Paradise Lost discussion

You have to hate reading, despise language, deplore art, and be utterly uninterested in human nature to think this.

Sorry mate. Well outta order. You have to understand Milton in terms of his history and place therein, his connection with Hobbes, his multi-fingered interconnections with 17th century religious and political dissent - but most of all you have to hear the poetry as you read it. I find him merely the briefest step behind Will Shakespeare.

You get a lot more out of Paradise Lost when you read up on how Milton used syntax and very loaded verbs. It also helped that I have negative experience with Christianity but I wanted to keep an open mind on the subject matter. It pulls you each way.