I am persuaded that many excellent persons, if they were confronted with the alternatives of reading “Paradise Lost” and going round Trafalgar Square at noonday on their knees in sack-cloth, would choose the ordeal of public ridicule. Still, I will never cease advising my friends and enemies to read poetry before anything.”
Arnold Bennett, How to Live on Twenty-Four Hours a Day (1908)
So, the question is: have you read “Paradise Lost”? If not, what would it take to get you to read this epic poem?
True confession: I’ve only read excerpts of Milton’s famous poetic opus.
“What in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise and support;
That to the height of this great argument
I may assert eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.”
Lines 22-26 of Book 1 of Paradise Lost
Poet of the Day: John Milton
Poetry activity for today: Read Paradise Lost? Read part of Paradise Lost. Read out loud.
Alternatively, you could crawl on your knees in sackcloth through the nearest public space. The mall, perhaps?
Nope, havent read it. Not even an excerpt…. but your admonition is being taken seriously.
So, any recommendations for *Paradise Lost for Dummies* or perhaps a juvenile retelling along the lines of Geraldine McCaughrean?
Yep, read the whole thing in college! I had a Milton course where we read ALL his poetry and ALL his prose. Areopagitica, anyone? We had a wonderfully enthusiastic professor and I loved the course. Now, do I remember much of it? That’s a different question!