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Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics. ‘Greedily she engorged without restraint,And knew not eating death;’ Milton’s Paradise Lost is a poem of epic proportions that tells of Satan’s attempts to mislead Eve into disobeying God in the Garden of Eden, by eating from the tree of knowledge. His interpretation of the biblical story of Genesis is vivid and intense in its language, justifying the actions of God to men. In his sequel poem, Paradise Regained, Milton shows Satan trying to seduce Jesus in a similar way to Eve, but ultimately failing as Jesus remains steadfast.
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About the author
John Milton
3,775 books2,252 followersPeople best know John Milton, English scholar, for
Paradise Lost
, the epic poem of 1667 and an account of fall of humanity from grace.
Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.
Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.
John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.
Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.
William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."
Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.
Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.
Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.
John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.
Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.
William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."
Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.
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February 3, 2026
Paradise Lost was quite an interesting take on the renowned Genesis tale, specifically the Fall of Man. I thought the epic to be highly artistic, profound, and proficient in its interpretation and expansion of the pertinent biblical events that would eventually lead to the salvation that would have been spoken of in the latter half of the Bible.
The addition of Satan’s point-of-view was particularly enjoyable for me. In the original Genesis, we do not hear much about what had been going on in his mind before, during, and after he had driven Eve to disobey God; however, in Paradise Lost, Satan was given room to show us how he went about this heinous plan; and what became of him and his allies after they had chosen to rebel against God.
I appreciated the insight that was given to his character, as it proves a crucial point that I have always personally believed in, even before I read the epic: Satan is hell itself. Hell is both a place and a state of being for him. This is best shown through the scene wherein he had transformed into a cherub to get past Uriel, but was not able to contain or escape the anguish that seized him as he beheld the beauty of God’s creation. No matter where he goes, he will always carry that despair and hatred within him.
Satan, too, deceived others and himself with his own hubris. I noticed that his motives followed a downward spiral of some sort. First, he infected the minds of a third of God’s angels by saying that they are all equals, and thus are equal to God, and therefore, they should cast all contentment in being his mere subordinates. The battle that ensued from this rebellion, however, featured him riding in a golden chariot, while his allies are all on foot. Totally not a contradiction of his earlier sentiment that they’re all equals.
This flawed reasoning was further disproven when God decreased the powers of both the rebel and the loyal angels as they fought, so as not to destroy Heaven, and when Satan decided to just jump off and fall into Hell along with his army, as he was aware that he was no match for the Son of God. Then, in Pandemonium, Satan proceeded to double down despite this defeat by announcing that their revenge shall have to come in the form of a mission to destroy Eden, and ultimately corrupt Adam and Eve; a plan to “hit God where it hurts”, so to speak.
What might have begun as some sort of “righteousness” on Satan’s part (as he fashioned himself a liberator of some kind in the beginning), really was just bitterness in disguise. I saw this degeneration, too, to have been expressed in his physical transformations. At first, he was depicted as a giant, then, when he jumps to hell, he shrinks to fit inside Pandemonium. He became a bastardized cherub when he infiltrated Earth; then a bird, then a frog, and then finally, a slithering snake.
Satan was no revolutionary. There was no part in him that cared about the socioeconomic issues (if you will) or the supposed subjugation of the angels by God. He was simply a creature of deceit and envy. I do not agree with the sentiment that Milton wrote him this way so that one can “sympathize” with him, and say that he’s “got a point”; rather, Satan was depicted in that way precisely because that is his character’s goal: to lure, to trick you to think of him as something benevolent and not harmful. One (I) could say that the existence of such sympathy towards the Adversary is a triumph for Milton and his prowess in writing, and also further evidence of Satan’s capacity to play with the minds of mortals within and outside the realm of fictional text.
My most favorite aspect of this epic was the expansion of the relationship between Adam and Eve, and how they dealt with everything that had happened to them. There’s very little of this in Genesis. I found myself always looking forward to scenes where they spent time in each other’s presence, as I derived so much delight from the love that they shared.
Needless to say, Adam and Eve loved each other deeply. Adam willingly followed Eve even if it meant he would fall from grace, and Eve could not imagine a life where she would no longer wake in the warm embrace of her Adam. The scene that struck me greatly was this: Eve, having just eaten from the forbidden tree, reunited with Adam and offered him the fruit; Adam, in shock, dropped the rosy garland that he had been weaving for Eve to wear. But, even as the petals faded in color and fell from the wreath, he said this,
"Bold deed thou hast presumed, adventurous Eve,"
…and proceeded to eat of that fruit, resigning to the same fate, to a point of no return.
Understandably, the talons of Discord grab hold of them after they awoke from the effects of this grave transgression. Adam, for the first time, since his creation, felt anger towards his dearly beloved, and Eve deflected his accusations, in an attempt to transfer the weight of her deed unto him, but in the end, they both realize the futility of their argument.
Before being banished, though, Michael reminded them (or at least Adam) that their Paradise had not been totally lost—at this point, it had ceased to be a mere place—it is now a state of being, represented by their deep and steadfast love for each other, and wherever they go, they would be able to bring Paradise with them, so long as they are together.
I adore both Adam and Eve because, they were, if not, the first evidence of humanity’s great capacity to love, and what that love could do for this world. The love that they have was as strong as it was gentle; it soothes and it comforts. It is the promise of constant companionship; the promise of God that their union would never be broken or defined by where they reside. Theirs is a love that does not subjugate; rather, it nourishes and encourages the willingness to follow something (or someone) else.
On a more sober note, I do have to point out that I read Paradise Lost through the lens of someone who was raised Catholic and was taught the Catholic doctrines. From what I could infer from the poem, Milton interpreted Jesus (“Son of God” as he was called in the text) as a being that was merely created by God, and not another manifestation of God Himself. This was very different from my understanding of God and the Trinity, so I was somewhat confused whenever these two characters spoke to each other in some of the Books. I interpreted the conversations as essentially God’s dialogue with Himself (as I believe that Jesus is one with his Father).
Anyway, I’m no bible scholar. This is not a bone that I have to pick re: Milton’s beliefs. I simply found this diversion of religious knowledge fascinating. I also don’t wish to dive into an analysis of the inconsistencies that I noticed in the text. All I have to say is that as a Catholic, Paradise Lost was an incredible rendition of the Genesis chapters, and as an admirer of the arts, this epic had elicited such strong emotions from my heart.
I rated this four stars only because I wanted to know more of Satan’s anguish in the aftermath of the Fall; what he thought of the prophecy and how we would go about infecting humanity afterwards, through the next centuries to come.
The addition of Satan’s point-of-view was particularly enjoyable for me. In the original Genesis, we do not hear much about what had been going on in his mind before, during, and after he had driven Eve to disobey God; however, in Paradise Lost, Satan was given room to show us how he went about this heinous plan; and what became of him and his allies after they had chosen to rebel against God.
I appreciated the insight that was given to his character, as it proves a crucial point that I have always personally believed in, even before I read the epic: Satan is hell itself. Hell is both a place and a state of being for him. This is best shown through the scene wherein he had transformed into a cherub to get past Uriel, but was not able to contain or escape the anguish that seized him as he beheld the beauty of God’s creation. No matter where he goes, he will always carry that despair and hatred within him.
Satan, too, deceived others and himself with his own hubris. I noticed that his motives followed a downward spiral of some sort. First, he infected the minds of a third of God’s angels by saying that they are all equals, and thus are equal to God, and therefore, they should cast all contentment in being his mere subordinates. The battle that ensued from this rebellion, however, featured him riding in a golden chariot, while his allies are all on foot. Totally not a contradiction of his earlier sentiment that they’re all equals.
This flawed reasoning was further disproven when God decreased the powers of both the rebel and the loyal angels as they fought, so as not to destroy Heaven, and when Satan decided to just jump off and fall into Hell along with his army, as he was aware that he was no match for the Son of God. Then, in Pandemonium, Satan proceeded to double down despite this defeat by announcing that their revenge shall have to come in the form of a mission to destroy Eden, and ultimately corrupt Adam and Eve; a plan to “hit God where it hurts”, so to speak.
What might have begun as some sort of “righteousness” on Satan’s part (as he fashioned himself a liberator of some kind in the beginning), really was just bitterness in disguise. I saw this degeneration, too, to have been expressed in his physical transformations. At first, he was depicted as a giant, then, when he jumps to hell, he shrinks to fit inside Pandemonium. He became a bastardized cherub when he infiltrated Earth; then a bird, then a frog, and then finally, a slithering snake.
Satan was no revolutionary. There was no part in him that cared about the socioeconomic issues (if you will) or the supposed subjugation of the angels by God. He was simply a creature of deceit and envy. I do not agree with the sentiment that Milton wrote him this way so that one can “sympathize” with him, and say that he’s “got a point”; rather, Satan was depicted in that way precisely because that is his character’s goal: to lure, to trick you to think of him as something benevolent and not harmful. One (I) could say that the existence of such sympathy towards the Adversary is a triumph for Milton and his prowess in writing, and also further evidence of Satan’s capacity to play with the minds of mortals within and outside the realm of fictional text.
My most favorite aspect of this epic was the expansion of the relationship between Adam and Eve, and how they dealt with everything that had happened to them. There’s very little of this in Genesis. I found myself always looking forward to scenes where they spent time in each other’s presence, as I derived so much delight from the love that they shared.
Needless to say, Adam and Eve loved each other deeply. Adam willingly followed Eve even if it meant he would fall from grace, and Eve could not imagine a life where she would no longer wake in the warm embrace of her Adam. The scene that struck me greatly was this: Eve, having just eaten from the forbidden tree, reunited with Adam and offered him the fruit; Adam, in shock, dropped the rosy garland that he had been weaving for Eve to wear. But, even as the petals faded in color and fell from the wreath, he said this,
"Bold deed thou hast presumed, adventurous Eve,"
…and proceeded to eat of that fruit, resigning to the same fate, to a point of no return.
Understandably, the talons of Discord grab hold of them after they awoke from the effects of this grave transgression. Adam, for the first time, since his creation, felt anger towards his dearly beloved, and Eve deflected his accusations, in an attempt to transfer the weight of her deed unto him, but in the end, they both realize the futility of their argument.
Before being banished, though, Michael reminded them (or at least Adam) that their Paradise had not been totally lost—at this point, it had ceased to be a mere place—it is now a state of being, represented by their deep and steadfast love for each other, and wherever they go, they would be able to bring Paradise with them, so long as they are together.
I adore both Adam and Eve because, they were, if not, the first evidence of humanity’s great capacity to love, and what that love could do for this world. The love that they have was as strong as it was gentle; it soothes and it comforts. It is the promise of constant companionship; the promise of God that their union would never be broken or defined by where they reside. Theirs is a love that does not subjugate; rather, it nourishes and encourages the willingness to follow something (or someone) else.
On a more sober note, I do have to point out that I read Paradise Lost through the lens of someone who was raised Catholic and was taught the Catholic doctrines. From what I could infer from the poem, Milton interpreted Jesus (“Son of God” as he was called in the text) as a being that was merely created by God, and not another manifestation of God Himself. This was very different from my understanding of God and the Trinity, so I was somewhat confused whenever these two characters spoke to each other in some of the Books. I interpreted the conversations as essentially God’s dialogue with Himself (as I believe that Jesus is one with his Father).
Anyway, I’m no bible scholar. This is not a bone that I have to pick re: Milton’s beliefs. I simply found this diversion of religious knowledge fascinating. I also don’t wish to dive into an analysis of the inconsistencies that I noticed in the text. All I have to say is that as a Catholic, Paradise Lost was an incredible rendition of the Genesis chapters, and as an admirer of the arts, this epic had elicited such strong emotions from my heart.
I rated this four stars only because I wanted to know more of Satan’s anguish in the aftermath of the Fall; what he thought of the prophecy and how we would go about infecting humanity afterwards, through the next centuries to come.
Displaying 1 of 1 review