[.ca] Paradise Regained (ISBN 9626343990)

Classic work:
Of Man's first disobedience and the fruit Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste Brought death into the world and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till on greater Man Restore us and regain the blissful seat Sing, Heavenly Muse... Not a lot people know that 'Paradise Lost' has as a much lesser known companion piece 'Paradise Regained'; of course, it was true during Milton's time as it is today that the more harrowing and juicy the story, the better it will likely be remembered and received. This is not to cast any aspersion on this great poem, however. It has been called, with some justification, the greatest English epic poem. The line above, the first lines of the first book of the poem, is typical of the style throughout the epic, in vocabulary and syntax, in allusiveness. The word order tends toward the Latinate, with the object coming first and the verb coming after. Milton follows many classical examples by personifying characters such as Death, Chaos, Mammon, and Sin. These characters interact with the more traditional Christian characters of Adam, Eve, Satan, various angels, and God. He takes as his basis the basic biblical text of the creation and fall of humanity (thus, 'Paradise Lost'), which has taken such hold in the English-speaking world that many images have attained in the popular mind an almost biblical truth to them (in much the same way that popular images of Hell owe much to Dante's Inferno). The text of Genesis was very much in vogue in the mid-1600s (much as it is today) and Paradise Lost attained an almost instant acclaim. John Milton was an English cleric, a protestant who nonetheless had a great affinity for catholic Italy, and this duality of interests shows in much of his creative writing as well as his religious tracts. Milton was nicknamed 'the divorcer' in his early career for writing a pamphlet that supported various civil liberties, including the right to obtain a civil divorce on the grounds of incompatibility, a very unpopular view for the day. Milton held a diplomatic post under the Commonwealth, and wrote defenses of the governments action, including the right of people to depose and dispose of a bad king. Paradise Lost has a certain oral-epic quality to it, and for good reason. Milton lost his eyesight in 1652, and thus had to dictate the poem to several different assistants. Though influenced heavily by the likes of Virgil, Homer, and Dante, he differentiated himself in style and substance by concentrating on more humanist elements. Say first -- for Heaven hides nothing from thy view, Nor the deep tract of Hell -- say first what cause Moved our grand Parents, in that happy state, Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off From their Creator and transgress his will, For one restraint, lords of the world besides? Milton drops us from the beginning into the midst of the action, for the story is well known already, and proceeds during the course of the books (Milton's original had 10, but the traditional epic had 12 books, so some editions broke books VII and X into two books each) to both push the action forward and to give developing background -- how Satan came to be in Hell, after the war in heaven a description that includes perhaps the currently-most-famous line: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition though in hell: Better to reign in hell, that serve in heav'n. (Impress your friends by knowing that this comes from Book I, lines 261-263 of Paradise Lost, rather than a Star Trek episode!) The imagery of warfare and ambition in the angels, God's wisdom and power and wrath, the very human characterisations of Adam and Eve, and the development beyond Eden make a very compelling story, done with such grace of language that makes this a true classic for the ages. The magnificence of creation, the darkness and empty despair of hell, the manipulativeness of evil and the corruptible innocence of humanity all come through as classic themes. The final books of the epic recount a history of humanity, now sinful, as Paradise has been lost, a history in tune with typical Renaissance renderings, which also, in Milton's religious convictions, will lead to the eventual destruction of this world and a new creation. A great work that takes some effort to comprehend, but yields great rewards for those who stay the course.

An immense poetic achievement:
Add this reviewer to the list of people who hold Paradise Lost up to the lofty title of The Greatest Epic Poem in the English Language; it is not only this, but one of the best in any language. Writing unabashedly in the tradition of unrhymed Homeric epic verse, Mitlon was working well within what was earlier purveyed by Homer, Virgil, and Dante -- but he brings his own distinctive touch and flair to the work. The opening lines of the long poem are clearly inspired by Homer, as are other elements, but Milton has a very unique poetic style; long sentences, often with the principle verb at the end, being one of its mainstays. This language is very grandiose and quite complex; it takes a while to get used to it -- you will have to pay very close attention during the first book -- but, as with most classical literature, once the reader gets the hang of it, it goes quite smoothly. The Divine Comedy of Dante has a more towring reputation than does Milton's Paradise Lost -- for one thing, it is older -- but I among those who find Milton to be superior. The Divine Comedy is, certainly, an undisputed masterpiece, but, where it was, more or less, a satire and a thinly-veiled attack on many of Dante's political enemies, Milton's work deals with much more complex and profound subject matter: why mankind fell, how the gods themselves operate and think, the nature and attractiveness of evil and sin, the importance of love in human relationships, the moral problems of God's justice. It is true that Dante's work is more original; Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, at least in seed, come straight from The Bible. But Milton only uses these stories as a springboard for the exploration of the latent moral and ethical problems lurking beneath. Milton explores these problems with a refreshingly fresh perspective -- strictly within the Christian tradition, to be sure, but far from fundamentalist, and even quite radical for its day. Although some cite the work as Christian apologist, there are certainly many elements within the poem that many of the more hard-line Christians would be taken aback by; it was, of course, even more controversial in its day. One thing about the work that often gets pointed out is that Satan is a far more interesting and appealing character than God. This, in my view, does not have Milton unwittingly on the Devil's side, as some critics have suggested. Rather, he is pointing out how appealing sin is always is: of course it's interesting, of course it's appealing -- otherwise, we wouldn't keep falling for it again and again and again. If we saw its razor-sharp fangs and \odripping\c mouth, we would have stopped getting ensnared in its trap long ago. However, as a non-Christian myself, I cannot but disagree with some points of Milton's theodicy; the last two books, in particular, and Paradise Regained as a whole, were, for me, quite hard to swallow. I found the more human elements of the poem to be its most intriguing. Milton paints Adam and Eve as quintissentially human characters who possess many of the same feelings that we all share: joy, happiness, fear, sadness, depression, and, most of all, the overriding paramount importance of love. The act of Adam, who was not himself \oevil\c, eating of the apple so that he could follow Eve, no matter what doom was to befall her and them, out of love for her, is still one of the most touching moments in all of literature -- as Mark Twain, in the voice of Adam, later said, "Wheresoever Eve was there, THERE was Eden." God, Satan, and the various angels are also endowed with human characteristics; most Christians today seem to have forgotten that God created Man "in His own image", and that He is not a perfect creature. Likewise, Satan is not entirely evil -- certainly he is ambitious and narcissistic, but so are many humans -- indeed, many have seen him as the hero of the poem (an errorenous view, as I see it.) God often comes off as extremely cold and hardly forgiving or merciful; indeed, to many readers, myself included, this poem doesn't come anywhere near its stated goal of justifying the ways of Gods to men, but only reinforces the views we already had (Mark Twain, whom I have previously mentioned, has a very different view of the situation, closer to my own perspective, that is worth seeking out.) Whatever one's objections to the theology and theodicy expressed within the poem, the poem remains a great work of literature -- poetic, grandiose, profound, extremely readable, and thought-provoking. The shorter sequel, Paradise Regained, is also included in this edition. This work, in my view, comes nowhere near the glory of it's predecessor, but it is still a good read and it is very handy to have it included in this volume as well. For that reason, I highly reccommend picking up this particular edition of the works; also because the introduction, written by Dr. Susanne Woods, is very good, and it has notes provided by the wonderful Christoper Ricks, who also edited the poem for this version. Unlike many editors, he does not include so many notes that they become cumbersome and distract from the text: they are genuinely helpful and there are not too many of them. This is an absolute classic not only of English literature, but of world literature, and a monument in the tradition of epic poetry that you owe it to yourself to read.

Wonderful view of Heaven and Hell:
I have read alot of classic poetry, and it is great to read one in its native language,which is very beautiful. After reading this I can see, and you will be able to see why this is one of the most well known pieces of literature around. This along with The Divine Comedy (which I recommend) are responsible for many peoples present views of Heaven and Hell.

Way more accessible than I would ever have guessed:
A few days ago I finished Paradise Lost for a book club I'm in. It took me the whole first chapter to get adjusted, but then the book really swept me away. The language is beautiful and the concepts very deep and thoughtful. I can't always agree with Milton's thoedicy, but it definitely provides rich and spicy food for thought. The book requires a lot from the reader, but it's well worth every moment. We also read all 3 books of Dante's Divine Comedy for the book club. I was frequently lost, especially while reading Purgatorio and Paradisio, but Milton is different. You can understand - and enjoy - most of what he says even without the footnotes (though you'll miss 90% of the allusions without them). The poetry is sublime. Like a really great novel, this work hangs over you for days after you finish it, tugging at your heart.

Paradise Lost:
"The poem provides an unwitting expose to the absurdity of Christian mythology." With all due respect, I have to question how someone can consider what Milton intended as the "justification of the ways of God to men" an "unwitting exposé." For sure there are several controversies throughout PL-Milton most certainly DOES represent Satan as noble, rationalize the Fall, and present God as less interesting and engaging than the Devil-but he most certainly does NOT do so "unwittingly." Above all Milton was an advocate of freedom-freedom of thought and theology no less than the freedom from censorship he championed in Areopagitica. He was in many ways unorthodox, even denying the Holy Spirit as a person of the Trinity. In Paradise Lost, Milton was not writing a treatise on God's justice and unwittingly undermining his own religion: the issues of Satan's heroic charm and God's apparent coldness are fundamental parts of that treatise. Sin is tempting and attractive, but "the wages of sin is death" (as shown by the "Unholy Trinity" of Satan, Sin, and Death, by which point in the narrative the heroic appeal of Satan the reader may have felt at the beginning of the poem starts to fade). And the cold, often unappealing reason and justice of God are hard to come to terms with-indeed, impossible to come to terms with, without the redemption of Christ. Milton hardly tries to "negate his own words with addendums and disclaimers." Show me one such addendum or disclaimer that isn't part of his intended theodicy. In my opinion, Milton's epic is one of the most cogent examples of Christian apologetics ever. Did you miss the line that "with reiterated crimes \oSatan\c heaps on himself damnation, while he sought evil to others, and enrag'd might see how all his malice serv'd but to bring forth infinite goodness, grace and mercy, but on himself treble confusion, wrath and vengeance pour'd." Also, I suggest reconsidering the significance of his statement that "Virtue is but choosing"-a brief statement which alone can "justify the ways of God to men," even without the hopeful ending and the redemptive fulfillment in Paradise Regained. Virtue, defined here as the choice to serve God, would not be possible had not man and woman been given free will; and maybe, just maybe, the horror of hell and Satan, the woes of man (and even the death of Christ) were worth the price of making possible the concept of love. For all that, I do agree that "Paradise Lost features some of the most wonderful passages written in the English language." But I can see how you might think Milton was writing an exposé, intentional or not, if you only read (or only paid attention to?) those first hundred pages about the rebellious angels. (If you ask me, though, the description of Eden, the ironic pursuits of the demons and the perverted parallels of Hell to Heaven, and all of Book IX are the highlights). However, debate is good. I'm sure we both agree with Milton that the freedom to express one's beliefs is of paramount importance. That said, I believe that PL is indeed an exposé, in part at least-not of Christianity, but of the irony and vanity of evil. His arguments for the justice of God seem valid to me, and (is it just me?) his description of Satan as a hero, of Satan's self-righteous volunteering to leave hell, and of the horrible perversion of the" Unholy Trinity", serve not to justify Satan and thereby justify rebellion, but instead, to expose evil for what it is-tempting, but horrific. The most I personally can feel for Satan is pity, and by the end of Paradise Lost, that pity has turned almost entirely to enmity. As a whole, although Paradise Lost certainly raises some debatable issues, it accomplishes what Milton set out to do-justify the ways of God to men.