Read this when
Paradise Lost
Envy's best line is always 'better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.' Its second-best is: it's their fault. 🍎
Who it's for
Paradise Lost lets the reader feel how seductive a resentful story can be: Satan's speeches are so eloquent that readers famously side with him, before noticing how his envy of the Son and his pride trap him in his own hell.
Feelings it meets
What it is
John Milton's epic poem, first published in 1667 (in ten books, revised into twelve in 1674), tells of Satan and his fallen angels cast into Hell after rebelling against God. Satan sets out to corrupt God's new creation, humanity, travels to Eden and, disguised as a serpent, tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit; Adam chooses to share her fate.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US; free on Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks. Annotated editions in print and in libraries (Libby/Hoopla); audiobooks exist.
Before you start
Heads up: Suicide raised and rejected; war imagery.
Age: Ages 16+
The bird wishes it were a cloud. The cloud wishes it were a bird.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 35
