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The Sound and the Story: Exploring the World of Paradise Lost

22 points by tintinnabula 7y ago

Thorentis 7y ago
A facinating review. Having never read the book/poem, I now want to. Though I suspect I will come to a differnt interpretation than the reviewer, it was interesting to read his take on it. > I don't think that the version created by Milton, blind and ageing, out of political favour, dictating it day by day to his daughter, will ever be surpassed. He is clearly in awe of this work, but I don't like it when reviewers make remarks not previously commented on at the very end of their review. "Our of political favour". Perhaps to others it is obvious what he means by this? But he doesn't discuss it at all in the review, and it seems almost like a subtle jab left right till the end. Is it simply because it is a religious work? Or is the idea of sin politically incorrect now? It seems like a rather silly remark to make by somebody that is clearly so well read and open minded about literature.
- ggm 7y ago
  Milton and politics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton%27s_politics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton%27s_politics Milton was active during the time of the English revolution which was transformative in regard to the divine right of kings, and the role of the state, and representative parliament. It is not a jab: Sin was a central concept to religious wars. Catholicism could annul sin, the purchase of indulgences led directly to the religious wars of the reformation which proceeded the English Revolution by only a few generations, and continued to echo down the years: Puritanism, and the establishment was an ongoing battle. Milton's works were suppressed at times. He lived under sufferance of the potential for harmful consequence for his writing.
  - Thorentis 7y ago
    Ah, I interpreted his statement as meaning it was out of political favour right now, rather than being out of political favour at the times it was written or published.
- pc2g4d 7y ago
  Milton supported the English Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell which ended up executing the king. But then the Commonwealth came apart and the Stuart monarchy was restored, putting Milton on the political outs. Many others who had supported the Revolution were executed when the new king came into power, but somehow Milton survived on the margins. The Hackett Classics edition of Paradise Lost does a good job explaining all of this in the introduction as well as the footnotes: https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lost-Hackett-Classics-Milton/dp/0872207331 https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lost-Hackett-Classics-Milton... Paradise Lost is one of the most beautiful poems in the English language. It takes a bit of getting used to before you can read Milton fluently (he structures his sentences in unusual ways sometimes to accommodate the meter) but after a few pages you'll begin to grasp what a monumental achievement it is. It's a shame it's not more widely appreciated, especially as its themes transcend mere retelling of the biblical story and enter on universal human concerns.
acabal 7y ago
Shameless plug, you can download a high-quality ebook edition for free at Standard Ebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/john-milton/paradise-lost https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/john-milton/paradise-lost

22 points by tintinnabula 7y ago

A facinating review. Having never read the book/poem, I now want to. Though I suspect I will come to a differnt interpretation than the reviewer, it was interesting to read his take on it. > I don't think that the version created by Milton, blind and ageing, out of political favour, dictating it day by day to his daughter, will ever be surpassed. He is clearly in awe of this work, but I don't like it when reviewers make remarks not previously commented on at the very end of their review. "Our of political favour". Perhaps to others it is obvious what he means by this? But he doesn't discuss it at all in the review, and it seems almost like a subtle jab left right till the end. Is it simply because it is a religious work? Or is the idea of sin politically incorrect now? It seems like a rather silly remark to make by somebody that is clearly so well read and open minded about literature.

ggm 7y ago
Milton and politics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton%27s_politics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton%27s_politics Milton was active during the time of the English revolution which was transformative in regard to the divine right of kings, and the role of the state, and representative parliament. It is not a jab: Sin was a central concept to religious wars. Catholicism could annul sin, the purchase of indulgences led directly to the religious wars of the reformation which proceeded the English Revolution by only a few generations, and continued to echo down the years: Puritanism, and the establishment was an ongoing battle. Milton's works were suppressed at times. He lived under sufferance of the potential for harmful consequence for his writing.
- Thorentis 7y ago
  Ah, I interpreted his statement as meaning it was out of political favour right now, rather than being out of political favour at the times it was written or published.
pc2g4d 7y ago
Milton supported the English Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell which ended up executing the king. But then the Commonwealth came apart and the Stuart monarchy was restored, putting Milton on the political outs. Many others who had supported the Revolution were executed when the new king came into power, but somehow Milton survived on the margins. The Hackett Classics edition of Paradise Lost does a good job explaining all of this in the introduction as well as the footnotes: https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lost-Hackett-Classics-Milton/dp/0872207331 https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Lost-Hackett-Classics-Milton... Paradise Lost is one of the most beautiful poems in the English language. It takes a bit of getting used to before you can read Milton fluently (he structures his sentences in unusual ways sometimes to accommodate the meter) but after a few pages you'll begin to grasp what a monumental achievement it is. It's a shame it's not more widely appreciated, especially as its themes transcend mere retelling of the biblical story and enter on universal human concerns.

acabal 7y ago

Shameless plug, you can download a high-quality ebook edition for free at Standard Ebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/john-milton/paradise-lost https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/john-milton/paradise-lost