Milton and the Making of Paradise Lost

Two questions—“How does a masterpiece come to be written?” and “What influences help forge it?”—concern this focused examination of the creation of Paradise Lost, John Milton’s enduring epic poem. Poole (The World Makers), who is John Galsworthy Fellow and tutor in English at New College, Oxford, splits his study into two distinct but linked sections. The first focuses on Milton’s background and personality: his education and subsequent teaching career, his admiration for Italian culture and poetry, and his participation in heady religious and social debates. At the center of this section is the onset of Milton’s blindness, which led to the extraordinary circumstance of Paradise Lost being dictated to a series of amanuenses. The second half looks critically at Paradise Lost itself, exploring its structure, theological implications, and influences. Early on, Poole expresses his hope that his volume will engage even newcomers to Milton, but this hope may be in vain, due to the book’s somewhat technical nature. Poole’s goal is commendable, however, and limiting the scope of his study to Milton’s life as it pertained to his masterwork is wise. [em](Oct.) [/em]