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Summary: imake a point of reading this once a year.
Review: a riveting book for the philosophy of good and evil
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly valuable
Review: I was assigned to read Paradise Lost on my own over the summer and I am so glad that I chose the Norton Critical edition. Obviously, reading Paradise Lost is a daunting task for anyone who isn't a religious historian and without the Norton Critical edition, I might not have finished the epic at all (which would be much of a loss, not only in my grades.)This edition has a vast array of extremely helpful footnotes (have a Bible at hand for all those cross-references) and it has large margins for taking plenty of notes of your own. More than half of the book is a collection of various literature, excerpts and explanations that are also quite helpful. Certainly, there is no doubt that Paradise Lost is an excellent work, but the Norton Critical edition is invaluable for any average person (like me) who wants to truly appreciate it. I highly recommend this.
Rating:
Summary: Incredibly valuable
Review: I was assigned to read Paradise Lost on my own over the summer and I am so glad that I chose the Norton Critical edition. Obviously, reading Paradise Lost is a daunting task for anyone who isn't a religious historian and without the Norton Critical edition, I might not have finished the epic at all (which would be much of a loss, not only in my grades.) This edition has a vast array of extremely helpful footnotes (have a Bible at hand for all those cross-references) and it has large margins for taking plenty of notes of your own. More than half of the book is a collection of various literature, excerpts and explanations that are also quite helpful. Certainly, there is no doubt that Paradise Lost is an excellent work, but the Norton Critical edition is invaluable for any average person (like me) who wants to truly appreciate it. I highly recommend this.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the greatest epic poem in the English language
Review: If one is willing to spend the time delving into this great work (and it should be noted that it takes a lot of time & patience to do so), one should spend the few extra $$ and pick up the Norton Critical Edition. The advantage of this publication is that not only do you get the poem itself, but you also receive critical essays written on the work by such personages as Scott Elledge (who also edited the book), Voltaire, Viginia Woolfe, John Keats, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Matthew Arnold, Christopher Ricks and Harold Bloom (just to name a few). For the serious student of Milton, the literary criticism that has been written is nearly as important as the poem itself. "Paradise Lost" is the Protestant counterpart to Dante's "Divne Comedy." That is to say, it is the epic poem of the Protestant tradition just as Dante's work is the great epic poem of the Catholic heritage. Unlike Dante, however, English speaking people do not have to worry about anything getting lost in translation, for Milton wrote in English. Great works written in English were fairly sparse before the time of Shakespeare, and this is one of the few great epic works to be written in English since . What "PL" deals with is the fall of Satan & the subsequent fall of man. Milton attempts to "justify the ways of God to man" as he says in his famous line. Whether he does this or not is a matter of opinion, but what is not in debate is that he wrote an extraordinary piece of literature. Milton uses the famous "free will" defense for evil in the world and gives us a panoramic vision of heaven, hell, the garden of Eden and the entire cosmos. Regardless of whether people accept this position, Milton offers the best example of the free will argument that I have ever read. We also get to meet Satan (Lucifer) and in many ways we get to know him even better than God. It has even been said that Satan is actually the "hero" of the tale even though Satan ultimately loses (sort of like Ahab in Melville's "Moby Dick"). While this point has come under much scrutiny,what I can say is that Satan is a magnificent fellow. His speeches are generally the most dramatic & powerful and he has the most memorable lines (such as the infamous "It is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven"). So, for anyone remotely interested in literature, religion or philosophy, I would HIGHLY recommend this poem. You may just find there some ideas which you have never thought of before. An outstanding epic poem which ranks up there with the works of Dante, Virgil, Homer, Shelley and Goethe.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Work of Literature in the English Language
Review: Milton's "Paradise Lost" is the best work of literature in the English language, bar none. Christians and non-Christians alike should marvel at the vision presented by Milton. He is not a Satanist, as the Romantics would have you believe. Indeed, he is a devout Christian. This is what makes the work so extraordinary. Milton's vision of the astral world invokes various responses from the reader, all of them genuine and some contradictory. No matter who you are or what you believe, you will thoroughly enjoy this imaginary look into the events surrounding the fall of Lucifer and the beginnings of man in the Garden of Eden.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Work of Literature in the English Language
Review: Milton's "Paradise Lost" is the best work of literature in the English language, bar none. Christians and non-Christians alike should marvel at the vision presented by Milton. He is not a Satanist, as the Romantics would have you believe. Indeed, he is a devout Christian. This is what makes the work so extraordinary. Milton's vision of the astral world invokes various responses from the reader, all of them genuine and some contradictory. No matter who you are or what you believe, you will thoroughly enjoy this imaginary look into the events surrounding the fall of Lucifer and the beginnings of man in the Garden of Eden.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Work of Literature in the English Language
Review: Milton's "Paradise Lost" is the best work of literature in the English language, bar none. Christians and non-Christians alike should marvel at the vision presented by Milton. He is not a Satanist, as the Romantics would have you believe. Indeed, he is a devout Christian. This is what makes the work so extraordinary. Milton's vision of the astral world invokes various responses from the reader, all of them genuine and some contradictory. No matter who you are or what you believe, you will thoroughly enjoy this imaginary look into the events surrounding the fall of Lucifer and the beginnings of man in the Garden of Eden.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it for a class, but I would read it again for fun
Review: Milton's work is full of beautiful language and very memorable quotes. Even as a devout Christian, his views on the nature of man, woman, God and particularly Satan are fascinating and refreshing. The classic tale of Adam and Eve is given more life and beauty than I would have ever guessed. One of my favorite quotes from the work: "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. What matter where, if I be still the same?" (Satan, Book 1)
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Summary: For the student of Milton, one cannot do better than this
Review: Not only does this book contain the revised Paradise Lost, but excerpts from other Milton works, like the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, Christian Doctrine, Areopagetica, and others. Everything one needs to understand Milton's theological beliefs on the creation, the fall, and the institution of marriage can be found in this book!!!
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Summary: Greatest Epic Poem in English, Norton Edition is Outstanding
Review: Paradise Lost was not part of my core curriculum in science and mathematics. I was of course aware that scholars considered it a great work, a classic. But it seemed a bit daunting - long, difficult, dated, and possibly no longer relevant. A few years ago I made two fortunate decisions. I elected to read Milton's Paradise Lost and I bought the Norton Critical Edition (edited by Scott Elledge). I read and reread Paradise Lost over a period of three months as well as the 300 pages of the Norton critical commentary. I was stunned by the beauty and power of Milton. Why had I waited so long to even approach such a literary masterpiece? Make no mistake. I had been right in several ways. Paradise Lost is difficult, it is long, and full appreciation requires an understanding of the historical and religious context. But Paradise Lost is a remarkable achievement. It explores questions regarding man and God that are as relevant today as in the 17th century. And the genius of Milton has never been surpassed. I found the Norton footnotes extremely helpful - definitions for rare or archaic words and expressions, explanations of the historical context, and links to the critical commentary section. The footnotes are at the page bottom, making them readily accessible. The Norton biographical, historical, and literary commentaries were fascinating in their own right. I may well as spent as many hours reading commentary as with Paradise Lost itself. John Milton led a remarkable life. His enthusiastic euology on Shakespeare was included in the second folio edition of Shakespeare in 1632. This was Milton's first public appearance as an author! While traveling as a young man he "found and visited" the great Galileo, old and blind, a house prisoner of the Inquisition for his astronomical heresy. Years later Milton, a close supporter of Cromwell, barely escaped the scaffold at the Restoration and was at risk for some period afterwards. Many considered Milton no more than an outcast, now old and blind himself, a republican and regicide who had escaped death by too much clemency. Within a few years this aging blind outcast created one of the masterpieces of the English language. Milton broke all English tradition by writing Paradise Lost in blank verse. Homer in Greek and Vergil in Latin had used blank verse, but English demanded rhyme. Although others failed to imitate Milton's blank verse (I suspect that none wanted to be compared directly with genius), the praise was without exception. Dryden, a master of rhyme, is attributed with saying, "This man cuts us all out, and the ancients too". Milton's characterization of Satan, Adam, Eve, the archangels Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel, and even God himself are masterful. The debates and arguments that evolve around free will, obedience, forbidden knowledge, love, evil, and guilt are timeless. And fascinating. And thought provoking. Paradise Lost will require commitment and patience and thought. The commitment in time is substantial. (I enjoy Samuel Johnson's subtle comment: "None ever wished it longer than it is.") But the return is a personal experience with great literature, one of the masterpieces of the English language. I consider myself fortunate to have made such an investment.
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