
Paradise Lost is one of the most important poems - keiferski
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170419-why-paradise-lost-is-one-of-the-worlds-most-important-poems
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christudor
I can highly, highly recommend listening to John Rogers’ set of lectures on
Paradise Lost, ideally as you’re reading through the poem (one book, one
lecture). It was how I first read the poem and it massively enriched the
experience:
[https://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-220](https://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-220)

(It also inspired me to start my education business)

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BossingAround
Just like Joyce's Ulysses, Dostoevsky's work, etc. those all are books that
some people consider hugely important, yet because of their difficulty, they
won't touch lives of many. Even students of literature often don't understand
these works.

And so, I am sceptical when they get pronounced as extremely important.
'Important to whom?' seems to be the crucial question...

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goto11
In literature studies, "important" usually means how many other works have
been influenced by a work.

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azangru
I wonder why they don't use the word "influential" then, if that's what they
mean.

To me, the word _important_ has a distinct prescriptive ring to it. As in
"this book is important, therefore you should go read it". The word
_imfluential_ is more descriptive and does not have such connotations.

~~~
goto11
That _is_ what the word means.

Important: _1.2 (of an artist or artistic work) significantly original and
influential._
[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/important](https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/important)

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pseudolus
William Blake is only mentioned in passing in the article but his
illustrations of Paradise Lost are themselves standalone works of art [0].

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake%27s_illustration...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake%27s_illustrations_of_Paradise_Lost)

~~~
byproxy
Likewise, Gustave Doré's illustrations:
[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Illustrations_of...](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Illustrations_of_Paradise_Lost_by_Gustave_Dor%C3%A9)

~~~
hotsauceror
Thank you for this link! These are truly beautiful.

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geargrinder
The language and imagery of this poem is worth the effort it takes to read it.
It helps to have a good mythology reference nearby because he wraps the
biblical story in references to classical mythology which gives it all a
deeper meaning. It is amazing that he was blind when he wrote it and dictated
a new section from memory each morning.

~~~
simonh
I read an annotated edition once, well tried to. The problem is if you
actually pay attention to all the annotations pointing our references to this,
influences on the text from that, digressions on the other it would take
forever. The breadth and depth of the man's classical knowledge was
extraordinary.

~~~
xenophonf
Honestly, it's more fun to read aloud, skipping the references. The Devil gets
all the best lines IMO.

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antognini
> Samuel Johnson ranked Paradise Lost among the highest “productions of the
> human mind”

Although I enjoyed it, I think Samuel Johnson was also right when he said that
"none ever wished longer than it was."

Like a lot of literature from that time it can be hard to understand without a
fair amount of background knowledge in Christian theology. That was taken for
granted then (and really up until the 20th century), but makes it operate in a
different intellectual universe than many of us do today.

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lsc
[http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=3086](http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=3086)

(I mean, I'd totally read that, too)

But yeah, I really enjoyed reading Paradise Lost; I mean, I read everything on
the kindle, but I think I need to find a nice bound edition that includes
Dore's illustrations.

~~~
lsc
I mean paradise lost is beautiful... but I'd really like an analysis of "The
Tenure of Kings and Magistrates" \- like, was it "written to reconcile men's
minds," or was it, instead a craven and ill-timed attempt to ingratiate
himself with the winners of the recent revolution?

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simonh
He'd been writing parliamentarian and anti-clerical pamphlets since before the
civil war, so it was already quite clear where his sympathies and loyalty lay.

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billfruit
For a common reader, it is quite difficult to appreciate unless it is
presented in a fully annotated form, which explains all the allusions and
references Milton makes.

I also think than Dryden's Aeneiad is as important as Paradise Lost.

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passwerd678
[https://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/tex...](https://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/text.shtml)

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gpsx
I have to confess what I know about Paradise lost comes from the movie Animal
House.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciw1os85nz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciw1os85nz0)

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pbwolf
I still recall my English Lit teacher in 11th grade bringing this to us. To
hear her explain how Milton made the Devil the rebel and hero versus god was
almost shocking for a 16 year old.

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hyper_reality
I'm disappointed that the article didn't explore another perspective on
Milton's Satan, which is that the "Devil's party" is deliberately cast as more
appealing than the virtuous one. Milton's point is that sin is exciting and
enticing, while being principled takes hard work and dedication - as in the
parable of the wide and narrow paths to salvation. Satan's rhetoric about
democracy is insincere since what he really wants is tyranny and chaos, and
the poem emphasises how humans need the aptitude to be able to recognise and
reject such false language.

Of course Romantic poets brought a different, more familiar set of values to
their reading of Paradise Lost, but I think it is more enlightening to
understand the poem within the world in which it was written, and appreciate
the depth of Milton's commitment to Puritan and Republican ideals even if
aspects of them seem alien to the modern reader.

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vbuwivbiu
for anyone feeling flattened by modern tech-driven life, this poem is an
antidote that will restore your soul

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stiangrindvoll
Any recommended print for this?

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pseudolus
The Norton Critical Edition is pretty good, well annotated, and, if I'm
correct, the "go to" edition used in a number of universities [0].

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Norton-Critical-Editions-
thi...](https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Norton-Critical-Editions-
third/dp/B004U70G8U/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=paradise+lost+norton&qid=1548167257&sr=8-2)

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lurquer
I read Paradise Lost every year around this time. I have it in my briefcse
right now. It is the greatest thing written in the English language. Period.

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hema_n
This one of the best one which I enjoyed reading.

