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Paradise Lost

At the outset, Milton wanted to write an epic that was set in the glorious past of England, in the times of King Arthur. An epic was supposed to have this kind of setting. However, Milton changed his subject and setting of his epic completely and England is not even mentioned. Perhaps his disappointment in his country, caused by the years of civil war, played some role in this.

Instead of writing a national epic, he chose to set his poem in Heaven, Hell and the Garden of Eden. Paradise Lost is about the biblical story of the Fall as described in Genesis. Paradise Lost is about the creation of man, the fall of Satan and his angels, and Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God.

The purpose of Milton’s epic is to “justify the ways of God to men”.³ In other words, the author wants to explain to humankind the ways in which God works. Paradise Lost consists of 12 books, each book made of lines in blank verse (i.e. non-rhyming). The size of a book ranges between 640 lines and 1189 lines. Milton knew what the usual recipe was for an epic and he carried out these conventions. However, Milton does more than that. He writes “the epic to end all epics. Milton gives us the first and greatest of all wars (between God and Satan) and the first and greatest of all love affairs (between Adam and Eve). His theme is the destiny of the entire human race […]”⁴

The last three centuries have seen many different interpretations of Paradise Lost. As with every literary text, it is not possible to have only one interpretation. Paradise Lost can, for instance, be read as an epic with a lot op political symbolism. We have enough information of the period in which Milton lived, that it is easy to fill in the images. The paradise could be a symbol for the Commonwealth, the republic under Oliver Cromwell. With the Restoration in 1660, this paradise was lost. However, you must be careful with these sorts of allegorical interpretations.