Paradise Lost

Did anyone see this at the Malvern Theatre last week? I did and thought it wonderful. I have made several attempts to read Paradise Lost, but always gave up after a few pages. Having it dramatised made all the difference, particularly when the acting is so good. I was taken with a remark by Ben Power, who adapted the poem, that Hell was democratic (the conference of the fallen angels etc) while Heaven was autocratic (things are so because God made them so). An interesting comment in view of the politics of Milton's time.

But what I really thought about was people's reactions to myth these days. Is it really any different now from Milton's time? I sometimes think people today are very literal and miss how wonderful images like the tree of knowledge are.