C. S. Lewis’s illuminating reflections onMilton’sParadise Lost, the seminal classicthat profoundlyinfluencedChristian thought as well as Lewis’s own.

InPreface to Paradise Lost, the Christian apologist andrevered scholar and professor of literatureclosely examines the style, content, structure, and themes ofMilton’s masterpiece, a retelling of the biblical story of the Fall of Humankind, Satan’s temptation, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Considering the storywithin the context of the Western literary tradition,Lewisoffersinvaluable insights intoParadise Lostand the nature of literature itself, unveiling the poem’s beauty and its wisdom.

Lewis explains and defendsthe literary form known as “Epic,”pondering simple yet perceptive questions such as:What is an Epic? Why, in the seventeenth century, did Milton choose to write his story in this style? In what sense is Paradise Lost similar to the Homeric poems or the Anglo Saxon Beowulf? In what sense did Milton develop Virgil’s legacy?

With the clarity of thought and stylethat are the hallmarks ofhiswriting,Lewis provides answers with a lucidity and lightness thatdeepens our understanding of this literary form and bothilluminatesMilton’s immortalepic and its meaningand inspires readers to revisit it. Ultimately, he reminds us why elements including ritual, splendor, and joy deserve to exist and hold a sacred place in human life.

One of Lewis’s mostreveredscholarly works, Preface to Paradise Lost is indispensable for literature, philosophy, and religion scholarsand for ardent fansof Lewis’s writings.