J.Milton Best Author?

[Jason]

I am doing a research project for my 12th grade English class, and of course its on J.Milton, I was wondering if any1 can tell me why J.Milton is credited as the philosophic author of the 17th Century? I am trying to figure out what was so great about his book "Paradise Lost" If any1 can tell me thanx

[Constantin]

Voltaire said about "Paradise Lost" in such way: "It's a long comment fot the first book of Bible in 12 books of hard verses". But I think, that Voltaire could make a mistake.

[Virgil]

I am doing a research project for my 12th grade English class, and of course its on J.Milton, I was wondering if any1 can tell me why J.Milton is credited as the philosophic author of the 17th Century? I am trying to figure out what was so great about his book "Paradise Lost" If any1 can tell me thanx

I don't know whether Milton is the philosphic author of the 17th century, but Paradise Lost is a magnificent work. In a century of very good peotry in general, Paradise Lost is the best, greatest, most imaginative, grandest, (pick whatever adjective you want) work of all. It doesn't even sound like you've read it. Have you?

[The Unnamable]

I am doing a research project for my 12th grade English class, and of course its on J.Milton, I was wondering if any1 can tell me why J.Milton is credited as the philosophic author of the 17th Century? I am trying to figure out what was so great about his book "Paradise Lost" If any1 can tell me thanx

Try Milton’s Areopgitica (1644) - http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/areopagitica.html

Paradise Lost is a sublime study of tyranny, power, self-delusion and what Hannah Arendt called ‘the banality of evil’. Satan is a fascinating creature. If you only read books 1,2, 4 and 9, you’ll unearth some great treasures. Book 2 even gets quoted in Se7en:

“long is the way
And hard, that out of Hell leads up to Light;”

There are plenty of other lines that seem relevant to both the 17th century and today:

“men onely disagree
Of Creatures rational, though under hope
Of heavenly Grace: and God proclaiming peace,
Yet live in hatred, enmitie, and strife
Among themselves, and levie cruel warres,
Wasting the Earth, each other to destroy:”