Paradise Lost primarily focuses on the Biblical story of the Fall of Man, i.e. the story of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, being tempted by Satan to eat the forbidden fruit, leading to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The primary theme of Milton’s epic is Man’s disobedience to God’s will, implying not only Adam’s disobedience, but of all mankind from first to last. Apart from sin, other prominent themes of the poem include fate, free will, pride, revenge and deceit. A widely read and analysed masterpiece, Paradise Lost is perhaps the most famous epic poem in the English language.
This epic poem is divided into 12 books. As it is not practical to include the poem in it's entirety here, by selecting the button below you can access the complete work online, beginning with Book 1. To read additional Books, select the "John Milton" link at the bottom of that page to navigate back to the index.