I don't really understand why Milton is so famous for his epic poem "Paradise Lost". I understand it was the first time anything like that had been done but when Laz explained it in class today it seemed to me that all he really did was retell the bible. It doesn't make sense why he got credit for retelling a story that had been written down hundreds of years before.
Katherine Parsons
10 comments:
Well, I think that John Milton does deserve to be considered one of the best writers in history. A writer is not just defined by what he writes but also by the way he writes something. The way John Milton wrote "Paradise Lost" stupefied everyone and so deserves to be recognized. Also, John Milton was old and completely blind when he wrote this epic and this makes him even more special, that he was able to master such an astonishing peace even when physically impossible. So, I believe John Milton must be given credit for what he has done.
Giuseppina ScottoDiCarlo
I agree with Katherine I mean he really did onlyjust rewrite what was already in the bible. Although his style of writting may be praised i dont think the subject matter really warrents the praise of being in the top 3 of all literature. And even though he was blind which does add a certain specialty to this poem, he had other people transcribe it so its not like he didnt have help or anything because its not like there weren't other people that were going over what was written. I also don't understand why his other epic poem "Paradise Redemption" was not as good if it was still a retelling of bible stories and it is still his same writting style which is the point made to justify "Paradise Lost" being so great.
Caroline Covert
Now if you have the paitence to just write an epic poem you should get at least alittle recognition but if you dictated the entirety of this poem because he was is just amazing. But John Milton must have had complete devotion to his dreams and goals to have finished a incredible work like Paradise Lost.
MATTHEW NEAL-MINK
I think that he's one of the best writers in history. He composed a 12 volume peom about the Bible while blind. I think he deserves all the credit in the world. Who do you know memorized a Bible? To tell the story of what happened in the Bible in peom form, gets my vote.
-YA DIGG
Milton was extremely smart and talented. I read that he thought of the verses at night and then dictated them from memory to his friends/family [whoever was helping him] in the morning. To still want to continue writing, even though he physically could not, is amazing in itself. He was a very passionate author and did not give up writing/dictating the entire 10 books [which later got republished with more material into 12 volumes]. He definitely deserves credit for his great epic.
I would have to disagree with what Caroline and Katherine have said. You can't say that Milton isn't great for writing "Paradise Lost". The fact that he was blind when he wrote the poem makes all the difference. Yes, he had other people write down what he told them to write but, he did everything in his head. He didn't have the luxury of rereading what he had previously written on his own to make sure everything was just right. He couldn't make a rough copy and then rewrite it again to make it final. THe final copy is what was first written, the only thing written. Milton definitely deserves the amount of praise he has recieved.
Heather Brooks
I can understand what you are saying but I disagree. From what I understood he was using the Bible as a baisis to tell a story. Using charecters from heaven, hell, and the Bible in general to tell a story. He knew every detail of the Bible and I'm sure indicated this in his masterpiece. So when you put into account that and the length it was truely epic and deserves it's fame. Then, you still have to consider the fact of his blindness and how he had scribes, writting down everything the way he had imagined in his mind. That is truely incredible.
I think that Milton deserves a lot of credit for Paradise Lost because it wasn't just another retelling of the bible. It was retold by someone who was extremely smart and knew how to connect to people. It was told in way that made it seem inspriring and important to people. I think that it was important to the culture at the time during the reformation to see a new prospective of what everyone was changing and learning again. It showed people that the story of the bible is about good and evil and the evil should be taken very seriously.
"Paradise Lost" is said to be a very highly regarded epic poem. It was not said that this was the sole reason for Milton's fame, or recognition. This epic poem may not be the first of its sort. There is evidence he has followed the style of earlier writings. Milton was famous for setting out his purpose in terms of this work, "to justify the ways of God to men". Milton's own experience as a blind, poor, puritan in a kingdom he was perhaps not welcome in is evident in this work. To understand why this is said to be a great literary work, or debate whether he deserved fame at all, one should probably read it. regardless of whether Milton deserved this kind of fame it was a great accomplishment.
I also disagree with Katherine and Caroline, but I understand where you are coming from.
Just because Milton may had taken things from the Bible to write the poems that he did, does not mean that the reason we recognize him as such a great writer was because he recanted the content in the Bible, but by the way he stated it and the words he used to make poetry was what makes him such a great writer. If i were to write a 12 volume poem about the Bible and then a sequal to it, I don't think that I would be recognized for all the time I spent writing it because my poetry could not even measure to Milton's, even though the content would be there. Also, because he was blind it shows that he had more to overcome while writing all his poetry.
-Erica Spain
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