In addition to the fact that John Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem, it has a powerful imagination that continues to be alive and well. The story of “man’s disobedience” and his fall from grace within the Garden of Eden reveals Milton’s desire to relate an intricate and complex tale on a grand scale, yet one that he is telling with the immediacy of events happening before him. From the outset, Milton chooses to tell the genesis of the story within Hell — not Heaven — and this is critical to the narrative; it gives the rebel angels an immediate chance to create the desired drama of Milton’s work and makes the first part of Satan’s story the catalyst for the balance of the story. In his introduction to the work, Philip Pullman explains how well Milton mastered the creation of suspense, tone, and character within the first few books of the poem.
Milton’s use of blank verse is one reason Paradise Lost stands out, both in its ambition of establishing a new religious theology and in the fact that the author was able to achieve a high level of proficiency within the use of the written word. Milton, as he discusses in the Preface to Paradise Lost, argues the necessity of writing in unrhymed English heroic verse and highlights how traditional forms of poetry are constrictive to the creative process and therefore limit the writer’s ability to properly express himself/herself and to create the ideal literary visualization. The type of language Milton uses in writing Paradise Lost has an extraordinary combination of power, weight, and rhythm that creates an image that is outstandingly creative while also being free from any other unnecessary embellishments. The use of blank verse creates the illusion of grandeur associated with the poem; it allows for a flow of words, thoughts, and emotions to occur throughout the poem, and those characteristics of the blank verse give it and make it appear very contemporary, as though it were written in the 21st century.
One of the poem’s most lasting feats might be how it creates a sense of drama around moral ambiguity. Rather than presenting Satan as simply a villain, he is depicted as a bright, damaged, and contradictory being whose intense energy overshadows everyone else. As Pullman notes, the rebel angels are described in such detail as personalities; the tension created by their quest for revenge against God can be seen in the progression of events throughout the story. The tension between grandeur and inner turmoil is part of what has made Paradise Lost a poem that can continue to be wrestled with and studied for generations to come.
Paradise Lost’s effects are equally significant, with Blake, for example, being inspired by Milton’s writing; Wordsworth referencing Milton in the last lines of one of his poems; and contemporary writers returning to themes in the poem. Pullman traces elements of His Dark Materials back to the atmosphere and themes of Paradise Lost, particularly the theme of temptation/fall narratives and the tension between innocence and knowledge. Such a legacy is not common; Paradise Lost is not only found in literary history but continues to produce different interpretations, arguments, and works of creativity.
In summary, Paradise Lost is a massive poem depicting the fall of humankind through gifts of choice and the importance of dignity in having a choice. It has a philosophical basis for which we can study; however, the true greatness of this piece occurs when these ideas are given life and movement by way of imagery and narrative (throughout the work) rather than just complex thought. Though Milton’s epic was written four hundred years ago, it continues to be a rewarding piece to study closely (aloud or silently) as well as continues to astonish readers due to its vastness, beauty, and darkly memorable imagination.
