Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)

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It's a hit!

An epic tale of the Fall of man and the first epic poem to contain the beginings of Romantic era themes (i.e. the anti-hero, inner conflict of valu... (show more)

An epic tale of the Fall of man and the first epic poem to contain the beginings of Romantic era themes (i.e. the anti-hero, inner conflict of values etc.). Milton's mangnum opus provides much more than a basic course on the book of genesis. Rather Milton's genuis stems from his character of Satan. Later to inspire the works of Byron and Shelly. Satan's pride and fall from grace represents a characterization which appears more relatable than those of the abstract God, Micheal, and the Son of God. Indeed, the character of Satan appears so relatable, intentionally or unintentionally Milton creates in the reader a sense of sympathy for the "Prince of Darkness." As others have commented, like the infamous William Blake, Milton seems to do more for the cause of Satan than for God.

I personally found myself intrigued by the characterization of Satan and his band of fallen angels. However, many have attempted to argue that Milton may be better than Shakespeare in his command of the English language. I will be the first one to admit that Milton's Paradise Lost represents a monumental achievement in English poetry, however, is he better than the Bard? I would say no. Though Milton's command of English is indeed of superior quality, his verses trudge along. In fact, I found myself metaphorically trudging through a sludge lake when attempting to read his verses. Reading, re-reading, and then reading again became the common three step approach. The Bard's poetry and prose flow off the tongue and are easier to comprehend. Miton's epic is in the vein of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. A difficult and challenging read, but an essential read nontheless. (show less)

 

 

by Ryan Milbrath

No, it's a flop!

Milton's tone and atmosphere in the work is distant and severe, both before and after the fall. God is at no point radiating any warmth towards Ada... (show more)

Milton's tone and atmosphere in the work is distant and severe, both before and after the fall. God is at no point radiating any warmth towards Adam. One did not get the sense of companionable comfort or closeness, more distance and awe. What I had not expected was Milton's very sexist view of Eve. She was Adam's express intellectual inferior. Many things were too high for her, where Adam grasped them. Clearly her fall was one of folly where Adam's was described as almost a sacrifice that he may not be separated from Eve, his love and 'underling helpmeet'. Her fall was a consequence of her straying from Adam's watchful eye, of her self-will, and of her being duped by flattery. -- Milton portrays a God who is exacting, who sticks to his law and whose mercy is only to be found in the distant future for Adam's descendants, which somehow brings Adam a hope in spite of his own future of sadness and toil.

Another thing that I found surprising is how much Milton uses the conversation between the characters in the story to speak to his audience. Jesus (the Son) speaks to the Father, explaining in great detail the plan of redemption, which of course the Father already knows, but which the audience needs to be made aware of. The purpose of the dialogue, one is made to feel, is more so didactic than it is one of setting an atmosphere or depicting a relationship between Father and Son.

No doubt this work is great. Milton's syntax, word pictures, and ability to describe is amazing. His work is epic both in the sense of how he treats the subject matter, but also in its influence on subsequent writers. BUT that being said, for my own "Jollies"' sake, I found it clinical, distant, cold, all the same, not at all the warmth and mercy and compassion with which I imagined God's early relations with Adam and Eve in the Garden.

Eve is a troubling character who could almost be said to worship Adam more so than God, certainly before the fall, and also after she is brought back into line after the fall. Her ineptness may be a reflection of Milton's views of the women he had occasion to rub shoulders with, perhaps a reflection of a Puritan teaching based on the writings of St. Paul regarding women and their relationship to their husbands taken both literally and to its full extent. At any rate, where St. Paul may agree that women need to be subjected to their husbands, he does not stipulate anything about women being intellectually inferior to men . (show less)

 

 

by Lene Mahler Jaqua

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  Only the first two books are as metal as I hoped the whole thing would be, and the war in Heaven section is pretty epic, but it is a slog keeping up with the olde English spelling, and Milton obviously has a dim view of women and blames the fallible nature of mankind on Eve's weaknesses which I think many feminists would have something to say about these days. There is clearly no room for feminism in religion.

  If you were to study this, as I did parts of it whilst at university, then it w... (show more)

  Only the first two books are as metal as I hoped the whole thing would be, and the war in Heaven section is pretty epic, but it is a slog keeping up with the olde English spelling, and Milton obviously has a dim view of women and blames the fallible nature of mankind on Eve's weaknesses which I think many feminists would have something to say about these days. There is clearly no room for feminism in religion.

  If you were to study this, as I did parts of it whilst at university, then it will no doubt, like a magic eye poster, suddenly explode out of the page and rich textures, themes, interwoven imagery and classical references will make for a heightened reading experience, but simply slogging through it, as I did following university to simply read the whole thing, will reveal little, the story itself being the most you can perhaps expect from it, and we all know how that one goes.

  Not a relaxing read, not to be read in the idle moments before sleep hits at the end of the day, and not for those more accustomed to Harry Potter and Dan Brown. An intellectual book which is often too dense even for those among us who view themselves as intellectual, but like Joyce's Ulysses, to some the achievement lies in making it to the end. If asked why then we can answer as those who climb Everest do, "Because it's there". (show less)

   

   

  by Matthew Osborne on Dec 10, 2009 at 12:10PM

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  I don't know why, but this book seems to have a hold upon me. It is difficult to get through, Milton's prose can be grandiose and if one were to read a passage out loud you might soon be out of breath because of the obscenely long sentences. His allusions refer to everything from the Bible (of course, it is about the Fall of Man, after all) to obscure Assyrian gods. The character of God is pitifully flat compared to the dynamic Satan and Adam and Eve are even less interesting because they are... (show more)

  I don't know why, but this book seems to have a hold upon me. It is difficult to get through, Milton's prose can be grandiose and if one were to read a passage out loud you might soon be out of breath because of the obscenely long sentences. His allusions refer to everything from the Bible (of course, it is about the Fall of Man, after all) to obscure Assyrian gods. The character of God is pitifully flat compared to the dynamic Satan and Adam and Eve are even less interesting because they are essentially tools used by celestial and infernal forces (of course, this opens up the contentious debate over free will vs. predestination). But one can gripe and complain all day over Milton's epic poem; it still has a hold over me which I cannot quite pin down. Perhaps it is the roguish Satan, the epic battle between good vs. evil, the question of free will, even the gender conflicts between Adam and Eve. I think what it is is that no matter how many times you've read it; whether you're a distinguished scholar or a college kid like myself Paradise Lost always contains a line, an allusion, or another philosophical debating point I haven't even thought of, that was not noticed before. That is Milton's Genius (yes, with a capital G), that he was able to condense the knowledge of Western culture into 12 books. (show less)

   

   

  by Anne Marie Walker on Aug 10, 2009 at 05:00AM

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