Paradise Lost

From almost the moment of its publication in 1667, Paradise Lost was considered a classic. It is difficult now to appreciate how audacious an undertaking the epic represents, and how astonishing its immediate and continued success was. Over the course of twelve books John Milton wrote an epic poem that would "justify the ways of God to men," a mission that required a complex drama, the source of which is both historical and deeply personal. While the struggle for ascendancy between God and ...