Paradise Lost, Book I - Analysis and Context

Explore a 51-minute lecture from Yale University's ENGL 220 course on John Milton's "Paradise Lost." Delve into an in-depth analysis of the epic poem's invocation, examining Milton's personal history, including his role as Latin Secretary, imprisonment, and blindness. Investigate the poet's choice of a religious subject for his epic in the context of the Puritan regime's failure. Examine Milton's radical poetics, including his stance against rhyme and unique use of enjambment and double syntax. Discover elements of monism in his depiction of angelic bodies. The lecture covers five key chapters: the fall of Adam, Eve, and rebel angels; Milton's defense against lateness; his strategy of retrospective anticipation; radical theology; and thoughts unconstrained by grammar.