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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
[b:Paradise Lost|15997|Paradise Lost|John Milton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526070678l/15997._SY75_.jpg|1031493] is a wondrous retelling of the Adam and Eve creation story.
The most interesting part of this epic poem to me is the development of Paradise (Eden) by God and the subsequent battle (led by Christ) and eventual dispelling of Satan from Paradise.
As The Bible teaches, Satan lost the war but he lingers and never gives up and he is extremely cunning in his efforts to undermine and to turn mankind from God and Paradise.
[a:John Milton|9876|John Milton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1438861655p2/9876.jpg] effectively reminded his readers that God was compassionate with Adam and Eve for their failure to heed Him. Not all is “Lost” - at the end of the poem, (using a “crash course” of what would be future events to Adam of the Old and New Testament) God comforts Adam by showing him how the people that followed him have the potential to find their way back to Paradise. Christ’s Resurrection reopened the gate!
5 stars
The most interesting part of this epic poem to me is the development of Paradise (Eden) by God and the subsequent battle (led by Christ) and eventual dispelling of Satan from Paradise.
As The Bible teaches, Satan lost the war but he lingers and never gives up and he is extremely cunning in his efforts to undermine and to turn mankind from God and Paradise.
[a:John Milton|9876|John Milton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1438861655p2/9876.jpg] effectively reminded his readers that God was compassionate with Adam and Eve for their failure to heed Him. Not all is “Lost” - at the end of the poem, (using a “crash course” of what would be future events to Adam of the Old and New Testament) God comforts Adam by showing him how the people that followed him have the potential to find their way back to Paradise. Christ’s Resurrection reopened the gate!
5 stars
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
People have so many (legitimate) issues with Paradise Lost, but I really enjoyed it. It's just pretty gratifying when you spend so many years waiting to read something because you know you won't appreciate it as much outside classroom discussion and then you finally take a class in which it's assigned and it lives up to your expectations.
Highly recommend watching the Yale University Open Course for Paradise Lost on YouTube as you read!! Having an entire free college level literature class recorded and accessible is an amazing resource!! I found the added insight and context extremely valuable in terms of comprehension and appreciation for Milton’s work. I’m not giving this a star rating because it doesn’t really compare to anything else I’ve ever read… some of the Books I enjoyed more than other. I had heard, as I think most people have, that this poem presents a very sympathetic Satan, and I would say that storyline was the most compelling. As a woman, I of course also found myself empathizing with Eve. Book 4 was the one that made me the most emotional, and the most plot probably occurs in Book 9. After the fall, it’s a lot of Bible recap and references that I had to confirm with Google to make sure I had my stories right. Outside of Bible references, there are also lots of references to classical mythology (Greek and Roman) and Milton’s contemporaries. His relationship with other “greats” and his ideas about their works are super interesting.
It is kind of outstanding how much contemporary lay people thinking about Adam, Eve, God, sin, and Satan are consistent with the way that Milton talks about such things, including lots of details about "Lucifer's fall" and the like. I read this because I wanted to read Lewis's preface to it, and thought I should read this first! :P
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my second Epic poem after The Divine Comedy and I feel like I can easily put them in a similar category especially since they have such similar themes.
You can’t deny the artistic achievement that Milton accomplished and you can’t deny its influence.
There are parts that are genuinely moving. The humanity of Adam and Eve, the victor of Christ and the Angels against their foes in the battle of Heaven. The immediate aftermath of the Fall where Satan and his Devils just look around like “what just happened”. The bitterness and misery of the Devil.
I loved the themes of Paradise Lost.
Something I was surprised about is that this is always pitched as a “sympathy for the Devil” work and I found that kinda odd. The character of Satan is so pathetic and miserable and like a petulant child throughout the entire work it’s hard to root for him.
That being said he is the most interesting character here even if I found him unsympathetic.
As for my final ranking, in 2025, it’s a tough read. The language is old. The pace is slow and it’s extremely stylized. I could see myself return to the work, but it’s still more of a challenge to read with reading parts. Definitely glad I read it (and can say I have lol).
Give it a shot! I highly recommend either reading it aloud to yourself or finding an audiobook to read it to you as you read along, I think it enhances the experience and makes it much more approachable.
You can’t deny the artistic achievement that Milton accomplished and you can’t deny its influence.
There are parts that are genuinely moving. The humanity of Adam and Eve, the victor of Christ and the Angels against their foes in the battle of Heaven. The immediate aftermath of the Fall where Satan and his Devils just look around like “what just happened”. The bitterness and misery of the Devil.
I loved the themes of Paradise Lost.
Something I was surprised about is that this is always pitched as a “sympathy for the Devil” work and I found that kinda odd. The character of Satan is so pathetic and miserable and like a petulant child throughout the entire work it’s hard to root for him.
That being said he is the most interesting character here even if I found him unsympathetic.
As for my final ranking, in 2025, it’s a tough read. The language is old. The pace is slow and it’s extremely stylized. I could see myself return to the work, but it’s still more of a challenge to read with reading parts. Definitely glad I read it (and can say I have lol).
Give it a shot! I highly recommend either reading it aloud to yourself or finding an audiobook to read it to you as you read along, I think it enhances the experience and makes it much more approachable.