p.falk wrote:
the "Grrrrrrr" was for you exposing my buffoonery.
I meant it in a goodhearted way.
For the first my assuming it was a book/novel.... and second, my thinking there would be different translations since the book was written in English.
But, that being said... are there editions of it in which it's 'translated' or expressed in a clearer parlance??
There is at least one book which presents Paradise Lost in modern English, but even though it is a little clearer and easier to read, you miss a lot of what makes poetry worth reading. I would recommend that if you pick up, you use it only as a kind of aide or guide to help clarify difficult passages as you read the poem in its original 17th-century parlance.
Milton actually published two editions of the poem, the first in 1667 and the second in 1674, and there are substantial differences between the two. It would be good to find an edition that explained the differences, where they are relevant.
Another thing is, you need to understand the historical context of the poem. Milton was a Puritan, and he had very radical political views for the time, for example, he advocated divorce, and he supported the rebellion against King Charles I and his beheading. And he supported the rule of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. And in Paradise Lost, he incorporates arguments in favor of the Puritan rebellion.
You may be wondering how the Puritan rebellion is relevant to Paradise Lost, but the point is that to Milton, the point of the poem was to present his full life philosophy.
There was a time when Paradise Lost was one of the most popular and widely read works of English literature, but in 1823, a theological treatise that had been written by Milton in Latin called 'De Doctrina Christiania' or 'Concerning Christian Doctrine', prior to the discovery of this treatise, it was commonly thought that Milton's theology was orthodox, but this book makes it clear that he was a heretic, an Arian, and that he held many theological views that are just downright bizarre, and that these heresies are incorporated into Paradise Lost. After that point, Milton's reputation declined and works started to fall out of favor.
So it would be good to find an edition that explains his heresies when they show up in the poem.
I know what you're thinking, what edition am I talking about that does all this? Unfortunately, I'm not aware of one, I can't recommend one.