John MiltonParadise Lost Paradise Lost, the epic meditated and planned by Milton overmany years (years which included the turbulence of the Civil War and thestrictures of the Commonwealth), was completed in 1663 and published in 1667.In 1668 he added the prose arguments, which provide plot summaries for each ofthe twelve Books into which the poem is divided. John Milton, born in 1608, was educated at St. Paul’s Schooland Christ’s College, Cambridge. He achieved early fame as a scholar, poet andpamphleteer, arguing vehemently for the Puritan cause against King and Church.Political activity then occupied him for many years and he only truly returnedto his first love, poetry, after the Restoration in 1660. Meanwhile, hisprivate life had proved almost as controversial as his public life: he marriedMary Powell in 1642, but her swift return to her Royalist parents spurredMilton to some provocative pamphlets arguing for divorce. Reconciliation withhis wife was followed by the birth of three children. Mary died in 1652 andMilton remarried in 1656: Katherine Woodcock, however, lived only until 1658.His third marriage, to Elizabeth Minshull, took place in 1663; she outlivedhim.Paradise Lost is Milton’s greatest work: Dryden described itin 1767 as “one of the greatest, most noble and sublime poems which either thisage or nation has produced.” Milton set himself the task of ‘justifying theways of God to men’: in other words, to tell the story of Man’s creation, falland redemption so that his readers might be moved to appreciate God’s wisdomand purpose. The poem paints unforgettably vivid and powerful pictures,both of characters and places, in a magnificently subtle and sonorous blankverse. One of the most interesting aspects of his epic is the characterizationof Satan, who (in spite of Milton’s efforts to disparage him) emerges as atragic and in some ways heroic figure, evil though his intentions are. Satan, the fallen rebel angel, defies God and seeks revengeby seducing Adam and Eve into disobedience to their creator. The human pair arepoignantly evoked: paradoxically frail yet perfect, their sense of their ownhumanity (after the fall) is Everyman’s plight – we find ourselves, ourcapacity for wonder, love, shame, hope and despair, in them. THIS ABRIDGEMENT This abbreviated version of the poem focuses especially onBooks I, II, IV, IX, X and XII. Prose summaries, based on Milton’s own, areprovided for those sections of the poem not included. Books I and II: Satan, and his comrades arise from theirplace of punishment, Hell, build the infernal city of Pandaemonium, and resolveto seek the destruction of mankind. Satan undertakes the journey alone, passingthrough Chaos towards Earth. Book IV: Describes Satan’s penetration of Eden andintroduces “our first parents” Adam and Eve, in the perfection of Paradise. Book IX: The dramatic climax of the poem: Satan successfullypersuades Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, she in turn draws Adaminto sin, and their lustful union (followed by shame) represents the new truthof their situation. Book X: The story of God’s judgment, and Satan’s triumphantreturn to Hell, swiftly followed by shameful and monstrous transformation. Book XII: Adam and Eve are consoled by an account of thefuture redemption of Man by Christ and, gently grieving, the pair departs fromEden to begin human history. Notes by Perry Keenlyside Anton Lesser Anton Lesser is one of Britain’s leading classical actors.He has played many of the principal Shakespearean roles for the RoyalShakespeare Company including Petruchio, Romeo and Richard III. His career hasalso encompassed contemporary drama, notably The Birthday Party by HaroldPinter. Appearances in major television drama productions include The Oresteia,The Cherry Orchard, Troilus and Cressida and The Mill on the Floss.