Often considered the greatest epic in any modern language, Paradise Lost tells the story of the revolt of Satan and his banishment from Heaven, and the fall of man and his expulsion from Eden. Writing in blank verse of unsurpassed majesty, Milton demonstrates his genius for imagery and cadence. His style is rich and sonorous, his characterizations are heroic, and his action is cosmic in scale. Paradise Lost could only be the work of a mastermind involved in a profound search for Truth.

Milton's stated objective in writing Paradise Lost was to "justify the ways of God to men"; yet a controversy has developed among the literary community as to the epic's merit. "Poetry," said Dr. Johnson in his life of Milton, "is the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason." If Paradise Lost does not fulfill this definition, what does?