Paradise Lost

Perhaps reflecting some of his country’s turmoil during Milton’s life, Paradise Lost deals with revolution in Heaven by Satan and his followers against God, their defeat and banishment to Hell, and their subsequent plotting of revenge, leading ultimately to Satan beguiling Eve in Paradise to taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge against the explicit command of God. Milton’s vivid and poetic description of these events is both dramatic and compelling. The work gained swift acceptance and has always remained a popular and important part of English literature.

Originally published in ten books, a second edition was published in 1674 arranged into twelve books, the form in which it appears here. This Standard Ebooks edition is based on a 1910 edition edited by A. W. Verity.

This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.