Paradise Lost - John Milton

I awarded Paradise Lost a meagre two stars because I personally don't like the arrogant aspirations of one man to write an epic poem intending to define and glorify a nation. It is arguable that Milton did not ultimately achieve this end, but the presumption was no doubt there. I'm also not particularly fond of the Judeo-Christian mythology, as I find it lacklustre and sparse in relation to the more colourful, populated and diverse classical canon. The divisive bickering and pontificating that inevitably results from anything pertaining to Biblical scripture is something I long ago grew weary of to the point of sickness. It matters not that Milton rewrote the story of the fall from grace in his own style, with his own agenda, a charismatic Devil and morally ambiguous God; the raw material was drilled into me too many times through childhood Sunday schools and countless Catholic masses. Nothing could be grander in scope than the war between Heaven and Hell, yet I found it extremely hard going and began counting pages.

Paradise Lost is divided into twelve books detailing Satan's rebellion against God and expulsion from Heaven, the creation of Earth, Adam and Eve's temptation and transgression, and their subsequent departure from Eden. The poem begins with Satan's lament at being cast into the burning lake of Hell with his entourage of fallen angels. They hold council on how best to retaliate against their divine creator, and in the end conclude that Satan should escape the confines of Hell and seek further knowledge of the rumoured new world. In heroic fashion, the archfiend goes forth on his mission of vengeance, seeking to introduce sin and death, discord and ruin to the innocents above. All very well, but the narrative meanders, ambles, repeats, digresses, and over-explains everything to a tortuous degree. Milton relies on a thorough knowledge of classical lore in his readers, as evident by almost a quarter of my edition being made up of end notes. I understood the numerous allusions, but infinitely preferred their sources to the fare at hand.

Rating: 2/5