A poet who crafted the greatest character in literary history with his engaging anti-hero of Satan, John Milton connected personal experience with the breadth of cosmic epic. His
Paradise Lost
is a touchstone of English literature.
In the latest entry in Ig's celebrated Bookmarked series, author Ed Simon considers
within the scope of his own alcoholism and recovery, the collapse of higher education, the imbecility of the canon wars, the piquant joys of labyrinthine sentences, and the exquisite attractions of Lucifer. Milton is easy to respect and easier to fear, but with the guidance of Simon, Milton becomes easiest of all to love.
may have generated thousands of works of criticism over the centuries, but none of them are like this.