Milton’s Complex Words: Essays on the Conceptual Structure of Paradise Lost

This book explores the key words of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost. Some of these words are theological or philosophical terms (e.g. ‘evil’, ‘grace’, ‘reason’); others are words which shape the imagined world of the poem (e.g. ‘dark’, ‘fall’, ‘within’). The volume helps the reader to follow the diverse ways in which the characters of Milton’s poem use and misuse these concepts, and in so doing, deepens our understanding of the poem.