Milton & Paradise Lost

Other than Shakespeare, no other English writer is more celebrated than John Milton, and no single
work of English literature is more influential and important than Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost.
Indeed, when many people imagine what the Christian hell might look like, their vision is more likely to
be that of Milton (or Dante from Inferno) than of actual Biblical sources. In one way this is quite ironic,
as Milton’s religious views were highly unusual for his time.

A serious, sober man, Milton was made fun of by his fellow classmates at Christ’s College because of his
fey personality and effeminate appearance. His first wife left him after only a few days of their marriage
(although she did eventually return). Those facts suggest he might not have been the most likeable of
men, but there is no doubt of his genius. Milton is often called a ‘Renaissance Man’ – a term suggesting
he had mastered every subject worth knowing. While that is obviously hyperbole, his understanding of
history, literature, languages, and theology are impressive. When one considers that Milton had gone
totally blind by the time he wrote Paradise Lost, thus making revision very difficult, the achievement is
all the more impressive.

Milton expects a great deal from you as a reader. He expects you know Latin, to understand Classical
mythology, and to be conversant with obscure Biblical references. This can make reading Paradise Lost a
bit laborious, but it once again suggests Milton’s genius.

One interesting thing to know about Milton is that he spent the last years of his life in fear. He had
written several works supporting the Parliamentary victory in the English Civil War, and he was
justifiably afraid that he would be punished for those views after the Restoration of the English
Monarchy, although that never happened in any meaningful way.

As you read Paradise Lost, consider the following things.

Satan’s monologue to the assembled fallen angels in Hell is one of the most interesting speeches in
literature. Satan suggests that his downfall was unfair because (a) God never revealed his true power to
his servants, preferring to keep them in ignorance, (b) he was equal to God in all ways except raw
strength, and (c) he was created to be an imperfect creature, and thus should not be damned for acting
in keeping with his true nature – a nature that was crafted by God, and whose implications God would
surely have predicted.

Satan suggests that damnation is mental state, and as long as one’s spirit is unbroken, one’s physical
existence, even if it happens to literally be in hell, is irrelevant. It is interesting to compare this to
Mephistopheles from The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, who says almost exactly the same thing,
but comes to the opposite conclusion.

The following might prove helpful.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170419-why-paradise-lost-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-important-
poems

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Paradise-Lost-epic-poem-by-Milton