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Paradise Lost: Parallel Prose Edition
Paradise Lost has long been hailed as one of the most compelling stories of all time. Its cosmic canvas--heaven, hell, chaos, and the Garden of Eden--has enthralled thousands of readers for more than three centuries. For others, however, it has remained an unopened treasure because of the perceived difficulty of its archaic vocabulary and poetic structure. Dennis Danielson's new edition of Milton's great epic offers a vibrant, authoritative rendition in modern prose alongside the original text of Milton's story of heroism, pathos, beauty, and grace, making accessible for the first time a work that continues to be acclaimed as "possibly the most profound meditation on good and evil ever written" (Toronto Globe & Mail, 2000).
560 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
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November 30, 2015See Stanley Fish's review here. Charles Williams, whose academic remarks Paradise Lost C. S. Lewis highly valued, said that "Paradise Lost is much more fun written in blank verse than it would be in prose. . . . Let us have all the delights of which we are capable" (Reason and Beauty in the Poetic Mind 5). But still. This has been a useful reference work for me as I've had to untangle certain passages.
December 7, 2018
This volume is a must for those who want to experience Milton's Paradise Lost, but may be intimidated by the poetry. The prose was fantastic and engaging, and alongside the poetry enhanced the experience of the poem.
Many thanks to Jeremy Larson for the copy and stoking the interest to read this. It will be a return book for sure.
Many thanks to Jeremy Larson for the copy and stoking the interest to read this. It will be a return book for sure.
November 27, 2024
Four stars solely for the parallel prose.
October 2, 2026
SATAN’S CUNNING
“"Is this the place, the land, the realm," the lost archangel asked, "is this the estate we must exchange for heaven—this depressing gloom for that celestial light? So be it, then. For he who rules supreme can dictate arbitrarily what is right. Thus from him, whom not reason but raw power makes supreme, the farther away we are, the better.”
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, or hell of heaven. What does it matter where I am? What matters is that I am and shall remain—even if less than him, whom thunder alone made greater. Here at least we shall be free. Here we are beyond his almighty envy; he will not drive us out from here. Here our reign is secure. And what we won is worth it, in my view, even if our kingdom be in hell.
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.”
THE GIFT OF FREE WILL
“So I created all the celestial angels, both those who stood and those who fell: both those who stood and those who fell were free to stand or fall. If not, what proof could they have given of true allegiance, steadfast faith or love-if they did only the inevitable, instead of what they chose? What praise could they be given? What pleasure could I receive in being thus 'obeyed?”
“I created them free, and free they must remain—till they enslave themselves.”
“The first who fell, fell by their own insinuation, tempting and depraving themselves. But humans fall only when deceived first by another.”
“The great Creator replied: "O Son, you are the soul of my delight, the one whom I embrace. You alone are my Word, my wisdom, agent of my power. And you have expressed my very thoughts, exactly the decrees of my eternal will. For humankind shall not be wholly lost. Whoever chooses will be saved, though by the power not of that choice but of the grace I freely give. I will renew the powers they lost, though forfeited, enslaved by sin and foul inordinate desires. Yet once more they will stand on level ground and face their deadly foe-upheld by me, so that they may know how frail their fallen condition is, and know the only source of their deliverance.”
“Tell me, angelic powers: Where shall we ever find such love? Which of you will assume mortality to atone for the mortal sin of humankind? To save the unjust, who among the just will die?”
SATAN’S JEALOUSY
“So highly exalted, I disdained to be anyone's subject, and thought but a step higher would make me the highest, and in an instant wipe out that immeasurable debt of endless thanks I owed. Such a burden, it seemed, always paying a debt that never ceased.”
“"Had only his omnipotence predestined me some lesser angel, I would be happy still, unfallen, and no unbounded hope had kindled my ambition.”
SIN ENTERS THE WORLD
“Oh, how vicious "virtue," sin's own offspring, has vexed all of humankind, not with true virtue but with the appearance, the ostentation, of seeming purity-and banished from human life the very life of true happiness, simplicity and spotless innocence.”
ANGELS
“To affirm and then deny—first pretending, wisely, to flee from pain, and then professing yourself a spy this is the mark of a liar, not a leader. And Satan, to call yourself faithful—you, the very profanation of that sacred name! To whom are you faithful? To your army of rebels? Army of devils—a body well suited to its head. Was it your sworn discipleship, your faithfulness, your soldierly obedience, that made you break allegiance to the acknowledged Supreme Commander? And you, cunning hypocrite, wanting now to appear champion of liberty—what greater sycophant than you, fawning and cringing in your worship of heaven's awesome Monarch, though only in hopes of unthroning and usurping him yourself?”
“Son of heaven and earth, mark my words. Your happiness is owing to God; your staying happy is owing to yourself—to your obedience…God made you perfect, not immutable. And he made you good, but left it up to you to persevere in goodness. He ordained your will should be by nature free, not ruled by strict necessity or tangled in nets of fate. He requires voluntary service, not necessitated, for that neither can nor ever could be acceptable to him. If we were not free—if we merely willed what destiny decreed and could not choose otherwise—how could our hearts be tested whether we serve him willingly or not?…We serve freely because we love freely, and it is within our own wills to love or not. In this we stand or fall—and some have fallen, fallen in disobedience, all the way from heaven to hell.”
ADAM’S RESOLUTIONS
“For God has banished from our way all choking anxiety, forbidding that it should harm us, unless we ourselves seek it out with wandering thoughts and empty notions. Yet the mind and imagination are liable to roam without restraint, and the roaming can be endless—unless we are warned, or taught by experience that our chief wisdom is not in knowing everything dark, rarefied, far removed from practical matters, but in knowing what we need to know for living day by day. Anything else is smoke, or sheer emptiness, or foolish presumption, and leaves us unexercised, unprepared, and unprovided for in things that concern us most.”
“You are already infinite; in unity and perfection, you comprehend all number, and need not propagate yourself. But man, by increasing his numbers, is to demonstrate the imperfection of his singleness.”
ANGELS
“So continue to love everything in her companionship that is exalted, attractive, human, and rational. For love is good; passion is not. Love does not consist in passion. Love refines the thoughts, enlarges the heart, has its home in reason. Love is wise. Love is the ladder by which you may ascend to heavenly love, not mired in merely sensual pleasure. For that is why you found no mate among the beasts.”
“So be strong, live happily, and do love. But love first of all the One whom to love is to obey”
“…if you carefully observe the rule of 'not too much, practicing moderation in what you eat and drink, seeking from them proper nutrition, not the delights of gluttony.”
“Neither love your life nor hate it, but live well the life you have, and leave in God's hands whether it be long or short.”
“Do not by pleasure judge what is best, however right it feels to your natural self. You were created as you are for a nobler purpose, to be holy and pure, to become like God. Those tents that seemed to you so pleasing were the tents of wickedness, whose inhabitants are the children of him who murdered his brother. They appear skillful in the arts that give life luster; they are accomplished inventors. But they neglect the knowledge of their Maker. Though his Spirit taught them, they refuse to acknowledge his gifts.”
FAULT OF MAN
“To win battles, to subdue other peoples, to bring plunder at the cost of endless human slaughter—these will be thought the epitome of earthly glory and triumph. They will be called conquerors, patrons of humankind, gods, and sons of gods, instead of what they truly are: a destructive blight on the human race. Thus will earthly fame and renown be achieved, and what is worthiest of renown will lie hidden in silence.”
“But those they conquer, enslaved by war, shall lose along with their freedom all virtue and fear of God. Because their false piety gained them no help from God amid the heat of battles waged against invaders, they let their zeal cool and henceforth seek security in what is worldly and debauched—in the scraps their rulers leave them to enjoy. For the earth shall produce more than enough to test the moderation of all. And all shall deprave and corrupt themselves; and righteousness, temperance, truth, and faith will be forgotten.”
SALVATION
“The Savior to come will heal that wound by destroying not Satan but his works in you and in your offspring—and only by doing what you failed to do: obeying the law of God, the breaking of which brings death; then suffering the penalty of death to which your transgression made you subject, along with all who repeat your sinful pattern. To highest Justice, there is no other payment.”
GIFT OF THE SPIRIT
“But from heaven he will send his own people a Comforter, the promise of the Father, his Spirit, who will live in them, writing on their hearts the law of faith working through love. He will guide them in all truth, and equip them with spiritual armor to resist Satan's attacks and quench his flaming arrows. No human power will they fear, not even death. They shall so withstand all cruelty, sustained by inner grace and consolation, that even their proudest persecutors will often be amazed. For the Spirit-first poured out on the apostles sent to evangelize all nations, and then on all baptized—shall give them wonderful gifts, to speak all tongues and do all miracles, as did their Lord before them.”
REVELATIONS
“So the world shall continue, punishing the good, rewarding the bad, and groaning under its own weight until the day when the just receive their rest, the wicked their condemnation; until he, your promised help, returns the woman's seed, foretold then obscurely, but now more fully known to be your savior and your Lord. At last he will appear in the clouds, revealed from heaven in the Father's glory, to dissolve Satan and his perverted world, and then to raise from that great conflagration, purged and refined, new heavens and earth—a new and endless age, founded on righteousness, peace, and love, whose fruits are joy and happiness everlasting."
“From now on I shall remember that obedience is best, reverently loving the only God, walking as in his presence, always observing his providence, relying solely on him, who keeps overcoming evil with good, doing great things by means of small, subverting worldly strength by means of things thought weak, and worldly wise by means of humble action. And so I learn that suffering for the sake of truth is fortitude in service of the highest victory, leading to a faithful death, doorway to life—taught all this by example of him I now confess my ever-blessed Redeemer."
“"Is this the place, the land, the realm," the lost archangel asked, "is this the estate we must exchange for heaven—this depressing gloom for that celestial light? So be it, then. For he who rules supreme can dictate arbitrarily what is right. Thus from him, whom not reason but raw power makes supreme, the farther away we are, the better.”
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, or hell of heaven. What does it matter where I am? What matters is that I am and shall remain—even if less than him, whom thunder alone made greater. Here at least we shall be free. Here we are beyond his almighty envy; he will not drive us out from here. Here our reign is secure. And what we won is worth it, in my view, even if our kingdom be in hell.
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.”
THE GIFT OF FREE WILL
“So I created all the celestial angels, both those who stood and those who fell: both those who stood and those who fell were free to stand or fall. If not, what proof could they have given of true allegiance, steadfast faith or love-if they did only the inevitable, instead of what they chose? What praise could they be given? What pleasure could I receive in being thus 'obeyed?”
“I created them free, and free they must remain—till they enslave themselves.”
“The first who fell, fell by their own insinuation, tempting and depraving themselves. But humans fall only when deceived first by another.”
“The great Creator replied: "O Son, you are the soul of my delight, the one whom I embrace. You alone are my Word, my wisdom, agent of my power. And you have expressed my very thoughts, exactly the decrees of my eternal will. For humankind shall not be wholly lost. Whoever chooses will be saved, though by the power not of that choice but of the grace I freely give. I will renew the powers they lost, though forfeited, enslaved by sin and foul inordinate desires. Yet once more they will stand on level ground and face their deadly foe-upheld by me, so that they may know how frail their fallen condition is, and know the only source of their deliverance.”
“Tell me, angelic powers: Where shall we ever find such love? Which of you will assume mortality to atone for the mortal sin of humankind? To save the unjust, who among the just will die?”
SATAN’S JEALOUSY
“So highly exalted, I disdained to be anyone's subject, and thought but a step higher would make me the highest, and in an instant wipe out that immeasurable debt of endless thanks I owed. Such a burden, it seemed, always paying a debt that never ceased.”
“"Had only his omnipotence predestined me some lesser angel, I would be happy still, unfallen, and no unbounded hope had kindled my ambition.”
SIN ENTERS THE WORLD
“Oh, how vicious "virtue," sin's own offspring, has vexed all of humankind, not with true virtue but with the appearance, the ostentation, of seeming purity-and banished from human life the very life of true happiness, simplicity and spotless innocence.”
ANGELS
“To affirm and then deny—first pretending, wisely, to flee from pain, and then professing yourself a spy this is the mark of a liar, not a leader. And Satan, to call yourself faithful—you, the very profanation of that sacred name! To whom are you faithful? To your army of rebels? Army of devils—a body well suited to its head. Was it your sworn discipleship, your faithfulness, your soldierly obedience, that made you break allegiance to the acknowledged Supreme Commander? And you, cunning hypocrite, wanting now to appear champion of liberty—what greater sycophant than you, fawning and cringing in your worship of heaven's awesome Monarch, though only in hopes of unthroning and usurping him yourself?”
“Son of heaven and earth, mark my words. Your happiness is owing to God; your staying happy is owing to yourself—to your obedience…God made you perfect, not immutable. And he made you good, but left it up to you to persevere in goodness. He ordained your will should be by nature free, not ruled by strict necessity or tangled in nets of fate. He requires voluntary service, not necessitated, for that neither can nor ever could be acceptable to him. If we were not free—if we merely willed what destiny decreed and could not choose otherwise—how could our hearts be tested whether we serve him willingly or not?…We serve freely because we love freely, and it is within our own wills to love or not. In this we stand or fall—and some have fallen, fallen in disobedience, all the way from heaven to hell.”
ADAM’S RESOLUTIONS
“For God has banished from our way all choking anxiety, forbidding that it should harm us, unless we ourselves seek it out with wandering thoughts and empty notions. Yet the mind and imagination are liable to roam without restraint, and the roaming can be endless—unless we are warned, or taught by experience that our chief wisdom is not in knowing everything dark, rarefied, far removed from practical matters, but in knowing what we need to know for living day by day. Anything else is smoke, or sheer emptiness, or foolish presumption, and leaves us unexercised, unprepared, and unprovided for in things that concern us most.”
“You are already infinite; in unity and perfection, you comprehend all number, and need not propagate yourself. But man, by increasing his numbers, is to demonstrate the imperfection of his singleness.”
ANGELS
“So continue to love everything in her companionship that is exalted, attractive, human, and rational. For love is good; passion is not. Love does not consist in passion. Love refines the thoughts, enlarges the heart, has its home in reason. Love is wise. Love is the ladder by which you may ascend to heavenly love, not mired in merely sensual pleasure. For that is why you found no mate among the beasts.”
“So be strong, live happily, and do love. But love first of all the One whom to love is to obey”
“…if you carefully observe the rule of 'not too much, practicing moderation in what you eat and drink, seeking from them proper nutrition, not the delights of gluttony.”
“Neither love your life nor hate it, but live well the life you have, and leave in God's hands whether it be long or short.”
“Do not by pleasure judge what is best, however right it feels to your natural self. You were created as you are for a nobler purpose, to be holy and pure, to become like God. Those tents that seemed to you so pleasing were the tents of wickedness, whose inhabitants are the children of him who murdered his brother. They appear skillful in the arts that give life luster; they are accomplished inventors. But they neglect the knowledge of their Maker. Though his Spirit taught them, they refuse to acknowledge his gifts.”
FAULT OF MAN
“To win battles, to subdue other peoples, to bring plunder at the cost of endless human slaughter—these will be thought the epitome of earthly glory and triumph. They will be called conquerors, patrons of humankind, gods, and sons of gods, instead of what they truly are: a destructive blight on the human race. Thus will earthly fame and renown be achieved, and what is worthiest of renown will lie hidden in silence.”
“But those they conquer, enslaved by war, shall lose along with their freedom all virtue and fear of God. Because their false piety gained them no help from God amid the heat of battles waged against invaders, they let their zeal cool and henceforth seek security in what is worldly and debauched—in the scraps their rulers leave them to enjoy. For the earth shall produce more than enough to test the moderation of all. And all shall deprave and corrupt themselves; and righteousness, temperance, truth, and faith will be forgotten.”
SALVATION
“The Savior to come will heal that wound by destroying not Satan but his works in you and in your offspring—and only by doing what you failed to do: obeying the law of God, the breaking of which brings death; then suffering the penalty of death to which your transgression made you subject, along with all who repeat your sinful pattern. To highest Justice, there is no other payment.”
GIFT OF THE SPIRIT
“But from heaven he will send his own people a Comforter, the promise of the Father, his Spirit, who will live in them, writing on their hearts the law of faith working through love. He will guide them in all truth, and equip them with spiritual armor to resist Satan's attacks and quench his flaming arrows. No human power will they fear, not even death. They shall so withstand all cruelty, sustained by inner grace and consolation, that even their proudest persecutors will often be amazed. For the Spirit-first poured out on the apostles sent to evangelize all nations, and then on all baptized—shall give them wonderful gifts, to speak all tongues and do all miracles, as did their Lord before them.”
REVELATIONS
“So the world shall continue, punishing the good, rewarding the bad, and groaning under its own weight until the day when the just receive their rest, the wicked their condemnation; until he, your promised help, returns the woman's seed, foretold then obscurely, but now more fully known to be your savior and your Lord. At last he will appear in the clouds, revealed from heaven in the Father's glory, to dissolve Satan and his perverted world, and then to raise from that great conflagration, purged and refined, new heavens and earth—a new and endless age, founded on righteousness, peace, and love, whose fruits are joy and happiness everlasting."
“From now on I shall remember that obedience is best, reverently loving the only God, walking as in his presence, always observing his providence, relying solely on him, who keeps overcoming evil with good, doing great things by means of small, subverting worldly strength by means of things thought weak, and worldly wise by means of humble action. And so I learn that suffering for the sake of truth is fortitude in service of the highest victory, leading to a faithful death, doorway to life—taught all this by example of him I now confess my ever-blessed Redeemer."
September 19, 2015
This prose edition is wonderful to read. Highly recommended to better understand western mythology.
September 12, 2026
No one is really replacing reading the original PL with reading this prose translation, so some of the reviews here or online just totally miss the point and are pretty unfair to the valuable contribution this version makes. I read the original text along with the translation, and the parallel prose works so well for helping me disentangle innumerable otherwise impenetrable lines. After comparing lots of even more popular annotated versions or commentaries of PL, I now draw the conclusion that this Parallel Prose Edition is the best one. Forget about those of Norton/Oxford Words Classics/Hackett/Penguin/etc., just go ahead and buy this edition.
October 12, 2020
Not really sure why I put myself through this. Even accompanied by a such great prose rendition, apart from the description of the battle against rebel angels, it's turgid, better to read the King James version of the fall.
January 20, 2024
honestly, the premise is so nice, and I love that translated verse because the original is so hard to understand 😭.
but, and this is a big but, the sexism and hatred of all woman kind is so evident at points. It's really disappointing 😞
but, and this is a big but, the sexism and hatred of all woman kind is so evident at points. It's really disappointing 😞
September 17, 2024
hmm, I only read excerpts for class, but very interesting! I feel like I should listen to an audiobook version.
October 25, 2023
6.I read this in winter, near Christmas, at a place elevated a few thousand feet, coming from California to the snow. I think I felt like I wanted to get into something serious. I wanted an epic literary adventure, and got one.
I’ve always loved the idea of the Epic, like Iliad and The Odyssey, and mythologies, up to modern epics like Dune and Lord of the Rings. Only John Milton rivals Tolkien in grandeur and incorporation of the world’s mythology that can only be had by a heavily educated mind in those things.
Whereas Tolkien sought to preserve and promote specifically the English folk stories, Milton was connecting his work to all previous mythologies of the world, tying it together with the Ethos he was trying to build, to justify that concurrent revolution in England, leading to Regicide. Naturally, his protagonist would be Satan. The king would be deposed, so why not tell a tale of the first ultimate rebel, who chose war against the first, and last, ultimate king.
The Puritans were a radical sect of the Protestant revolution who had by this time taken over the parliamentary form of government of this time, where figures like Oliver Cromwell would really clash ideologically (iconoclastic ally) with the Throne of England.
I’m really not a huge fan of Shakespeare, but John Milton is for me on that tier. There’s a reason the English courses of today focus largely on these two titans.
I’ve always loved the idea of the Epic, like Iliad and The Odyssey, and mythologies, up to modern epics like Dune and Lord of the Rings. Only John Milton rivals Tolkien in grandeur and incorporation of the world’s mythology that can only be had by a heavily educated mind in those things.
Whereas Tolkien sought to preserve and promote specifically the English folk stories, Milton was connecting his work to all previous mythologies of the world, tying it together with the Ethos he was trying to build, to justify that concurrent revolution in England, leading to Regicide. Naturally, his protagonist would be Satan. The king would be deposed, so why not tell a tale of the first ultimate rebel, who chose war against the first, and last, ultimate king.
The Puritans were a radical sect of the Protestant revolution who had by this time taken over the parliamentary form of government of this time, where figures like Oliver Cromwell would really clash ideologically (iconoclastic ally) with the Throne of England.
I’m really not a huge fan of Shakespeare, but John Milton is for me on that tier. There’s a reason the English courses of today focus largely on these two titans.
April 12, 2022
This was such a nice help with Milton!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews