The Essential Paradise Lost

About this book

After its publication in 1667 John Miltons Paradise Lost was celebrated throughout Europe as a supreme achievement of the human spirit. Now it is little read. To bring readers back to Miltons masterpiece John Carey has shortened it to a third of its original length. In this fascinating reinterpretation Carey reveals new insights about Miltons sources of inspiration while exploring divided readings of the works key characters. The Essential Paradise Lost presents the epics greatest poetry with linking passages that preserve its cosmic sweep from the superhuman defiance of a ruined archangel to a pair of tragic lovers bewildered to find themselves responsible for the fate of the whole human race.