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It only becomes better when you know the backstory of the author and the context in which it was written. John Milton was a talented diplomat who spoke multiple

It only becomes better when you know the backstory of the author and the context in which it was written. John Milton was a talented diplomat who spoke multiple languages and was very well respected by his peers who admired him for his intelligence and good character. He supported a popular uprising against the incompetent king of England out of a sense idealism. The revolution was initially a success but the democratic government that should have replaced the king turned into an even more unpopular dictatorship. The monarchy was restored, most revolutionaries where executed and Milton was banished to the country side where he lived out his final years in poverty going blind due to cataracts growing in his eyes. He dictated the story of Paradise Lost to a scribe to explain how hard it is to change the word for the better, "To serve in heaven or to rule in hell" as he would put it. This was his final act of rebellion, to cast satan as a personable anti hero.

KaiserPro 3y ago
I hadn't clocked that he live through the wars of the three kingdoms.
slibhb 3y ago
Whether Satan is the hero (anti or otherwise) of Paraside Lost is hotly debated. I don't think Milton viewed it that way but plenty of English Romantics did.
- eszed 3y ago
  Yes. Blake's line is oft-quoted: "[Milton] was of the devil's party unawares". Stanley Fish's reading is that Milton expected that his readers' enjoyment of and/or sympathy for and/or identification with Satan would bring them to recognize that their (our) point of view is tarnished by their (our) sinful nature.
HKH2 3y ago
Why would satan not be cast as a personable antihero? Would it be easy to put aside a great lawyer that finds all the loopholes for you?
- mcswell 3y ago
  Have you heard of the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster"? The loophole turns out to be on Webster's client's side.
  - HKH2 3y ago
    No I haven't but I'll give it a read.
Jun8 3y ago
> He dictated the story of Paradise Lost to a scribe He had many aides, including his daughters, Anne, Mary, and Deborah. If you visit the NY Public Library there’s a large painting depicting Milton dictating to one of the daughters while the other two listen in: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/66760d80-c7f1-0135-7e34-49d3fe482577 https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/66760d80-c7f1-0135.... This is a popular topic and have been painted a number of times. In reality his relationship with his daughters was very strained, it is reported that he forced them to read to him works in languages they didn’t understand and their education was not a priority for him. From https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/16/books/unjust-were-the-ways-of-milton.html https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/16/books/unjust-were-the-way...: He did not even bother to tell them of his forthcoming marriage to his third wife. When they heard the news from a servant, Mary replied, according to A. N. Wilson's 1983 biography, "that was no news to hear of his wedding but if she could hear of his death that was something.” The household was volatile at best, unbearable when the girls were in full fury against their father and his new wife. Milton's daughters complained that their stepmother was a termagant. One early biographer noted that Milton suffered "the Affront and Scorn of a Wife he Lov'd." Anne and Mary never forgave their father for whatever sins they believed he committed against them. But Deborah, the youngest, and the daughter who most resembled Milton, seems to have made peace with his memory. After his death, she even came to serve as a source for early scholars seeking information about the famous man of letters.
pge 3y ago
There's a good biography of Milton - "Poet of Revolution" by Nicholas McDowell. Really fascinating to see how he was educated in England ca. 1600 (e.g. having to debate in Latin, as well as write any of a variety of poetic forms in Latin and Greek).
joshuahedlund 3y ago
> It only becomes better when you know the backstory of the author and the context in which it was written Fully agree, but I do think it’s reductionist to think that he > cast satan as a personable anti hero C S Lewis has a pretty scathing rebuttal of this particular theory in his “A Preface to Paradise Lost”. In particular he notes how Satan continually descends throughout the story, not only in power but literally in size. That said, Satan’s speech to the sun that opens book 4 is incredible
- stvltvs 3y ago
  Whatever Milton's intentions, it's undeniable that Satan is the most charismatic character. Everyone on Heaven's side is wooden and unlikeable.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
kitd 3y ago
most revolutionaries where executed Quite a number fled to the American colonies, at that time starting to gain a reputation for nurturing free-thinking radicals.

KaiserPro 3y ago

I hadn't clocked that he live through the wars of the three kingdoms.

slibhb 3y ago

Whether Satan is the hero (anti or otherwise) of Paraside Lost is hotly debated. I don't think Milton viewed it that way but plenty of English Romantics did.

eszed 3y ago
Yes. Blake's line is oft-quoted: "[Milton] was of the devil's party unawares". Stanley Fish's reading is that Milton expected that his readers' enjoyment of and/or sympathy for and/or identification with Satan would bring them to recognize that their (our) point of view is tarnished by their (our) sinful nature.

HKH2 3y ago

Why would satan not be cast as a personable antihero? Would it be easy to put aside a great lawyer that finds all the loopholes for you?

mcswell 3y ago
Have you heard of the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster"? The loophole turns out to be on Webster's client's side.
- HKH2 3y ago
  No I haven't but I'll give it a read.

Jun8 3y ago

> He dictated the story of Paradise Lost to a scribe He had many aides, including his daughters, Anne, Mary, and Deborah. If you visit the NY Public Library there’s a large painting depicting Milton dictating to one of the daughters while the other two listen in: https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/66760d80-c7f1-0135-7e34-49d3fe482577 https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/66760d80-c7f1-0135.... This is a popular topic and have been painted a number of times. In reality his relationship with his daughters was very strained, it is reported that he forced them to read to him works in languages they didn’t understand and their education was not a priority for him. From https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/16/books/unjust-were-the-ways-of-milton.html https://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/16/books/unjust-were-the-way...: He did not even bother to tell them of his forthcoming marriage to his third wife. When they heard the news from a servant, Mary replied, according to A. N. Wilson's 1983 biography, "that was no news to hear of his wedding but if she could hear of his death that was something.” The household was volatile at best, unbearable when the girls were in full fury against their father and his new wife. Milton's daughters complained that their stepmother was a termagant. One early biographer noted that Milton suffered "the Affront and Scorn of a Wife he Lov'd." Anne and Mary never forgave their father for whatever sins they believed he committed against them. But Deborah, the youngest, and the daughter who most resembled Milton, seems to have made peace with his memory. After his death, she even came to serve as a source for early scholars seeking information about the famous man of letters.

pge 3y ago

There's a good biography of Milton - "Poet of Revolution" by Nicholas McDowell. Really fascinating to see how he was educated in England ca. 1600 (e.g. having to debate in Latin, as well as write any of a variety of poetic forms in Latin and Greek).

joshuahedlund 3y ago

> It only becomes better when you know the backstory of the author and the context in which it was written Fully agree, but I do think it’s reductionist to think that he > cast satan as a personable anti hero C S Lewis has a pretty scathing rebuttal of this particular theory in his “A Preface to Paradise Lost”. In particular he notes how Satan continually descends throughout the story, not only in power but literally in size. That said, Satan’s speech to the sun that opens book 4 is incredible

stvltvs 3y ago
Whatever Milton's intentions, it's undeniable that Satan is the most charismatic character. Everyone on Heaven's side is wooden and unlikeable.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

kitd 3y ago

most revolutionaries where executed Quite a number fled to the American colonies, at that time starting to gain a reputation for nurturing free-thinking radicals.