Paradise Regained

Paradise Regained is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes. It deals with the subject of the Temptation of Christ. Many consider Paradise Regained inferior to Paradise Lost, as it offers less complexity in characterization and moral ambiguity. However, this is less a consequence of styli... more

Paradise Regained is a poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671. It is connected by name to his earlier and more famous epic poem Paradise Lost, with which it shares similar theological themes. It deals with the subject of the Temptation of Christ. Many consider Paradise Regained inferior to Paradise Lost, as it offers less complexity in characterization and moral ambiguity. However, this is less a consequence of stylistic inadequacy than of narrative constraints, as the Temptation is less open to interpretive license than the Creation. Nevertheless, Milton takes plenty of poetic license in expanding the core story without changing the story. The poem was composed in Milton's cottage in Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, and was based on the Gospel of Luke's version of the Temptation of Christ. Paradise Regained is four books in length, in contrast with Paradise Lost's twelve. One of the major concepts emphasized throughout Paradise Regained is the play... less