THIS SEMINAR IS SOLD OUT

John Milton: Paradise Lost

Tuesdays, March 12 – April 16, 2013 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington Street

In 1667, the political radical and classical scholar John Milton published Paradise Lost, his epic retelling of the Biblical story of the fall of man.  Written to “justify the ways of God to men,” Milton’s blank verse poem is regarded as one of the greatest literary works in the English language, an audacious improve on Homer and Virgil while challenging traditional Christian conceptions.  Milton’s depictions of Adam and Eve are suffused with the humanism of the Renaissance, and his memorably sympathetic portrait of Satan (“Better to rein in Hell than to serve in Heaven”) looks forward to the psychological and political insights of the Romantic poets. Formidable in its learning and beautiful in its art, Paradise Lost provides an unforgettable reading experience.  We will use the new Modern Library edition edited by William Kerrigan.

GUIDE: Christopher Zinn, an independent literature scholar, has led several Delve seminars.  He teaches humanities at the Portland Waldorf High School