Heaven, Hell and Paradise Lost

A poet who crafted the

greatest character in literary history with his engaging anti-hero of Satan, John Milton connected personal experience with the breadth of cosmic epic. His Paradise Lost is a touchstone of English literature.

In the latest entry in Ig's celebrated Bookmarked series, author Ed Simon considers Paradise Lost within the scope of his own alcoholism and recovery, the collapse of higher education, the imbecility of

the canon wars, the piquant joys of labyrinthine sentences, and the exquisite

attractions of Lucifer. Milton is easy to respect and easier to fear, but with

the guidance of Simon, Milton becomes easiest of all to love. Paradise Lost may

have generated thousands of works of criticism over the centuries, but none of

them are like this.