Milton’s classic epic poem chronicles the beginning of mankind and of the entire world. The story begins even before creation, with Lucifer’s rebellion against God, the fall Lucifer and his companion angels, and then the creation of paradise and its ultimate loss to humanity. This story has been enjoyed by scholars and fans of literature for centuries and is a staple of college-level English classes.

Milton details paradise and hell in equally descriptive terms. He has a gift for imagination and added details to the core Bible stories that he used as inspiration at a time when it was not common to add any embellishment to Biblical text. He shows great skill with language, and his narrative is beautiful and grandiose and, in places, enthralling to read.

However, the book is not one that most people will find an enjoyable read. It is long and tends to wander into a very plodding routine of language. Milton spends a long time on events and details that many readers will find trivial and uses flowery, embellished language that, while beautiful, becomes after a while bland as the reader is accustomed to its cadence so that it no longer evokes the same beautiful feeling but instead feels repetitive. This book is a very hard read that I’d recommend only to the most avid enthusiasts of classical literature or the student to whom it has been assigned as required reading.

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  None

Violence/Gore:  Characters threaten each other verbally a few times; report of many people martyred, report of an execution; mention of animal sacrifice; brief, non-detailed account of various Bible stories in which many people (sometimes specifically including children) are killed; a few reports of rape; prophetic visions show war; various ways to die violently or by disease are listed; a character considers committing suicide; report of a past battle (mentioned many times);characters are tortured, mostly with fire, but no gory details are given; detailed account of a murder, including some blood; detailed account of a battle with swords an medieval weaponry in which participants are grievously injured, but no blood or gore is described; a character is gnawed on from the inside out by monsters.

Sex/Nudity:  Characters hold hands a few times;a man and woman spend a majority of the book naked, but while this is pointed out a few times, it is not graphically described; characters discuss the merits of sexual abstinence; characters discuss sex (not graphic); mention of animals mating; mention of prostitution a few times; a few reports of rape; prophetic vision shows women seducing men (sex is not shown but is implied); report of characters having a physical relationship resulting in pregnancy; characters embrace and kiss while naked;a man and woman have sex a few times (no details given).

Mature Subject Matter:

Prostitution (mention); rape (reported); the author holds an archaic view of women which some readers might find uncomfortable (and it is part of a recurring theme in the story); suicide (considered).

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Wine is mentioned.