Hmmm

[Mike]

There is a difference between a "quick and easy read" and "trash", you know. Sometimes it is best to express an idea as simply as possible. You don't need to slog through blank verse for hours to be presented with Milton's ideas; a shorter, more simplified version would do the job just as effectively (moreso, for the slow reader). Please don't equate brevity with garbage in the future, and don't equate complexity with mastery -- I assure you, the fame that this peom has garnered for itself is not based on the fact that it takes twelve reads of each line to fully understand.

[Lou]

For a 13 year old to be reading Milton, well that is quite wonderful. There is never a point to0 early in life that we can embrace humanism in its greatest form. The reason Milton's epic was canonised in the first place was because it was more than a quick read. The 'quick and easy read' is a banal reality of modern trash....no offence, but I enjoy thinking! - not all trash is modern either...but oh well losing a battle with myself. The best thing to do is look at the characters seperately and see how Milton, in his time of political turmoil managed to turn many pre-supposed ideals upon their head. In a patriarchal society Eve is rendered equal to Adam again...hurrah, she is from the rib, his side his equal, not his head (above him) or feet (below him) but from his equal middle...and yes she succumbs to Satan, but he is a floundering sore headed wannabe, fallen from the highest account of grace and power as the light bearer in heaven. Damn and be damned. I love it!