Benjamin, if anyone should make an audio recording of Paradise Lost, I hope you do. Your diction, elocution, and -- most important -- your deep love and understanding of the work are all there in your voice. This was an extraordinary podcast, and gave me such new perspective and meaning for this great work. Thank you! 30:1530:16
Thank you so much, Philip. That is so kind of you to say. You have completely made my day :) It's actually a dream of mine to do narrations in the future, and Milton's Paradise Lost is in my top five of works I'd love to read! So hopefully someday!
Wow, how funny. My dad and I were just talking about Milton and his Paradise Lost. I've read it MANY moons ago when I was in my early twenties & fell so head-over-heels in love with it! My dad hasn't read it yet, but I told him it has to be his next read!🖤 Fun fact: the 1997 movie The Devil's Advocate with Keanu Reeves & Al Pacino has a TON of references to Milton and his Paradise Lost. Al Pacino's satan character was even named 'Milton'.
That is incredible timing :) I wish you lots of luck for your upcoming exam! Milton was one of my favourites during my own studies, but he certainly required a lot of revision!
A true epic. I've always been fond of the Paradise Lost reference in Lovecraft's Dagon, as the narrator clambers over the slimy rocks of the uncharted outcrop he discovers.
I don't have the time in my day to watch this in one chunk, but I am getting through it 10 minutes at a time. I really love and appreciate your genuine passion for what you're doing with your channel and in this particular story.
I first read Paradise Lost about 2-3 months ago and I still think about it, as I do with a lot of books, but the thing that really stands out to myself is the sheer and utter despair after A&E leave the Paradise and that they go on living despite what they have done, despite the innocence that was lost "So spake our father penitent; nor Eve felt less remorse. They, forthwith to the place repairing where he judged them, prostrate fell before him reverent, and both confessed humbly their faults, and pardon begged, with tears watering the ground, and with their sighs the air frequently, sent from hearts contrite, in sign of sorrow unfeigned and humiliation meek."... I'm not a religious person, but that ending makes me cry both tears of sadness and of joy every time. It has got to be one of the greatest endings in all of fiction.
How to start a fight: whisper ‘limited atonement’ into the realm of theologians & question what is accurate salvative doctrine and free will. Milton was a brave soul to challenge his own, let alone write Paradise Lost. This is going to be an incredibly valuable lecture series.
The timing of this video couldn't have been more perfect... gosh. I'm reading PL properly for the first time on my own (I'm a Lit major), and I've been loving it! It's daunting, challenging and a little bit of everything. I am on Book VI right now. I, of course, don't understand it all, but I feel things. That's enough for now. Perfect video, and I simply can't wait to restart reading PL keeping things you said in mind. 🌞🌾
An incomparable classic. Haven't read Paradise Lost in a few years but am adding it to my winter list because of your video. Thanks for all your spectacular content my friend.
Thank you so much, Shrinesh! I really appreciate that and I'm so happy to hear you'll be returning to this masterpiece this winter! I'd love to know what resonates with you this time around :)
Thanks for you electrifying talk on Paradise Lost you remind me of how excting literature can be. Plus your hints for how to read in order to get the most out of literature are pricess. 😊❤📖🖤😊
I have wondered if Milton in the movie Office Space is somehow inspired by this author. He is banished to the basement and then ascends in a blaze of glory.
Thank you! PL is an intensely visual experience. Your comments on his blindness remind me that I have the opposite problem from Milton's blindness. I can see with my eyes quite well despite being in my 8th decade. But I have no "theatre of the mind". That is, I do not see images without using my actual vision. I and about 5% of humans have "aphantasia". I'm grateful for Milton's images, because they are so vivid that an inner theatre isn't required for me to "see' them.
I had read very few classics before joining Hardcore Literature book club at the beginning of this year. This year so far has been a year of getting into some challenging and daunting reads and coming out of it inspired and completely in love with these works. Paradise Lost feels so intimidating and novel to me - and I am learning this is a great thing to feel beforehand. The read will be incredible.
thank you for this video. I just finished Paradise Lost for the first time. I have tried to read three times before but I always struggled with it. Your video helped me very much. I was able to read it, enjoy it, comprehend it and digest its meaning to me. I can't express my gratitude enough for this video.
I read Paradist Lost a couple years ago and was blown away by it. It is still to this day one of the most beautiful (if at times a little difficult and dense) pieces of (English) writing I have ever read, alongside Tolkien. I've been meaning to do a reread eventually where I dive a little deeper into the text so when that time comes I'll be sure to keep your advice handy! Thank you as always for making these insightful videos!
I've been slowly battling my way through PL for the past few months but after watching this have started reading it whilst listening to Anton Lesser's narration and it's an instant game changer! Thank you so much for the content you put out, you are an absolute legend!
Benjamin, your channel is just wonderful. The topics you choose to talk about and the clear, passionate and easy to understand way you deliver them are perfect. I feel like I am gaining a very high level of education in English Literature when I listen to you. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge ❤
Absolutely agree with you about the audiobook by Anton Lesser, Ben. As a non-native English speaker, I found it very difficult the first time I read Paradise Lost. I came to it after reading Frankenstein and truly wanted to get through it, and the audiobook helped me tremendously. It was really moving as well, and I'm planning to return to the book soon. Thank you for the video and especially the recommendations, as always ❤
Thanks for making this video. I always wanted to read John Milton's "Paradise Lost" and finally got the chance to read it. As I was reading "Paradise Lost" I was so hooked I couldn't stop reading it.
You're so welcome, Rory! Thank you so much for watching :) I'm so thrilled to hear you got hooked on Paradise Lost. Milton's epic really is incredible addictive reading!
I am one of those people who seems to have some sort of built-in aversion to reading epic poems such as Paradise Lost. But after watching/listening to your lecture here, you have definitely inspired me to want to give this a try. Thank you for continuing to provide such excellent commentary and I daresay, encouragement to others who love classic literature but may feel, as I sometimes do, that I may lack what it takes to truly appreciate it. Well done.
Thank you for sharing your analysis of this epic work. The BCC recording with Ian McDiarmid as Satan has been my friend for many years. Decided to start actually reading it this year and you’ve inspired me to get back to it your channel is awesome keep bringing your enthusiasm for English Literature it very contagious!
I adore Paradise Lost. We had to read it for a module about Early Modern literature, and I was about the only one who liked it. Appreciate these types of video, they are like a novel in and of itself
Thank you so much! That's incredibly kind of you to say :) I'm so happy you love Paradise Lost so much. I was so thankful we got to spend so much time with Milton during my studies, but, like you, I was also one of the few who really took to his work!
I'm looking at reading Paradise Lost after going back over His Dark Materials (apparently written as a foil to Milton) and am currently in the middle of The Brothers Karamazov. Was a pleasant surprise to be recommended your channel today and a nice coincidence for this to be your most recent video. I'm both returning to reading from social media addiction and looking to attempt at writing an allegorical epic, so very much appreciate your content - you have a new subscriber in me.
English is only my third language, and I discovered Milton late in my life, at 55. Well, I am dazzled. Paradise Lost is possibly the greatest book since the Iliad. This poetry is sublime.
The way I approach it is by reading it aloud and learning it by heart with Chateaubriand's French translation by the side. So far I have reached verse 260 of Book 1. Wish me luck.
Beautifully explained....i could hear you for hours!! You have an amazing art of storytelling and expressing your opinion throughout the video. Your new subscriber from India 🇮🇳
Excellent video, Benjamin. During convalescence after major surgery, I read ParadiseLost and Dante’s Inferno back-to-back. Both had a profound effect on my life during a period of personal darkness. The majesty snd emotion of the language therein, sometimes made me well up, especially the invocation of the Muse when Milton began to lose his sight I really should re-read and marginate. I only own clothbound, hardback copies. I don’t want to mark these and so I might buy the Oxford Classics paperback version.
BEN! 4 days ago, after finishing Don Quixote, I didn't know what next to choose and I chose paradise lost off the shelf because, why not? and now seeing you posted this video the exact day I picked it up. Brilliant.
Wow!! I love when serendipity strikes :) Congratulations on finishing Don Quixote. One of my all-time favourites. I'd love to know what you make of Milton's masterpiece, my friend!
I love the sound and structure of the Latin language. In my humble opinion, Milton's language represents a kind of modern Latin that overwhelms the listener with its wonderful sound.
The Eminent John Milton poetry defies being a type of writer that we slot into categories . But the academic view is that the language was classical, which, although it is true to degree . I still view his works as groundbreaking in his heavy usage of onomatopoeia. In this contexts I view Paradise Lost an apt example of how creatives use sound in words to achieve the sonic effect to allow the reader to make their own interpretation of the semantics. In this limited context, Milton style was very unique and ahead of his time . I draw on jarring sounds of words to achieve meaning & expression .
perfect timing: I just got a very nice annotated edition of Paradise Lost by norton, and this is the incentive I needed to start reading! Also everytime I think of Milton I think of Dorothea's fantasy of Mr Casaubon before she actually knew him 😅 I really want to know more about him now
Fantastic timing, Julia! :) How wonderful to hear that you've got your hands on a great edition of this masterpiece. I would really love to know what you make of it. And beautiful reference right there! You've made me yearn to revisit Dorothea and my old friends in Middlemarch!
I'm turning 60 in a few weeks and I've taken delivery of Paradise Lost ( Norton Critical Edition) and it's thanks to you that I've bought it. 👍😊 I've always wanted to read the classics , but I have never got around to read them.
Hi Ben. I've finished reading The Forsyth Saga. I am currently reading Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. Also reading some contemporary books, but it's hard to find anything worthwhile. Lots of junk out there, so it is very satisfactory to have the classics to depend on. Your faithful Yankee.
I decided to get a degree in English literature as a mature student with grownup children. One of the set books was Paradise Lost and it overwhelmed me by the majesty and beauty of Milton's poetry. I remember being moved to tears by the description of Satan's reaction when he first sees the Garden of Eden and racing in to my kids so I could read it aloud to them .
im not really into poetry and i've never heard of milton (im not from a english speaking country, we focus on our own literature mostly) up until recently. bought a cheap copy of paradise lost on a whim and the description of satan's fall from heaven moved me like barely any other poetry ever did
Reading PL out loud adds immeasurably to the sense and the enjoyment. I hope your advice on this point will be heeded. Anton Lesser is a marvel and his reading of PL adds to the enjoyment.
Just getting done with a stint in construction where I never had the time or focus for reading my favorites among the greatest works ever written, and now I am returning, and Paradise Lost should get me back into one of my better past times.
Well-done video and channel concept - for those whose appetite for self-education leads them beyond the superficial, fast-food “content” that floods the internet. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your advice and audio version recommendation! Paradise Lost is my next to-read poem after my one-play-per-week Shakespeare challenge, about ten plays to read (recently I was almost obsessed with Hamlet after reading it and watching three movie adaptations). I've never read the Bible and the Old Testament in English, I hope I can enjoy it nevertheless.
@@BooksAtMidnight Shakespeare challenge is fun, and I was prepared for it by ASonnetADay challenge, for english is not my native language. I found it difficult to enjoy his comedies, because of strange puns, even with commentaries. I think, comedy - is the essence of language, it must be in your veins, and I'm not that familiar with this cultural code and millions colours of sex-jokes, which every language has. But tragedies are great! Well, I was not planning to read the whole Bible in English before Paradise Lost, may be just the Genesis. I've read it in my mother language. I am thinking about the King James Version, because it was so influential for so many authors.
Milton's Paradise Lost is a great poem, possibly the greatest poem of English. Faerie Queene is a possible competitor - though great I haven't managed to finish it. I am currently reading it in German. It's great in German as well as in English. My main advice (similar as for Faerie Queene) is not to worry too much about words you don't understand (due to being archaic), just let it go over you. By the way the sexual references pre-Fall are quite compelling. PS I do believe everyone who is an Engish speaker should read this poem at least once in their life.
Hi Mr. McEvoy, Thank you so much for the incredible videos! I'm in high school and love scifi and fantasy, and these sorts of videos really help get me interested in such a wide variety of literature!
Reading Ulysses rn with the help of spark notes, some of its going over my head (especially the Italian ((I’m taking Latin at Uni so further readings with blossom my knowledge of the book)) I am enjoying it and since starting my journey this year of reading Don Quixote I am fascinated by the literary world
I did PL some years ago. A website dedicated to public domain books supplied the work. It was easy for me to read. I had no expectations. I remember my shock as the gates were shut. The reader was barred too!!
Wow , just wow it's about time I re-read paradise lost, first time I read it I was 14 years old, now here I am 32, it's been to long , this video has inspired me
I'm so happy to hear that, Joel! I'd love to know what you make of this masterpiece this time around. It's always so fascinating to see what resonates after a few years. You'll be bringing so much lived experience to Milton's epic!
I need to start reading Paradise Lost again. I thought it was an interesting and fun read, like an OG dark fantasy novel. It's so influential too on Tolkien, and on more. English isn't my first so I struggled a little, but I really need to go back to it. Thank you Benjamin for this video reminding me I should get definitely myself a copy of Paradise Lost
Just what I needed! I tried reading it a while ago because of its reputation as an absolute masterpiece and incredibly influential on English poetry but gave up because it seemed only about puritanism. 😂 Great.
Amazing. I just did a 31 books for 31 days of August challenge and I was reading to do some slow reading - and I was JUST telling a friend maybe I should attempt to tackle Milton again. Third time lucky.
One aside. I think the quote about ' wrote no language' was from Ben Jonson about Edmund Spencer. I think it was intended as a criticism about Spencer's use of archaic forms. I think Samul Johnson was also critical of Milton but I think this quote wasn't his.
Paradise Lost sounds perfect for the Baylor on line course- I never would have made it through Dante's Divine Comedy but for their program's excellent guidance and analysis.
Before the summer, the Last play of the season I could enjoy a spectacular adaptation of this poem in the theatre at Madrid. I liked very much because the player are very good. The devil was a woman and god remained to Peter Seller as dr stranglove. Eve and Adán were as the monkey of 2001.
Hullo Ben there is a lecture on each chapter of this book on TH-cam by dr scot Masson. The two of you help a lot with the understanding. Dr scot Masson is American. I bought the book. PS I just finished the last days of a condemned man by Victor Hugo. Thanks and happy reading .
Hi Benjamin, just wanted to say as many have before me absolutely love your videos. I picked up a copy of an Everyman edition Don Quixote in a second hand book shop the other day. I remember you saying you don’t leave a shop without a Everyman! So looking forward to tucking into that. I also noticed you’re a Dylan fan which made me resonate which you more! What is your favourite Dylan album? And are you into Leonard Cohen? Keep up the great work. John 😊
Dear Milton, you were wrong to rhyming hate. You're impatient; you didn't want to wait. Rhyming is a very natural thing; And if helps us well when we want to sing.
Ben, a quick suggestion on which novels or plays or poems to read to glean strength when going through personal/family problems please (marriage is on the rocks and the wifey is adamant on a divorce)? Thank you 😊
I'm so sorry to hear that. It sounds like you're going through an incredibly tough time right now, and you're in my thoughts and prayers. Shakespeare is always my go-to when I'm experiencing a crisis. Hesketh Pearson has a great introduction to his biography of the bard in which he talks about the 'Falstaff cure'. Basically rereading and reciting his favourite scenes (especially those from Henry IV parts 1 & 2). He said Shakespeare saved him when he was dying in a hospital tent during WW1. And then saved him during an existential crisis upon returning home. I really hope you and your wife are able to work through this and make it work. You're not alone! Look after yourself, my friend 🙏
@@BenjaminMcEvoy It’s overwhelming especially as we have two children together. The emotional fatigue is unbearable. Thank you for your kind words and thoughts, my dear friend, and I shall definitely derive strength and succour from the Bard✅✅✅
Hello Benjamin, wondering if there is a chance that one day you will do an analysis on what you think makes a great book or write a book on the subject? I just started following you
Amazing! I can't wait to hear what you make of them both, Paola :) I'm always so excited for all of our reads, but Milton and Ellison are two very special writers I'm personally particularly looking forward to discussing! There are so many interesting topics to explore with them both 😊
Haha, flash from the past. In my 2nd year of a humanities degree I took a full-year Milton course, despite warnings that it was a 3rd-year course. I later somewhat regretted it, but did nonetheless plow through. The sonnets, Paradise Lost and Samson Agonisites. The most interesting idea I heard about Milton's invention of the anti-hero, now the norm, was that Milton himself was under a negative moral influence. I mean, a negative spiritual influence but higher-density negative i.e. demonic forces. Because despite the historic apologetics, Milton ultimately fails in "justifying the ways of God to man," when "God" = the jealous, angry god of the desert tribe known as Israel. The whole notion of an "angry God" and an elite, chosen race is real root of all evil on this planet. 😄Interesting, thanks for posting
thank you. i have a feeling this may take a while. an amazing but rather confusing mix of jewish / christian and greek mythical imagery. it is clearly brilliant, but not like other neoclassical epic, translation that is - beautiful words, doesn't really get anywhere very quickly. i am determined to conquer it. memorize, i dont know about that. i have been trying to memorize pope's homer for years and by the time i have got the odyssey mostly to memory i have forgotten the iliad.
Okay, confession time. I've never read 'Paradise Lost'. It's something that I know I *should* read, but it's always seemed so daunting. I probably should resolve to buy a copy and give it a try.
It's definitely got a reputation that makes it seem daunting. But I'll bet you'll find yourself immersed in it pretty quickly! I'd love to know what you make of it if you pick up a copy, Kevin :)
@BenjaminMcEvoy I actually ordered a copy right after posting this, and it should be here tomorrow. I'm currently rereading 'East of Eden', so the Genesis theme might make for an interesting companion to that. I'll definitely respond back to let you know how it goes.
Ive read Matthew just like you explained but i listen to one topic watch another n draw all at the same time to see what i may obtain drawing more like i doodle
Thank you!! The beauty comes through. I tried reading it ages ago, it went over my head. I'm inspired to try again. Did you rank the top 3 English language authors Milton, Shakespeare, and.....? Was that Joyce or Chaucer? I have to re-listen later. Not that i disagree, i don't understand how or why they need to be ranked at all. Never read Chaucer, and Joyce goes waaaay over my head, except i could get into Dubliners. Adorable bio!!
Here's a link to an audio version of Paradise Lost with the actor Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine) as Satan. It's a very accessible adaptation of the poem. th-cam.com/video/GINzUBvQ5nw/w-d-xo.html
@@BenjaminMcEvoy That is great to hear, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been listening to the Hardcore Literature Podcast and watching your videos for around a year now, and I am so glad I made the discovery! You have inspired me to read a number of great novels (just finished Moby Dick which was incredible) and to memorise poems; so far I have committed to memory: “Ode to a Nightingale”, “I Wandered Lonely”, and a soliloquy from Richard II. You are right when you say it adds an entirely new level of appreciation to the experience of poetry. Keep up the excellent work!
I read this a few years back when I was taking the bus to work. I think it took me about 18 months to read it. (It was not the only thing I read). The biggest hurdle was probably the obscure references in the beginning during the pandemonium scenes. Especially since it comes at the beginning. My favorite section is probably Satan's plotting his revenge and having his exstisential crisis on the way to earth. I found a lot of Adam and Eve's dialogue to be cloying and annoying, even after the fall. But upon finishing the book, I found I missed the rhythm of the poetry and found myself reading older poetry to keep that same feel, but nothing really compares to paradise lost.
Hello Ben, I have been following your channel for a while and though I tend to explore the book at my own volition, your suggestions do help. Do you have any suggestions for reading W.G Sebald?
Its clearly one of the great books but it's freakish. Milton slightly terrifies me because you don't write poems like his, not by ordinary means. He killed the epic in his language, because nobody compares. It's uncamny, especially the opening. Total wizard of words. He was supposedly a linguistic genius with a photographic memory. The description of Satan's return from the lake of fire is still the most vivid moment in English literature.
I'm quite a simple man. I see Benjamin post a 'How to read...' video and I decide to read that book.
You've made my day with this comment! 😊🙏
Benjamin, if anyone should make an audio recording of Paradise Lost, I hope you do. Your diction, elocution, and -- most important -- your deep love and understanding of the work are all there in your voice. This was an extraordinary podcast, and gave me such new perspective and meaning for this great work. Thank you! 30:15 30:16
Thank you so much, Philip. That is so kind of you to say. You have completely made my day :) It's actually a dream of mine to do narrations in the future, and Milton's Paradise Lost is in my top five of works I'd love to read! So hopefully someday!
Wow, how funny. My dad and I were just talking about Milton and his Paradise Lost. I've read it MANY moons ago when I was in my early twenties & fell so head-over-heels in love with it! My dad hasn't read it yet, but I told him it has to be his next read!🖤 Fun fact: the 1997 movie The Devil's Advocate with Keanu Reeves & Al Pacino has a TON of references to Milton and his Paradise Lost. Al Pacino's satan character was even named 'Milton'.
I just read it. The only assist I needed was a dictionary. Also, being a Christian who reads the Bible helped immensely.
A dictionary on hand is great advice. It's astonishing to see how many words Milton actually added to the language!
As someone who needs to study about Milton for an upcoming exam, I consider the timing of this video to be absolutely perfect
That is incredible timing :) I wish you lots of luck for your upcoming exam! Milton was one of my favourites during my own studies, but he certainly required a lot of revision!
A true epic. I've always been fond of the Paradise Lost reference in Lovecraft's Dagon, as the narrator clambers over the slimy rocks of the uncharted outcrop he discovers.
I don't have the time in my day to watch this in one chunk, but I am getting through it 10 minutes at a time. I really love and appreciate your genuine passion for what you're doing with your channel and in this particular story.
I first read Paradise Lost about 2-3 months ago and I still think about it, as I do with a lot of books, but the thing that really stands out to myself is the sheer and utter despair after A&E leave the Paradise and that they go on living despite what they have done, despite the innocence that was lost "So spake our father penitent; nor Eve felt less remorse. They, forthwith to the place repairing where he judged them, prostrate fell before him reverent, and both confessed humbly their faults, and pardon begged, with tears watering the ground, and with their sighs the air frequently, sent from hearts contrite, in sign of sorrow unfeigned and humiliation meek."... I'm not a religious person, but that ending makes me cry both tears of sadness and of joy every time. It has got to be one of the greatest endings in all of fiction.
How to start a fight: whisper ‘limited atonement’ into the realm of theologians & question what is accurate salvative doctrine and free will. Milton was a brave soul to challenge his own, let alone write Paradise Lost.
This is going to be an incredibly valuable lecture series.
The timing of this video couldn't have been more perfect... gosh.
I'm reading PL properly for the first time on my own (I'm a Lit major), and I've been loving it! It's daunting, challenging and a little bit of everything. I am on Book VI right now. I, of course, don't understand it all, but I feel things. That's enough for now.
Perfect video, and I simply can't wait to restart reading PL keeping things you said in mind. 🌞🌾
An incomparable classic. Haven't read Paradise Lost in a few years but am adding it to my winter list because of your video. Thanks for all your spectacular content my friend.
Thank you so much, Shrinesh! I really appreciate that and I'm so happy to hear you'll be returning to this masterpiece this winter! I'd love to know what resonates with you this time around :)
Thanks for you electrifying talk on Paradise Lost you remind me of how excting literature can be. Plus your hints for how to read in order to get the most out of literature are pricess.
😊❤📖🖤😊
Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate that 🙏😊
You are an engaging symphony and I love listening to you. The world desperately needs more people like you.
Aw, thank you so much. You have completely made my day 🙏😊
You are an inspiration Benjamin
Thank you so much, Luke. That is so kind of you :)
I have wondered if Milton in the movie Office Space is somehow inspired by this author. He is banished to the basement and then ascends in a blaze of glory.
Thank you! PL is an intensely visual experience. Your comments on his blindness remind me that I have the opposite problem from Milton's blindness. I can see with my eyes quite well despite being in my 8th decade. But I have no "theatre of the mind". That is, I do not see images without using my actual vision. I and about 5% of humans have "aphantasia".
I'm grateful for Milton's images, because they are so vivid that an inner theatre isn't required for me to "see' them.
I had read very few classics before joining Hardcore Literature book club at the beginning of this year. This year so far has been a year of getting into some challenging and daunting reads and coming out of it inspired and completely in love with these works. Paradise Lost feels so intimidating and novel to me - and I am learning this is a great thing to feel beforehand. The read will be incredible.
thank you for this video. I just finished Paradise Lost for the first time. I have tried to read three times before but I always struggled with it. Your video helped me very much. I was able to read it, enjoy it, comprehend it and digest its meaning to me. I can't express my gratitude enough for this video.
I read Paradist Lost a couple years ago and was blown away by it. It is still to this day one of the most beautiful (if at times a little difficult and dense) pieces of (English) writing I have ever read, alongside Tolkien. I've been meaning to do a reread eventually where I dive a little deeper into the text so when that time comes I'll be sure to keep your advice handy! Thank you as always for making these insightful videos!
I've been slowly battling my way through PL for the past few months but after watching this have started reading it whilst listening to Anton Lesser's narration and it's an instant game changer! Thank you so much for the content you put out, you are an absolute legend!
I just finished your lecture series on Persuasion. Outstanding! I am also enjoying The Count. What a treasure you are!
Wow, thank you so much! That means the world to me :) I'm so thrilled you're a fan of Austen and Dumas. Both such amazing writers!
Benjamin, your channel is just wonderful. The topics you choose to talk about and the clear, passionate and easy to understand way you deliver them are perfect. I feel like I am gaining a very high level of education in English Literature when I listen to you. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge ❤
Absolutely agree with you about the audiobook by Anton Lesser, Ben. As a non-native English speaker, I found it very difficult the first time I read Paradise Lost. I came to it after reading Frankenstein and truly wanted to get through it, and the audiobook helped me tremendously. It was really moving as well, and I'm planning to return to the book soon. Thank you for the video and especially the recommendations, as always ❤
Thanks for making this video. I always wanted to read John Milton's "Paradise Lost" and finally got the chance to read it. As I was reading "Paradise Lost" I was so hooked I couldn't stop reading it.
You're so welcome, Rory! Thank you so much for watching :) I'm so thrilled to hear you got hooked on Paradise Lost. Milton's epic really is incredible addictive reading!
I am one of those people who seems to have some sort of built-in aversion to reading epic poems such as Paradise Lost. But after watching/listening to your lecture here, you have definitely inspired me to want to give this a try. Thank you for continuing to provide such excellent commentary and I daresay, encouragement to others who love classic literature but may feel, as I sometimes do, that I may lack what it takes to truly appreciate it. Well done.
Thank you for sharing your analysis of this epic work. The BCC recording with Ian McDiarmid as Satan has been my friend for many years. Decided to start actually reading it this year and you’ve inspired me to get back to it your channel is awesome keep bringing your enthusiasm for English Literature it very contagious!
I adore Paradise Lost. We had to read it for a module about Early Modern literature, and I was about the only one who liked it. Appreciate these types of video, they are like a novel in and of itself
Thank you so much! That's incredibly kind of you to say :) I'm so happy you love Paradise Lost so much. I was so thankful we got to spend so much time with Milton during my studies, but, like you, I was also one of the few who really took to his work!
I'm looking at reading Paradise Lost after going back over His Dark Materials (apparently written as a foil to Milton) and am currently in the middle of The Brothers Karamazov. Was a pleasant surprise to be recommended your channel today and a nice coincidence for this to be your most recent video. I'm both returning to reading from social media addiction and looking to attempt at writing an allegorical epic, so very much appreciate your content - you have a new subscriber in me.
English is only my third language, and I discovered Milton late in my life, at 55. Well, I am dazzled. Paradise Lost is possibly the greatest book since the Iliad. This poetry is sublime.
I'm so thrilled you love it so much!! I completely agree!! :)
The way I approach it is by reading it aloud and learning it by heart with Chateaubriand's French translation by the side. So far I have reached verse 260 of Book 1. Wish me luck.
That's so cool, Edouard!! Good luck, my friend!! :)
Beautifully explained....i could hear you for hours!! You have an amazing art of storytelling and expressing your opinion throughout the video.
Your new subscriber from India 🇮🇳
Aw, thank you so much, Neelima! You have completely made my day! Happy reading over in beautiful India 🇮🇳❤️
Excellent video, Benjamin. During convalescence after major surgery, I read ParadiseLost and Dante’s Inferno back-to-back. Both had a profound effect on my life during a period of personal darkness. The majesty snd emotion of the language therein, sometimes made me well up, especially the invocation of the Muse when Milton began to lose his sight I really should re-read and marginate. I only own clothbound, hardback copies. I don’t want to mark these and so I might buy the Oxford Classics paperback version.
BEN! 4 days ago, after finishing Don Quixote, I didn't know what next to choose and I chose paradise lost off the shelf because, why not? and now seeing you posted this video the exact day I picked it up. Brilliant.
Wow!! I love when serendipity strikes :) Congratulations on finishing Don Quixote. One of my all-time favourites. I'd love to know what you make of Milton's masterpiece, my friend!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thank you for you contagious love of great literature.
I love the sound and structure of the Latin language.
In my humble opinion, Milton's language represents a kind of modern Latin that overwhelms the listener with its wonderful sound.
Your videos on TH-cam and Patreon are assuredly a literary blessing and treasure.
Wow, thank you so much, Ralph! That means the world to me 🙏☺️
When reading Paradise Lost in college, I met Milton, blind and all, in a dream. Never forgotten about that.
Wow 👀
The Eminent John Milton poetry defies being a type of writer that we slot into categories . But the academic view is that the language was classical, which, although it is true to degree . I still view his works as groundbreaking in his heavy usage of onomatopoeia. In this contexts I view Paradise Lost an apt example of how creatives use sound in words to achieve the sonic effect to allow the reader to make their own interpretation of the semantics. In this limited context, Milton style was very unique and ahead of his time . I draw on jarring sounds of words to achieve meaning & expression .
perfect timing: I just got a very nice annotated edition of Paradise Lost by norton, and this is the incentive I needed to start reading! Also everytime I think of Milton I think of Dorothea's fantasy of Mr Casaubon before she actually knew him 😅 I really want to know more about him now
Fantastic timing, Julia! :) How wonderful to hear that you've got your hands on a great edition of this masterpiece. I would really love to know what you make of it. And beautiful reference right there! You've made me yearn to revisit Dorothea and my old friends in Middlemarch!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy rest assured I'll be on the comments session of the next video telling you about Paradise Lost 😅
I'm turning 60 in a few weeks and I've taken delivery of Paradise Lost ( Norton Critical Edition) and it's thanks to you that I've bought it. 👍😊
I've always wanted to read the classics , but I have never got around to read them.
Hi Ben. I've finished reading The Forsyth Saga. I am currently reading Fathers and Sons by Turgenev. Also reading some contemporary books, but it's hard to find anything worthwhile. Lots of junk out there, so it is very satisfactory to have the classics to depend on. Your faithful Yankee.
As always, wonderful content from you, Ben. I will now endeavor to buy Paradise Lost to read and to add to my library. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Marian :) I really appreciate that! I'd love to know what you make of Milton's masterpiece!
Quite simply and by a considerable margin, the best thing i have ever read.
Very impressive and influential long lasting narration. God bless you for providing this peace of narration.
Thanks a lot.
I decided to get a degree in English literature as a mature student with grownup children. One of the set books was Paradise Lost and it overwhelmed me by the majesty and beauty of Milton's poetry. I remember being moved to tears by the description of Satan's reaction when he first sees the Garden of Eden and racing in to my kids so I could read it aloud to them .
im not really into poetry and i've never heard of milton (im not from a english speaking country, we focus on our own literature mostly) up until recently. bought a cheap copy of paradise lost on a whim and the description of satan's fall from heaven moved me like barely any other poetry ever did
Reading PL out loud adds immeasurably to the sense and the enjoyment. I hope your advice on this point will be heeded. Anton Lesser is a marvel and his reading of PL adds to the enjoyment.
Just getting done with a stint in construction where I never had the time or focus for reading my favorites among the greatest works ever written, and now I am returning, and Paradise Lost should get me back into one of my better past times.
Thank you for your most important and tremendous contribution!!!you are a true inspiration!!!
Well-done video and channel concept - for those whose appetite for self-education leads them beyond the superficial, fast-food “content” that floods the internet. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your advice and audio version recommendation! Paradise Lost is my next to-read poem after my one-play-per-week Shakespeare challenge, about ten plays to read (recently I was almost obsessed with Hamlet after reading it and watching three movie adaptations).
I've never read the Bible and the Old Testament in English, I hope I can enjoy it nevertheless.
@@BooksAtMidnight Shakespeare challenge is fun, and I was prepared for it by ASonnetADay challenge, for english is not my native language. I found it difficult to enjoy his comedies, because of strange puns, even with commentaries. I think, comedy - is the essence of language, it must be in your veins, and I'm not that familiar with this cultural code and millions colours of sex-jokes, which every language has. But tragedies are great!
Well, I was not planning to read the whole Bible in English before Paradise Lost, may be just the Genesis. I've read it in my mother language.
I am thinking about the King James Version, because it was so influential for so many authors.
@@Kuzglamdring thank you for your response!
All the best on your reading adventures!
Milton's Paradise Lost is a great poem, possibly the greatest poem of English. Faerie Queene is a possible competitor - though great I haven't managed to finish it.
I am currently reading it in German. It's great in German as well as in English.
My main advice (similar as for Faerie Queene) is not to worry too much about words you don't understand (due to being archaic), just let it go over you.
By the way the sexual references pre-Fall are quite compelling.
PS I do believe everyone who is an Engish speaker should read this poem at least once in their life.
Hi Mr. McEvoy,
Thank you so much for the incredible videos! I'm in high school and love scifi and fantasy, and these sorts of videos really help get me interested in such a wide variety of literature!
Every rereading of every work produces a fresh experience, including TV guide
fabulous timing on this thank you I'm just about to start a literature degree and we're studying this. it was really daunting so thank you for this
You're so welcome! You've got this, my friend :) I'd love to know how you get on with your degree!
One of my all time favorites
I absolutely Love Paradise Lost. I've read it 3 times but I imagine It will take me100 more times to get it all. ❤
Reading Ulysses rn with the help of spark notes, some of its going over my head (especially the Italian ((I’m taking Latin at Uni so further readings with blossom my knowledge of the book)) I am enjoying it and since starting my journey this year of reading Don Quixote I am fascinated by the literary world
Beautiful video Benjamin!! Thank you again!📖
My absolute pleasure! Thank you so much for watching :)
I did PL some years ago. A website dedicated to public domain books supplied the work. It was easy for me to read. I had no expectations. I remember my shock as the gates were shut. The reader was barred too!!
Wow , just wow it's about time I re-read paradise lost, first time I read it I was 14 years old, now here I am 32, it's been to long , this video has inspired me
I'm so happy to hear that, Joel! I'd love to know what you make of this masterpiece this time around. It's always so fascinating to see what resonates after a few years. You'll be bringing so much lived experience to Milton's epic!
I need to start reading Paradise Lost again. I thought it was an interesting and fun read, like an OG dark fantasy novel. It's so influential too on Tolkien, and on more.
English isn't my first so I struggled a little, but I really need to go back to it.
Thank you Benjamin for this video reminding me I should get definitely myself a copy of Paradise Lost
Just what I needed! I tried reading it a while ago because of its reputation as an absolute masterpiece and incredibly influential on English poetry but gave up because it seemed only about puritanism. 😂 Great.
Thank you, my friend! It's definitely the kind of work that is the product of puritan dissent, but there's plenty to appreciate beyond that :)
Amazing. I just did a 31 books for 31 days of August challenge and I was reading to do some slow reading - and I was JUST telling a friend maybe I should attempt to tackle Milton again. Third time lucky.
One aside. I think the quote about ' wrote no language' was from Ben Jonson about Edmund Spencer. I think it was intended as a criticism about Spencer's use of archaic forms. I think Samul Johnson was also critical of Milton but I think this quote wasn't his.
very enjoyable to watch and learn.........hope you do audiobook I will buy that :-)
Aw, thank you so much! You have completely made my day 🥰
Paradise Lost sounds perfect for the Baylor on line course- I never would have made it through Dante's Divine Comedy but for their program's excellent guidance and analysis.
Just joined you Benjamin. Have been watching your utube videos for a long time now. Excited to start the Paradise Lost lecture series.
Before the summer, the Last play of the season I could enjoy a spectacular adaptation of this poem in the theatre at Madrid. I liked very much because the player are very good. The devil was a woman and god remained to Peter Seller as dr stranglove. Eve and Adán were as the monkey of 2001.
Thank you! This is one of my favorites, but it is rather daunting!
I'm so happy to hear that it's a favourite of yours too :) It certainly is rather daunting, but well worth the perseverance!
Hullo Ben there is a lecture on each chapter of this book on TH-cam by dr scot Masson. The two of you help a lot with the understanding. Dr scot Masson is American. I bought the book. PS I just finished the last days of a condemned man by Victor Hugo. Thanks and happy reading .
Hi Benjamin, just wanted to say as many have before me absolutely love your videos. I picked up a copy of an Everyman edition Don Quixote in a second hand book shop the other day. I remember you saying you don’t leave a shop without a Everyman! So looking forward to tucking into that. I also noticed you’re a Dylan fan which made me resonate which you more! What is your favourite Dylan album? And are you into Leonard Cohen? Keep up the great work.
John 😊
Dear Milton, you were wrong to rhyming hate.
You're impatient; you didn't want to wait.
Rhyming is a very natural thing;
And if helps us well when we want to sing.
Great commentary love it.
Thank you so much, David! I really appreciate that!
Thank you!
You're so welcome! Thank you for watching, Stephen :)
Ben, a quick suggestion on which novels or plays or poems to read to glean strength when going through personal/family problems please (marriage is on the rocks and the wifey is adamant on a divorce)? Thank you 😊
I'm so sorry to hear that. It sounds like you're going through an incredibly tough time right now, and you're in my thoughts and prayers. Shakespeare is always my go-to when I'm experiencing a crisis. Hesketh Pearson has a great introduction to his biography of the bard in which he talks about the 'Falstaff cure'. Basically rereading and reciting his favourite scenes (especially those from Henry IV parts 1 & 2). He said Shakespeare saved him when he was dying in a hospital tent during WW1. And then saved him during an existential crisis upon returning home. I really hope you and your wife are able to work through this and make it work. You're not alone! Look after yourself, my friend 🙏
@@BenjaminMcEvoy It’s overwhelming especially as we have two children together. The emotional fatigue is unbearable. Thank you for your kind words and thoughts, my dear friend, and I shall definitely derive strength and succour from the Bard✅✅✅
Truly a masterpiece from Milton, Books 9/10 is absolutely fantastic.
Couldn't agree more! :)
Hello Benjamin, wondering if there is a chance that one day you will do an analysis on what you think makes a great book or write a book on the subject? I just started following you
I'm enjoying your amazing videos and classes from Argentina. Thank you 🙏❤️
Signing up again tomorrow for Paradise Lost and Invisibile Man 😃
Amazing! I can't wait to hear what you make of them both, Paola :) I'm always so excited for all of our reads, but Milton and Ellison are two very special writers I'm personally particularly looking forward to discussing! There are so many interesting topics to explore with them both 😊
Haha, flash from the past. In my 2nd year of a humanities degree I took a full-year Milton course, despite warnings that it was a 3rd-year course. I later somewhat regretted it, but did nonetheless plow through. The sonnets, Paradise Lost and Samson Agonisites.
The most interesting idea I heard about Milton's invention of the anti-hero, now the norm, was that Milton himself was under a negative moral influence. I mean, a negative spiritual influence but higher-density negative i.e. demonic forces.
Because despite the historic apologetics, Milton ultimately fails in "justifying the ways of God to man," when "God" = the jealous, angry god of the desert tribe known as Israel. The whole notion of an "angry God" and an elite, chosen race is real root of all evil on this planet.
😄Interesting, thanks for posting
Walt Whitman is often credited with modern nonrhyming poetry but Milton did it first!
Whitman wrote in freestyle and milton in blank verse . There’s no rhyme in both but in blank verse there’s Iambic pentameter
Been waiting for this
I'm thrilled to hear that, John! :)
thank you. i have a feeling this may take a while. an amazing but rather confusing mix of jewish / christian and greek mythical imagery. it is clearly brilliant, but not like other neoclassical epic, translation that is - beautiful words, doesn't really get anywhere very quickly. i am determined to conquer it. memorize, i dont know about that. i have been trying to memorize pope's homer for years and by the time i have got the odyssey mostly to memory i have forgotten the iliad.
Okay, confession time. I've never read 'Paradise Lost'. It's something that I know I *should* read, but it's always seemed so daunting. I probably should resolve to buy a copy and give it a try.
It's definitely got a reputation that makes it seem daunting. But I'll bet you'll find yourself immersed in it pretty quickly! I'd love to know what you make of it if you pick up a copy, Kevin :)
@BenjaminMcEvoy I actually ordered a copy right after posting this, and it should be here tomorrow. I'm currently rereading 'East of Eden', so the Genesis theme might make for an interesting companion to that. I'll definitely respond back to let you know how it goes.
Ive read Matthew just like you explained but i listen to one topic watch another n draw all at the same time to see what i may obtain drawing more like i doodle
Hello Ben! I hope you okay. I´m studying English philology, it’s my first year in college. thanks for your advice.
Thank you!! The beauty comes through. I tried reading it ages ago, it went over my head. I'm inspired to try again. Did you rank the top 3 English language authors Milton, Shakespeare, and.....? Was that Joyce or Chaucer? I have to re-listen later. Not that i disagree, i don't understand how or why they need to be ranked at all. Never read Chaucer, and Joyce goes waaaay over my head, except i could get into Dubliners. Adorable bio!!
Oh yes, you said James Joyce. Now that is interesting, "Read it aloud" was exactly what Joyce urged his friends who were baffled by Finnegan's Wake
Hullo Ben I have just finished the man who laughs by Victor Hugo , highly recommend.Will read you're recommendation. Peace. Lara.
Paradise Lost is on my upcoming reading list and I own the audiobook by Anton Lesser. Your thoughts on Paradise Regained?
Here's a link to an audio version of Paradise Lost with the actor Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine) as Satan. It's a very accessible adaptation of the poem. th-cam.com/video/GINzUBvQ5nw/w-d-xo.html
Please make a video on William Blake!!
I'm actually planning one as we speak :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy That is great to hear, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been listening to the Hardcore Literature Podcast and watching your videos for around a year now, and I am so glad I made the discovery! You have inspired me to read a number of great novels (just finished Moby Dick which was incredible) and to memorise poems; so far I have committed to memory: “Ode to a Nightingale”, “I Wandered Lonely”, and a soliloquy from Richard II. You are right when you say it adds an entirely new level of appreciation to the experience of poetry. Keep up the excellent work!
How about the BBC abridged version with Ian McDiarmid (the evil Emperor in Star Wars) as Satan....highly entertaining
Nice Sir G I am from India ❤
Happy reading over in beautiful India, my friend 🙏🇮🇳
Its like reading choose your own perspective which are always subjective
thank you
You're so welcome! Thank you for watching :)
What edition could be recommended? There are many abridged versions😕
I recommend the Oxford World's Classics paperback edition :)
There's a saying that if is not inspired by the bible, then it is inspired by Shakespeare. The critics forgot to add Milton into the equation.
Beautiful saying, and so true! Milton definitely needs to be in there as third most influential after the Bible and Shakespeare :)
I read this a few years back when I was taking the bus to work. I think it took me about 18 months to read it. (It was not the only thing I read). The biggest hurdle was probably the obscure references in the beginning during the pandemonium scenes. Especially since it comes at the beginning. My favorite section is probably Satan's plotting his revenge and having his exstisential crisis on the way to earth. I found a lot of Adam and Eve's dialogue to be cloying and annoying, even after the fall. But upon finishing the book, I found I missed the rhythm of the poetry and found myself reading older poetry to keep that same feel, but nothing really compares to paradise lost.
One of the greatest things ever written
Absolutely agree!
Hello Ben, I have been following your channel for a while and though I tend to explore the book at my own volition, your suggestions do help. Do you have any suggestions for reading W.G Sebald?
Its clearly one of the great books but it's freakish. Milton slightly terrifies me because you don't write poems like his, not by ordinary means. He killed the epic in his language, because nobody compares. It's uncamny, especially the opening. Total wizard of words. He was supposedly a linguistic genius with a photographic memory. The description of Satan's return from the lake of fire is still the most vivid moment in English literature.