He is a sublime poet. He dictated "Paradise Lost" to his daughters because he was blind. That is incredible to contemplate. I can hardly dictate two lines of doggerl! (Impress your friends by knowing that these famous Milton lines come from Book I, lines 261-263 of Paradise Lost, rather than a Star Trek episode!) Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition though in hell: Better to reign in hell, that serve in heav'n.

The most brilliant of all English poets, and perhaps the greatest. From the short lyrics "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso" to the dirge "Lysidas" through his epic "Paradise Lost," Milton displayed mastery of all genres of poetry, all forms of literary discourse, all means of literary mechanics, conventions and traditions. PL is the one of the most astounding, awesome and compelling works in English: the scope and depth of the work, the relentless surge of brilliant language, the bold and critical analysis of the credibility of belief held central in the Christian ethos, the brave questioning of spurious Church teachings, the list goes on and on. The small-minded of his time felt that Milton was on the side of the Devil because he punctured so much of the dogma and cant of Christianity: if he was, it was God's loss. He also wrote compelling political prose and was one of the greatest translators from Latin in literary history. Add to the fact that he wrote much of PL while his eyesight was failing, and the final books of the poem and its sequel, "Paradise Regained" in total darkness, you have to marvel at the genius of the man.

Paradise Lost alone makes Milton one of the greatest poets in history. Anyone who would decide to tackle a theme as large the Creation of the world - and pull it off through thousands of pages of verse - and do it in a way where the characters are fully developed and complex - is someone to be reckoned with. As someone who dabbles in writing, I can't even begin to fathom Milton's talent (and ambition) in creating such a work.

Though i must admit i don't turn regularly to his poetry,there's no denying Paradise Lost's justifiable status as the most awesome,soaring extended flight of artistic and intellectual imagination in all of English language poetry.The sustaining of such mastery over so great a length is almost beyond belief.But i'm rather more an admirer than a fully-fledged lover of his verse.