same can be said of God, I believe, although in the case of God it seems a bit more complicated. This is because the way God is represented is... difficult. I mean how do you represent God? an omniscient being? If God knows everything, why does he act like he doesn't when talking to other angels? I think this opens a whole other can of worms, but suffice to say, I don't think God is totally good either. I don't know if his ways are truly justified to us. While there is a goodness to God, sometimes his decisions just seem too arbitrary; and he, and the extreme of what he represents, seems undesirable, too (an absolute social/political hierarchy). This leaves paradise between the two: the fragile balancing act which is life. God only considers earth a paradise when it resembles heaven. However I'd like to maintain that, in the end, earth is a paradise precisely because it doesn't completely resemble heaven or hell: this interpretation, for me, is much closer to a Taoist understanding of the universe (yin, yang, and balance). Life on earth becomes unbalanced when we drift to close to either "heaven" or "hell".

I think there's other types of examples in the poem that would suggest that Milton is in favor of this sort of balance - such as when he describes angels as possessing either, or both, sexes, being able to switch between the two or be both. Or when Adam says to God that existence would not be the same without his companion, his other half if you will, Eve. Both are necessary. And even the way the lines bleed into each other, feeding and informing each other. No line can exist on its own, isolated.

This is also just beautiful, amazing poetry; and such a joy to read.(less)

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Mar 29, 2013 Jessica (Books: A true story) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dusty-bookshelf-2012, own, blog, 4-stars, content-none, paperback, amazon

This book took me a long time to read. Three months to be exact. It’s some seriously dense epic poetry. Some of Paradise Lost reminded me a lot of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, especially the lines about flames that produced darkness and the idea of Satan doing the opposite of God but God turns it to good anyway. It was hard to get used to the language, but once I did I really liked how Milton was able to use two meanings for a lot of words – the literal meaning and a figurative meaning. It was in...more

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Jul 25, 2010 Colin Hogan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this while preparing for a cumulative exam in English literature. I had only touched Milton in a survey course of British Literature of the Renaissance. I must have gone to the bar the night before that lecture because nothing seemed familiar. I spent the better part of two weeks, sitting at work, sitting in cafes, sitting in the library, sitting in my car, announcing Milton's convoluted lines of poetry à haute voix. This was the only way I could understand what was going on, like I was p...more

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Aug 18, 2010 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

Screw you, Paradise Lost! *fist shaking*

Ok, now that that is out of my system, let me tell you: reading this epic poem with my book group at Goodreads has been one of the most frustrating literary experiences of my life. So when I say "screw you, PL" I only kind of mean PL. I also mean, insane book club people. I am never moderating a discussion on a theological anything, ever, ever, ever. Ugh.

MOVING ON.

Paradise Lost is a 17th century epic poem about the fall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion...more Screw you, Paradise Lost! *fist shaking*

Ok, now that that is out of my system, let me tell you: reading this epic poem with my book group at Goodreads has been one of the most frustrating literary experiences of my life. So when I say "screw you, PL" I only kind of mean PL. I also mean, insane book club people. I am never moderating a discussion on a theological anything, ever, ever, ever. Ugh.

MOVING ON.

Paradise Lost is a 17th century epic poem about the fall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the garden of Eden. Milton states the whole purpose of the poem in the first book quite conveniently (how's that for stated authorial intent): "That to the heighth of this great Argument/ I may assert Eternal Providence,/ And justify the ways of God to men." Italics mine, obvi. SO. That's no easy task, telling the story of the fall of mankind and justifying God's role in it. And I'm just going to say it: Milton fails at this in a bad, bad way.

Ok, let's get all these bits out of the way: Yes, I'm a modern reader, and a modern Christian, so my theology is obviously going to be different from a 17th century Puritan. But the whole poem is based on like four chapters in Genesis, so how wrong can he be? Well, all sortsa wrong. He just straight makes stuff up. HERE'S a bad idea: Take it upon yourself to justify someone's actions, and instead of taking what he did and talking about it, make up some stuff he didn't do in order to make him look better, but just succeed in making him look worse in the eyes of the people who know the person and in the eyes of the people who would like to throw the person into a vat of very hot acid.

I don't want to get into the theology of why I disagree with Milton's picture of God- I don't want to start some kind of Biblical flame war here. Let's just say, he doesn't really stick to the source text. In doing so, he presents a very damaging and inaccurate picture of God that in no way "justifies" Him, and in fact, makes Him sort of gross to believers and non-believers alike.

It's also sort of boring. There are three books in the poem that are at all interesting: the book about Satan's fall, the book where Satan tempts Eve, and the book after where Adam and Eve realize what they've done. These books are action packed. Interesting. Innovative. Most of the other books are conversations (and I mean ONLY dialogue. In epic poem form. Stabmeintheeye) between God and angels, or Adam and angels.

Milton uses these conversations to present his personal theological beliefs about monism, which is an obscure belief about the universality of divine matter or...something. Milton was also heavily involved in the English civil war, and began writing PL after its failure, which, you know. Pissed him off. So he shoves a lot of angry political sentiments into the poem as well. Then he adds some heavy-handed classical references through the WHOLE THING because he's a smarty pants and would like everyone to know it. You quickly realize that the poem has little to do with "justifying God" and everything to do with "justifying Milton."

But, the poetry is really beautiful, if that makes you feel better. Otherwise, it's just a fancy failure. Francis Bacon sums up my feelings about this work quite nicely: he says that John Milton "was a true poet, and of the Devil's party without knowing it."

Three stars out of your mom.(less)

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Nov 29, 2009 Miriam is currently reading it · review of another edition

I abuse goodreads terribly. Rather than contributing to the community with excellent book reviews, I use is as a place for organizing my thoughts while I read. There is a lot that I think about as I read Paradise Lost. I mean it's well done of course, who an I to contend with that. But it falls so short of what it is trying to represent, that it disappoints me somewhat, particularly in light of how influential it is. It is a child's version of the battles of Satan and man, a Disney-esqe version...more I abuse goodreads terribly. Rather than contributing to the community with excellent book reviews, I use is as a place for organizing my thoughts while I read. There is a lot that I think about as I read Paradise Lost. I mean it's well done of course, who an I to contend with that. But it falls so short of what it is trying to represent, that it disappoints me somewhat, particularly in light of how influential it is. It is a child's version of the battles of Satan and man, a Disney-esqe version of the way things are.
Take Satan for example, he is obnoxious, comic and cunning. Overall, not entirely unlikable. It is possible to have sympathy for him. I used to feel that way when I was a child. I used to pray for Satan to become good again. Then one night I had a dream in which Satan had me in a headlock. One arm around my neck and the other gripping my hair and pulling my head back so far that my neck was at the point of snapping. Through gritted teeth, he commanded me to worship him. When I refused he told me he would do everything in his power to destroy me. I commanded him to leave and thought I was safe. Two days later however (in real life, not a dream) I was sitting at my desk and for no apparent reason, I had the sensation that pain was trickling down my back, from the upper and outer parts of it, down into my lower spine. It hurt so much.... cold, cutting, persistent. It got worse and worse as the day went on. Despite stretching, taking a hot bath an ibuprofen, it kept getting worse. By the next morning I couldn't walk. I have never been in worse pain. People assure me childbirth is worse, but I don't believe them. Doctors, chiropracters, and physical therapists could find no cause for what I was going through. Not a herniated disk, no pinched nerves. They could feel my taut muscles and inflamed vertebrae, but there was no explanation for them. That went on for a month. It hurt so much that I couldn't sleep for more than an hour or two each night. Prescription pain killers didn't touch it. It finally stopped when, upon finding out that my iron was low, I ended a two year attempt at vegetarianism by eating some red meat. Perhaps being low on iron causes inflamed vertebrae....I blamed it on Satan and have pretty much been at all out war with him ever since. I told God that of course I would love it if Satan became good, but that I didn't really think I could influence that very much, and i was just going to pray to be kept safe from him after that. I don't have sympathy for Satan any more.

I think that Joseph Smith describes him well in this account.

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

Except that most people aren't rescued so directly.

I wonder if Milton will touch upon the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6. Will he mention that aside from the bounds that God sets upon Satan, that is the main protection we have? I wonder if he will touch upon the fact that whenever there is a chink, or a gaping hole, or a missing part of armor Satan attacks that vulnerable place with full force.... that if he can find a way in, he will do whatever damage he can. Inescapable guilt and fear, addiction and pain of every sort seem to be among the preferred weapons he uses.

Finally, I wonder how Milton will handle the intervention of Christ. Will he touch upon how Christ is able to heal that which cannot be healed and mend that which cannot be mended? I suspect that that there may be cartoonish characters portrayed throughout.

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Mar 12, 2009 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry, classics, favorites, mythology

I didn’t rate this based on it’s sexist nature: I’m well aware of how Eve got the shaft, all womanhood is to blame for the Fall of man, God’s old and white and has a dick, blah blah blah. I rated it based on the unbelievable talent of Milton’s jargon and the highly memorable, intangible imagery. Mythologically it’s such an epic story that I’d be crazy to let misogyny alone demote it. Besides, you could argue that Milton is taking a “sympathy for the devil” stance (authority should always be ques...more

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Jun 07, 2007 Renu is currently reading it · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone interested in poetry and theology

I bought this book in class 9 in school, but let it languish on my bookshelf for more than a decade! Finally, I think I am able to make space for a sustained read.

The poem portrays the human predicament, vis-a-vis man and god and the question of faith in a medieval christian context.

The poem has been the subject of controversy amidst 19th and 20th century critics for its rather one-sided and chauvinistic depiction of Eve.

However, there's more to this book than mere controversy. It is a reward...more I bought this book in class 9 in school, but let it languish on my bookshelf for more than a decade! Finally, I think I am able to make space for a sustained read.

The poem portrays the human predicament, vis-a-vis man and god and the question of faith in a medieval christian context.

The poem has been the subject of controversy amidst 19th and 20th century critics for its rather one-sided and chauvinistic depiction of Eve.

However, there's more to this book than mere controversy. It is a rewarding read for those interested in language and christian theology, a unique point-of-view in the form of poetry.

The introduction by itself is like a gospel, shedding light on various aspects of not just the epic poem but through the questions raised in various arguments on the Milton controversy vis-a-vis literature, language and aestheticism the 'truth' or the 'moral predicament' of literature.

Excerpts from the text of the introduction:
Milton's dedication to great poetry entailed a profound dedication of his own life: "And long it was not after, when I was confirmed in this opinion, that he who would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laudable things, ought himself to be a true poem, that is, a composition and pattern of the best and honourablest things; not presuming to sing high praises of heroic men or famous cities unless he have in himself the experience and the practice of all that which is praiseworthy"
-- An Aplolgy for Smectymnuus, 1642

Of the needs to which Milton ministers, one of the greatest is our need to commit ourselves in passionate argument about literature. Not as part of the academic industry, but because literature is a supreme controversy concerning "the best that has been thought and said in the world" (to adopt the words which Matthew Arnold applied to culture). By the energy and sincerety of his poetry, Milton stands-as no other poet quite does-in heartening and necessary opposition to all aestheticisms, old and new.
Poetry, said Dr, Johnson in his life of Milton, "is the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason." Truth must involve debate-William Empson has rightly protested against the aestheticism of some Milton critics: "The idea that there actually couldn't be a moral debate in a literary work amounts to a collapse of the Western mind."

Milton's principles, like his practice, make him the great enemy of any pretty or petty aestheticism. Art for art's sake? Art for God's sake. Archibald MacLeish gave aestheticism a witty shape: "Poems should not mean but be." W B Yeats gave aestheticism a tragic tone: "Words alone are certain good." But words alone are not enough for Milton, though his are certainly good. His moral and intellectual commitment to literature as (among other things) argument, his anti-aestheticism, comes the more powerfully from one whose poetry lacks none of the subtlety, suppleness, and formality of patterning which aestheticism rightly relishes. So that we can push our needs back a stage-Milton ministers superbly to our need to comprehend how variously magnificent and strange the English language is. Milton's mastery of language fortifies not merely our sense of what is beautiful, but our sense of what is human.
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May 09, 2013 Troy Rodgers rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-general, fantasy-folklore

For those who only think they know the story, and especially for those who seem to think of Paradise Lost as merely "Biblical fanfic," I would invite those people to spend some time in the mind of the literary genius of Milton through this work. And as a bonus, you get the sequel for free, as well as a detailed bio of Milton so as to place these works in the historical and spiritual contexts in which they were written - a time of ecclesiastical upheaval. Getting the proper perspective makes all...more

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Aug 26, 2008 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

A masterful piece of literature. It purports to be in the same poetic style as Homer and Virgil, and it doesn't dissapoint. The first part is the story of the War in Heaven, Lucifer cast out, the creation, the Garden of Eden,and the fall of Adam. The second part, much shorter and simpler, is the tale of Jesus and his three temptations in the desert. Though these stories are very familiar to most Christians, the style and the poetry are what this is really about. Milton's voice gives new and high...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Josh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There is so much to say about this book, but I will be as brief as possible, and say it is my favorite book. Milton provides you with a story that provokes deep, visceral thinking, a kind of questioning which isn't found too often in the present culture.

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Aug 01, 2012 Kyle marked it as to-read

This is for research purposes (and I suppose I'll have to read The Book of Enoch as well). Angel books are tricky, and I don't want to go down in YA history as one of the authors that totally fucked it up.

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Apr 19, 2012 Guy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a highly enjoyable read. I find particularly interesting and bemusing is that Milton was unable to keep the devil from being the most interesting character.

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Apr 14, 2012 Alice Sather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read the original even though you'll wade at times because of language that is ponderous to us. It is worth the literary and cultural experience.

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May 13, 2008 Lyndzee Durham rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I took a Milton class back in the good old days of BYU and fell in love with his writings. It didn't hurt that my teacher was a huge fan. Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are amazingly written and show that Milton had a glimpse into the Plan of Salvation far before restored times. I really enjoyed how he writes Eve and Satan is given a depth that shows Milton believed him to be a very real force. I would read it as a student edition though or with some kind of Cliff's notes so that you don't...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Darisann Metzler stout rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties." John Milton

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May 16, 2013 Abby rated it 5 of 5 stars

Clearly a classic. Milton's story is sweeping, comprehensive, epic, and tender.

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Jun 25, 2012 Christina Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites

An all-time favorite. I have read this over and over since high school.

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Nov 04, 2012 Devi Amber rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Paradise Lost is amazing. Paradise Regained didn't do it for me.

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May 10, 2012 kissmyshades rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, british-uk, poetry

first encountered this through his dark materials, good times.

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May 01, 2009 Wendy Verkler rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I know this is one of the great classics of all time, but I have never been able to get over the portrayal of Eve. Honestly, the first time I read it (granted, I was way young, maybe a freshman in high school or before), I thought God made Eve mentally challenged because she was so incredibly stupid..... It didn't occur to me until later that Eve was the projection John Milton's notion of the ideal woman: subserviant, obedient, non-threatening, totally dependent, etc. Despite its other many sple...more

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About John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, prose polemicist, and civil servant for the English Commonwealth. Most famed for his epic poem Paradise Lost, Milton is celebrated as well for his eloquent treatise condemning censorship, Areopagitica. Long considered the supreme English poet, Milton experienced a dip in popularity after attacks by T.S. Eliot and F.R. Leavis in the mid 20th century; but with multip...more

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Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (Paradise #1-2)

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