Book Club Guide

Paradise Lost

Key themes

Satan as the poem's most compelling figure — and what this reveals about Milton
The Fall as something we can understand — and pity
Justifying the ways of God to man — and whether it succeeds

About this book

Satan falls, corrupts Eden, and humanity loses paradise — told in twelve books of blank verse that Milton intended as a justification of God's ways to man. One of the great monuments of English literature and one of the most ambivalent: Satan is so compelling that Blake claimed Milton was secretly of the Devil's party, and readers have disagreed ever since.

Published in 1667 in ten books and revised to twelve in 1674, Paradise Lost is Milton's masterpiece. He was blind when he dictated it, reportedly composing in his head overnight. It is considered the greatest English epic poem.

Discussion questions

Satan is so compelling — his rhetoric so powerful, his defiance so energetic — that Blake said Milton was of the Devil's party without knowing it. How do you read Satan — as the poem's villain, its hero, or something else?
The poem is an explicit justification of God's ways to man. Does it succeed — and what does the task of theodicy do to the poem's drama?
Eve's choice is central to the poem's argument about free will and obedience. How does Milton develop her — and does his treatment of Eve's intelligence and agency feel coherent?
Paradise Lost is written in blank verse of extraordinary power. How does the sound of the poem work — and what does the formal grandeur add to the theological argument?
The poem is one of the foundational texts of English literature. What does it offer readers who don't share Milton's theology — and what might be lost if you approach it purely as literature?