Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (The Signet Classic Poetry Series)

Rating:
Summary: Stunning verse, unintended complications
Review: While Paradise Lost features some of the most wonderful passages ever written in the English language, the poem also provides an unwitting expose to the absurdity of Christian mythology. There is a palpable tension evident in every aspect of the work, as Milton endows Satan with nobility, Adam and Eve with compassion, and God and the angels with preening vanity and megalomania, only to pull back after every passage and try to negate his own words with addendums or disclaimers. The verse isn't consistent in its brilliance, but much of it is first rate, particularly in the first hundred pages or so as the rebellious angels recover from their disaster and map out their defiance.