Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton, concerning the biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse; a second edition followed in 1674, arranged into twelve books in the manner of Virgil's Aeneid with minor revisions throughout. It is considered Milton's masterpiece and helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest English poets, addressing themes of free will and the moral consequences of disobedience as Milton sought, in his own words, to justify the ways of God to men.