John Milton's Paradise Lost is one of the most beautiful works in English Literature, and necessary for understanding later literary movements such as romanticism. Milton's version of Satan was an influential model for both Blake's poetry and Shelley's monster in Frankenstein. Milton's version of Eve sill provokes controversy in discussions of gender and religion. However, Milton was also a radical political figure who supported the execution of monarchs in his work Eikonoklastes ("Icon Breaker") and wrote on educational theory, divorce, and free speech. We will spend the bulk of the semester reading Paradise Lost, examining its complex poetry and its religious and political rhetoric. We will also read other works such as Samson Agonistes, Lycidas, and selections from Milton's prose writing. Offered every 2-3 years.