What in Me Is Dark: The Revolutionary Afterlife of Paradise Lost

by Orlando Reade

A highly original hybrid of biography, political history, and literary criticism, telling of the enduring, surprising and ever-evolving relevance of Milton’s epic poem through the scandalous life of its creator and the revolutionary lives that were influenced by it.

What in Me Is Dark tells the unlikely story of how Milton’s epic poem came to haunt political struggles over the past four centuries, including the many different, unexpected, often contradictory ways in which it has been read, interpreted, and appropriated through time and across the world, and to revolutionary ends. The book focuses on twelve readers—including Malcolm X, Thomas Jefferson, George Eliot, Hannah Arendt, and C.L.R James—whose lives demonstrate extraordinary and disturbing influence on the modern age.

Drawing from his own experiences teaching Paradise Lost in New Jersey prisons, English scholar Orlando Reade deftly investigates how the poem was read by people embedded in struggles against tyranny, slavery, colonialism, gender inequality, and capitalist exploitation. It is experimental nonfiction at its finest; rich literary analysis and social, cultural and political history are woven together to make a clarifying case for the undeniable impact of the poem.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Poetry, Literary Criticism, Books About Books, Literature, Religion

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 10, 2024

Reviews

[heptagrammaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing vast enters the life
Of mortals without a curse.

This is how Orlando Reade concludes the journey of The Revolutionary Afterlife of Paradise Lost: with a quote from Sophocles' Antigone, brought to him by a seventy-year-old incarcerated man, arguing that poetry should embody freedom. For Reade, this is to be read "not as an apology for its [Paradise Lost's] shortcomings, but as a description of the world in which it has a long and complex afterlife."
   Regardless of what you think of the ways books should be interpreted, of the role (and death) of the author, of the phantasm of literary canon(s), the inescapable, almost redundant fact about classics is that have been – are – read; they have been read widely and continuously— and therefore, inevitably, they've read differently. This is the baggage they bring, and that we bring to them. Their afterlives of interpretation are what gives them weight, social and political capital, resonance. Their allure is genealogical: as when you suddenly recognise echoes of bits of Boccaccio in your favourite science fiction novel, at its best reading a classic is like coming home when you didn't before know that there was a home to return to; but, lo, you recognise the people in faded photographs on the wall. Some of them have the same nose as you.
   This is the living fact that all interpretation has to face, the consciousness of itself as a kind of repeat performance. This is what What in Me is Dark does, exceptionally: it is a reading of Paradise Lost and a history of readings.

(The English Civil War first tried to articulate a new paradigm of power and justification in the Western world, to decouple sovereignty from the divine right of kings. How philosophically difficult it was in its historical moment can be judged by the confusion of Charles I's trial. Parliament has come to know in a deep sense, through the experience of several decades of constitutional crises, that it was possible for a King to act traitorously, out of bounds, to the body of the state — but legal language so far equated state with monarch and predefined treason as offence against the latter. So the juridical process itself stumbled - it was caught in the process of creating the language that would enable the articulation of the crime.) This inarticulate revolution – which was Milton's, and which failed – is the one by whose light Paradise Lost was first read. It is also the first revolution by whose light the revolutionaries of modernity could read into the meanings of freedom, innate rites, sovereignty and liberatory struggle: this, too, is a kind of interpretation.

John Milton's epic was a child of his revolutionary time: Paradise Lost is a gestational text, between worlds dying and being re-born. (Gramsci tells us this is the time of monsters.) It is a poem at seeming contradiction with itself: Lucifer, Evil incarnate, personifies the revolutionary ideals, which Milton championed, against a tyrannical contradictory God, which Milton extoled— is Satan to be identified with, or opposed? If he is wrong, is his charismatic figure to serve as advice by counterexample to those that want to shake the gates of Hell, or as caution to those that crowd behind the walls of Eden? If he is right, what to make of the fact that he is doomed? And what of that other fall, that of man? (What of woman?)
   These are the question one can pose at/with/to/for/against/through Paradise Lost. Orlando Reade traces the readings of the makers of revolutions, of slaves and slave-holders, Hannah Arendt's radical forgiveness and rebirth, and Jordan Peterson's eclectic esoteric search for meaning. (While Reade does correctly identify why liberalism, with its root both in freedom and exclusion, may ultimately become reactionary, it is in this one respect that I find the book lacking – i.e. buying into Peterson's self-identification as a 'classical liberal'. There is, in comparison, dare I say, more liberal humanism in Heidegger's uncompromising assertion of the irreducible experience of the subject.) This is literary study that is profoundly interested with the effects of literature, a searching-out of practice in theory.

... [R]eading disobediently is a way of relating to the past, not as a burden but as a new beginning.

note:
 This is a review of an advanced reader's copy, provided by Astra Publishing House through NetGalley. For my part, I pledge impartiality in my reviews (insofar that exists.)

[Tiffannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What in Me Is Dark" truly reignited my passion for literature. This book not only delves into the political landscape of Paradise Lost, but it also explores how literature shapes our lives as much as we shape it. It’s fascinating to see how Milton’s work influenced political turmoil, and how Paradise Lost has played a surprisingly significant role in history.

What really struck a chord with me were the insights from those who read Paradise Lost while incarcerated. The initial look into Reade’s experiences teaching in prison was nothing short of breathtaking. The way the book captures the rhythm and impact of Paradise Lost through these personal stories is incredible. If there’s one downside, it’s that I wanted even more of these powerful reflections. I'd happily read another 200 pages of these prison classroom discussions!

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 2.5

[Colin Wire · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some quotes from the book:

“As he faces his troops, Satan is no longer revolting but actually very sexy. His face, scarred by thunder and anxiety, is ruined but still beautifully proportioned, like a grizzled Hollywood star.”

“Like a tech CEO contemplating child labourers in a mineral mine, Satan looks at the scene with feeling but soon he finds a way to accept it”

“In the ruthless language of today’s misogynists, Adam is a cuck”

“God, definitely a cat person, says he wouldn’t be able to enjoy love if it were compulsory.”

“Nowhere is poetry so close to Disney animation. Like Narcissus, Eve is captivated by the image. Then a voice in her head tells her it is her own reflection. The voice guides her away from the lake, and, like a contestant on a reality show, towards a creature who is to be her mate.”

[Marks54 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paradise Lost is an amazing book/poem that is fun to read (and listen to) and filled with detailed stories of heaven, hell, the creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, and Devils - lots of devils. I am not familiar with enough 17th century literature to feel comfortable with this and frequently feared I was missing important material. That sense is likely unavoidable.

Professor Reade’s new book does a great service by providing detailed looks at how others have read and interpreted Paradise Lost since its initial publication. The range of ways in which Milton’s poem has been interpreted is startling heleds me to focus on what I saw in the book (and what I missed). This includes not just understanding the verses that I saw but also realizing what I was missing. It is also edifying to know that Milton has been a powerful influence on other literary greats and across the full spectrum of political views. This includes understanding the evolution of how Paradise Lost has been viewed in terms of gender roles, including the roles of women in society, their roles as writers, and how educational institutions can to reflect these roles, often to the surprise of the particular women affected. The chapters on Virginia Woolf and Hannah Arendt are both striking on this.

The chapters also bring out the multilayered meanings of Milton and how they can be applied from such topics as slavery and colonialism to more reactionary causes such as more recently regarding “alt-right” conservatives. I was initially concerned that the chapters would focus on different readings of Milton, subject to critical standards - that those who were interpreting Paradise Lost would be limited to more “correct” readings. That was not a problem and the variety of ways in which Paradise Lost has proven insightful is quite broad. I enjoyed the chapter on Malcolm X.

The book concludes with Mr. Reade’s reflections on his experiences teaching Paradise Lost to prison based classes. This was different from the other chapters but a worthwhile concluding chapter.

I am glad I read this and reread Milton into order to do it.

More to come as I process this.

[Amy ☁️ (tinycl0ud) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book analyses and chronologically tracks the way different authors/poets/political thinkers/leaders have engaged with Milton's original text, in varying degrees of ungovernability, alongside interpretations of selected extracts. The impact seems to go both ways: the reader imposes their own interpretation onto the text, resulting in the figure of Milton shapeshifting over the centuries, but the text also shapes and informs the reader's poetic sensibilities and the way they frame ongoing conflicts in their time.

The people whose relationships with Milton's works being examined here are:
- Samuel Johnson & Thomas Jefferson
- The Wordsworth siblings
- Jean Louis/ baron de Vastey's treatise during the Haitian Revolution
- Mary Wollstonecraft, George Eliot's 'Middlemarch'
- James Redpath and the slave uprising
- A parading, acting, ball-throwing society named 'The Mistick Krewe' which led to Mardi Gras
- Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, & Virginia Woolf
- Marx, Weber, & Hannah Arendt
- Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam
- C.L.R. James, Fidel Castro, & Frank Reynolds
- Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' which was adapted into the film 'Blade Runner'
- Jordan Peterson's 'Maps of Meaning' and more recent right-wing controversy

Towards the end, the author brought up this idea of 'reading disobediently' against the author's original intentions, which might actually be better aligned to the overall message of the text—loving your fellow man means to allow them the freedom to make their own choices, even if they err.

[Nick Coke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant read. Ticked all my boxes - poetry, history, politics, religion. It awoke in me a desire to read Paradise Lost, a poem that felt so intimidating that my copy sat gathering dust for 30 years. Now I am savouring every moment with it.

[MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know pop literary criticism existed until now but boy am I happy to find it

[Andrew Dugan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the activities fundamental to beginning again is forgiveness.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost finished this, so I won't count it as a dnf, but it was just too ridiculous. I'm not even convinced the author has really read "Paradise Lost". This is just a bunch of Wikipedia entries that would be splattered with "NEEDS CITATION" and ultimately deleted. I enjoyed reading about things I didn't know a lot about like the Hatian Revolution, but judging from the parts I *did* know about (like, say, Hannah Arendt) it's safe to assume that around 60% of that is wrong. Almost none of the historical figures that he writes about have more than a passing relationship to Milton. And the sad thing is, there is so much to say about this poem and its influence over the centuries. But this gimmick of hanging this "analysis" on a bunch of figures an average reader might be interested in just doesn't work. I mean, except it does, because I'm sure a bunch of people will read this and feel enlightened.

The more I think about it, the angrier it makes me. I'm all for making classics accessible, but I'm also of the opinion that readers are not dumb and can be confronted with nuanced, complex thoughts. You don't need to compare Satan to a "disgraced CEO" to make this poem relatable. And you don't need to sell us the lie that George Eliot somehow had an "erotic" relationship with Milton. It's all so unnecessary and, frankly, gross, but I fear this is the future of non-fiction about literature.

[Jason Friedlander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book about the many ways in which Milton’s Paradise Lost has been interpreted and appropriated over the last few centuries by people all across the political spectrum. It’s fun to read as an addendum to the book itself, though not all of the examples Reade uses here are equally interesting. Some of the individuals here were directly inspired by the book sometime in their lives, while others only tangentially cross paths with it. The chapter on Jordan Peterson was also a little odd, but I can understand that he does have a huge following online. It’s just strange having it listed side by side with chapter headings on Thomas Jefferson, Malcolm X, and C.L.R. James. I’d still recommend this though as an entertaining and informative light read on the power of great literature.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for folks who find Milton intimidating or boring. Earned its fourth star by dunking on Jordan Peterson.

[Rong Wu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very "illumine" book on "Paradise Lost"; enough said.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I had hoped for more from the Malcolm X connection to Paradise Lost, Jordan Peterson’s inclusion was fascinating. The author’s personal relationship with the work and poetry at a prison provided a moving ending. Highly recommended for teachers or fans of the poem, or self-masochists…

[K. E. Creighton · Rating 3 out of 5]

What in Me Is Dark: The Revolutionary Afterlife of Paradise Lost by Orlando Reade is a profoundly ambitious work and is well written and organized. It’s also remarkable that it is under 250 pages, as it covers a lot of ground, in more ways than one.

Overall, Reade makes a compelling case for how Paradise Lost has lived a free yet revelatory life of its own, sparking revolutionary thoughts and actions amongst its varied and diverse readers for centuries—readers who include everyone from Thomas Jefferson to Malcolm X. He traces instances of how the epic poem inspired revolutions and revolts and ways of thinking that inspired and influenced pivotal epochs in history. And he does this while following his own chronological critique of the poem, from Book I to Book XII. So, as he follows others’ critiques of Paradise Lost throughout the centuries, he simultaneously offers his own.

I appreciated the balanced perspectives Reade offers throughout the book regarding how Paradise Lost was used both as a tool for liberation, as well as a tool for conservatism over the past few centuries. And I appreciated how he established that whether people loved, revered, respected, or hated the poem was irrelevant to its literary stamina.

However, I fear I was not entirely convinced of the argument Reade was trying to make by the time I reached the end of the book, as most of the references made to Milton’s work throughout the book (in relation to their proposed revolutionary impacts) were too brief or stretched too thin with added backstories and nuanced historical details, or were alongside expositions of Paradise Lost itself that didn’t always fully support the broader points being made. I also didn’t appreciate how the chapters that were intended to be centered around women authors emphasized those women’s relationships with other men in their lives more than their own work and the influence of that work.

I would recommend this book to those who prefer a more traditional type of literary criticism that pervades Ivy League institutions.

Here is a notable quote from the text:
“Milton’s poem plunges us into an uncertain world. We meet a kaleidoscopic, seductive Satan, and then a wooden, authoritarian God, and have to weigh their respective arguments for ourselves. In doing so, Paradise Lost extends a peculiar kind of freedom to its readers, to make our own choices and our own mistakes. This is a virtual experience of political self-determination and an education. But the lessons we take from it may not be the ones Milton intended.” (p.207-8)

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[mnaufalu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last month I came across this book and, almost spontaneously, decided that I would undertake reading Paradise Lost only so that I could better appreciate this book. I had little knowledge of Milton at the time, apart from the idea given to me by cultural osmosis that Paradise Lost was among the first works to portray the Devil in a sympathetic light. Upon having read it I was left somewhat surprised by the fact that the Devil makes no appearance for large sections of the story, and that my interpretation was that the Devil was in fact as devilish as you might think (the vividness of the portrait of his psyche notwithstanding). The experience reading it was incredibly frustrating and difficult, but I came away from it with many thoughts about its philosophical orientation, and the contradictions latent in the text as well as when considered in relation with Milton’s own life.

This book helped put me in conversation with the multifarious interpretations of Milton over the centuries since its publication. I found myself disagreeing with some, agreeing with others, and most interestingly simultaneously agreeing and disagreeing with some interpreters. As a political progressive I find myself seeing Paradise Lost as fundamentally conservative in many ways despite also having clear revolutionary and egalitarian impulses. So to find myself agreeing with the politics of its progressive interpreters while disagreeing with their interpretation of Milton, and vice versa, is interesting and insightful. Through excavating these after lives of Paradise Lost, the author also takes us on a tour of the revolutionary traditions of modernity as well as the reactionary responses to those traditions. These contradictory after lives seem to validate the reading that Paradise Lost has within it both revolutionary and reactionary impulses contained within it.

My only real complaint is that at times the intellectual history of ideas can appear to become quite remote from the actual text and ideas of Paradise Lost. This might be in part due to the fact that the interpretations of Paradise Lost themselves are less concerned with Milton but reading Milton in their own times. I would’ve liked to have seen the political readings of Milton that they had be examined more thoroughly as they relate to the actual text of Paradise Lost. The author does this a little in the chapter where he discusses Jordan Peterson, but it could have been done more throughout. The impression you’re sometimes left with is that this book could have been written about any number of great works of literature from ages past, who are similarly cherry picked for the benefit of contemporary orators and public intellectuals aiming to buttress their ideas with the cultural majesty of recognised classics. I am actually convinced that Paradise Lost in particular had a unique quality that made it susceptible to this, but I think the book could have done more to show what made it so special in this regard.

[Banbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Revolutionary Afterlife of Paradise Lost is printed above the title on this book's jacket. Perhaps the author had nothing to do with this, but it implies a promise that is not kept by the book. It implies that Paradise Lost was the inspiration for revolutions. As is clear in the book, however, Paradise Lost was usually just one more source. (of many) of literary confirmation of a revolutionary's own thoughts. Indeed, words are so malleable, especially if taken out of context, that the quotes from Paradise Lost by the several public figures discussed in What in Me is Dark" can mean almost anything they wanted them to mean. In none of the vignettes presented is it shown that Paradise Lost had any direct inspiration or provided any blueprint for action on anyone. That an educated person would sometimes quote from or discuss Paradise Lost shows only that Paradise Lost is a great literary work.

The book is written in twelve chapters, eleven of which each discuss a separate famous person in history. However, the historical circumstances, events, causes, and motives are often so simplified (dumbed down) as to be useless and/or misleading. The depth of these discussions is more appropriate for a sherry hour with people one does not know, than for a book that takes any heft it has from its supposed subject matter. The author is clearly well educated, but this is not a book with any kind of scholarly discipline, nor even a sharp point of view other than vaguely left, liberal, and kindly intentioned.

In an interview, the author, Orlando Reade, stated, "I didn’t want this to be a book only for people who had already read >Paradise Lost. Part of the original impulse was to bring it to as many other readers as possible." I might suggest that if one is inspired to read Paradise Lost after reading What is Dark in Me, should also find some other guides through its many circles of language, saints' lives, and and references to ancient goddesses. Paradise Lost is a. very complicated and difficult book, and I think most readers in the 21st Century can be very frustrated if there is no help along the way. In the same interview, Reade stated that he "was told very early on by people in publishing that there is no market for literary criticism – none. So I realised, as I worked on it, that the parts about the poem had to be short enough not to lose the reader, and that the stories of the readers that I focus on would be the main motivation for the reader. Given the strictures of the market, perhaps no other kind of book about >Paradise Lost is now possible.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reade manages to pull off a summary of the plot of Paradise Lost meant to be accessible to new readers and makes it fit with a chronological survey of influential readings and make both these tracks work without much strain. And it's interesting for people who have read Milton a few times as well. Sprezzatura, the art of make something hard look natural, is something he does well.

I found myself looking forward to the next simile Reade would drop. Reade's similes, probably crafted to wake up his students, were a mix of flat-footed and hilarious. I'm still laughing about the surprise of him comparing Satan and Beelzebub to lizards in a jacuzzi.

It's an eye-opening look at a range of readings. He focuses on the themes of freedom and human rights, surveying an impressive range of readers invoking Milton as they fight for their human rights, and other readers who used Milton to justify their racism. His survey takes an inspiring focus on what a book can mean to readers and why multiple views matter: "decisions are made through the deliberation of different views rather than the tyranny of a single decision-maker. This is the political argument buried in the end of Milton's epic, one that readers for centuries saw and made sense of in their own ungovernable ways. . . the afterlife of Paradise Lost was exactly what Milton hoped for, and at the same time, something he never could have imagined" (210).

And one tiny point. I am a terrible proofreader of my own stuff so I am not judging but just saying I noticed there was an error in citation on page 22 that should cite book 8, line 383, not book 2. It's corrected when he uses the quotation later.

4.5

[AcademicEditor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orlando Reade’s "What in Me Is Dark" is an ambitious and deeply thought-provoking exploration of "Paradise Lost" as a revolutionary text. More than just a literary analysis, the book traces the unexpected and often contradictory ways John Milton’s epic has influenced political thinkers, social movements, and radical leaders across four centuries. From Thomas Jefferson and Mary Wollstonecraft to Malcolm X and C.L.R. James, Reade reveals how Milton’s poetry has been wielded in struggles against tyranny, slavery, colonialism, and oppression.

The book’s most compelling moments come from Reade’s own experiences teaching "Paradise Lost" in New Jersey prisons. The reflections of incarcerated readers offer some of the most powerful insights, demonstrating how literature, even centuries old, can still resonate deeply with those confronting systems of power and control. These sections alone make the book worth reading. The book as a whole is a masterclass in how literature shapes—and is shaped by—history. Reade challenges us to consider not just how "Paradise Lost" has been read, but how reading itself can be an act of defiance. For anyone interested in the intersection of literature, politics, and social change, "What in Me Is Dark" is a vital and rewarding read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Keely · Rating 5 out of 5]

well, this was like catnip engineered just for me. paradise lost is my favorite book (to the point that i’m actually more than a little obsessed with it. i read it annually, talk about it more than anyone around me would like, and even write fanfiction based on it. it’s a lot). i studied history and religious studies in school. i engage in leftist politics, and think the support of liberatory struggles are intrinsic and central to the ideology. so this was going to be a 5/5 for me almost by default.

but then on top of all of that, the writing was so fun and engaging! i was already very interested in the topics contained within the book, but it was an added treat to have them organized so elegantly and written up with such humor and skill. i highlighted innumerable lines that made me laugh (“jefferson died, like a good patriot, on 4 july,” “god, definitely a cat person,” “don’t be surprised to see a creature capable of language, he says, surprisingly”).

my favorite parts of the book were the instances in which the author described his own experience teaching paradise lost to incarcerated students. i’d happily read an entire book devoted to just that topic. there was something particularly painful and poignant about the idea of teaching this text, so concerned with themes of freedom and oppression, to incarcerated people crushed under the boot of the united states’ prison industrial complex, a racist and unjust modernized slavery.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading is reading is reading so why not read the readings … Why not create a compass with one text (Milton’s Paradise Lost) and follow it disjunctively, tenuously, circling spider-like from tight, small readings to large and flapping cultural milieus. I guess any book can be a web. Maybe that is also the sensory achievement of language by those who wrote it best. (I’ve got little interest in Milton but I can’t deny the guy could write). That Thomas Jefferson and Malcolm X were engaged by it might not be surprising, but prisoners of color AND alt-right gurus?

When Milton wrote Paradise Lost, he was an old blind white dude with a bad family life… he was visited each night by ‘the muse’ and ‘milked’ each morning for new verses. (I know. My eyes roll too.) But Reade makes sense of Milton through time and space … a history of readings-becoming-something-else, a subversive history whose context is that of fragmentation, subjection, revolt, getting lost, failings, endless searching.

Finishing this book makes me want to pick up a half-finished book that has been on my “currently reading“ list for maybe a year. I think I will finally finish Scenes of Subjection now with a renewed vigor.

[Clément · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book chiefly because having read Paradise Lost a few years ago, it had remained a mystery to me and still exercised a sort of mystique.
Orlando Reade is excellent at providing an in-depth critical look at the epic. The structure of the book is impeccable, with each chapter (of which there are 12, of course!) recounting a part of Paradise Lost in plain terms so that anyone may follow what happened within it, and this passage is then linked to a particular way in which Milton’s work has been understood and used for political revolutionary purposes. The diversity of actors presented by the author is outstanding and really helps in proposing a balanced understanding of Milton, his work, and their legacies.

This book was excellent as instilling a renewed interest into Paradise Lost, and will certainly help me reread it in a new light, with fresh insights and a better understanding of it. No doubt, for many readers, this will help reenergise this work, and give it the “modern relevance” that many before Reade had hoped to create. Moreover, this is a great way to understand metred poetry better, with all its complexities and idiosyncrasies.

[Benj · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating insight into the way that Paradise Lost has been an inspiration to a large number of people from different political traditions. I've never had the nerve to read the original (I find seventeenth century English difficult to get into) but this also provided a good introduction.

There is an intrinsic paradox within Paradise Lost, in that Milton wrote it (and everybody else used it) as a counter-blast to tyranny. Unfortunately the rebel (who has all the best lines) is Satan aka The Devil, whilst the tyrant he is rebelling against is God. Milton tries to resolve this with a screeching handbrake turn towards the end, but it leaves a strange lingering after-taste. Perhaps the best resolution of this paradox is Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.

[Bryan Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to *Paradise Lost* in 1995 by my AP Lit teacher, Cynthia Whitenight, who taught me that the English Romantics, with whom I was obsessed, took the side of Satan in Milton's poem, seeing him as a model of radical liberty. Needless to say, 17 year-old me was titillated by this. *What in Me Is Dark* traces the epic's ancestry of revolutionary inspiration from it's inception in the English Civil War to the prison libraries of our modern world. The book is organized chronologically, unfolding a history of revolutionary figures inspired by the text while simultaneously weaving in a retelling of the poem's narrative. It's got everything I need in a summer read: Satan, revolution, poetry.

[Don Kyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good! I have a little history with Paradise Lost (my father's copy was brought with him through basic training; he claimed the book instead of the Bible), but this opened up it's legacy for me, and how the poem has influenced major social and political shifts since it was written in the 1600s.

It read a little like following the author down a rabbit hole. Just how deep does Paradise Lost go? It's also pretty accessible, so I think most readers will be able to get a lot of of it.

Highly recommended!

[Sahana Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible. an interesting, thorough exploration of miltonic influence and every possible interpretation of the poem, with a brief summary of paradise lost at the beginning of each chapter. i think the thread tying everything together or rather the premise of reade's experience teaching paradise lost in prison could have come out stronger, or been tied in more closely with the elaborations on milton in relation with ideological freedom fighters, but i adored this book a lot a lot and relished in the reading.

[Ellen Jenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reminder of a poemi I loved more than 50 years ago

What in me is dark entranced me when I read the NY Times
The fact theeview of it. Reade's analysis showed many ways to read and remember Paradise Lost. I learned so much! I'm going to search for my copy and reread.
I think to really appreciate this book one has to have some acquaintance with the poem.

[Herb · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author provides a lucid and beautiful summary of Milton's "Paradise Lost" while telling of its remarkably diverse political and cultural influence in the 350+ years since it was written. How one epic poem can influence the views of people from Jordan Peterson to Thomas Jefferson to Malcolm X is astounding. Exceptionally well-written and well-argued, this book is a keeper.

[cspl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating to read about how Paradise Lost endures and has inspired both revolutionaries and sometimes their adversaries over the centuries. I was mystified about whether PL supports or refutes revolution and I was relieved to learn that it is a paradoxical work and can be interpreted both ways. Amazing to learn about the various revolutions and individuals who were inspired by Milton.

[Brian Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I admit: I failed to get through the Introduction. When I read "Henry VIII had made England Protestant in order to annul a childless marriage" (so much wrong with that) I knew Dr Reade and I wouldn't get on. I also found his style rather flattening.