Paradise Lost
Milton set out to "justify the ways of God to men" and ended up writing the most compelling Satan in all of literature.
“Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
Why It Matters
Milton set out to "justify the ways of God to men" and ended up writing the most compelling Satan in all of literature. The poem reinvented the English epic, proved that blank verse could sustain a work of enormous scale, and gave every subsequent writer their template for the charismatic rebel. Whether Milton meant Satan to be sympathetic is still argued about, which is part of the point.
The 
Take
Personal reviewSome of the best descriptive imagery in poetry I’ve ever heard, very lofty and detailed. A detailed plot was lacking and super basic but that’s not the point. Just the language itself was great
Notable Quotes
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”
“They hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, through Eden took their solitary way.”