New Editions to the Collection

Over the past week or so my Paradise Lost collection has grown - nothing too historical as I lost out on a couple of auctions, but some interesting books nonetheless. I think I have it in the back of my mind to do a Pokemon and try and collect them all! However, when I look on Goodreads it lists 4,315 different editions, although that does include ebook and audio versions. On the flip side, it doesn't seem to include antique editions - in either case, I have quite a ways to go.

You can see my collection so far here:

https://paradiselostaiedition.blogspot.com/p/my-collection.html

And here we have the new ones:

Airmont Classic Edition (1968)

 

This superficially has a similar form to the Penguin Classics, although from a US publisher and containing a few more supporting notes, and more significantly it includes Paradise Regained.  Sadly it's only in fair condition with some damage on the back cover. Like many mass paperbacks after a certain age, it has a fragile feel to it.

Ben Power Play Adaptation (2006)

 

Beyond the interest of adding another version of the original poem, this is a stage adaptation that may come in handy as a reference for a future project. I'm not familiar with the stage production, but I'd happily go and see one. The author seems to be experienced in adapting classics to play form. I'm now curious how more adaptations there are, and what differences there might be between them.

Philip Pullman Illustrated Edition (2005)

 

The influence of Milton's work is readily apparent in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials books, and Pullman is open about this fact. My first book 'The Cult of Me (or rather a trilogy) was also heavily inspired by Paradise Lost, but it's fair to say that he did a better job!

This particular edition is also interesting as it's essentially the same project that I'm undertaking, so it's reassuring not to be the only lunatic with this idea :-)

Milton for the Methodists (1988)

So I suspect that this could well entice me down a John Wesley shaped rabbit hole in the not-too-distant future. l was aware that John Wesley held the work to be of some special significance, but have so far managed to avoid looking too deeply into it. However, while working on a local history project (to be revealed at the end of this month) mention of this work attracted my attention.

I know have a growing stack of papers to read to learn more about this association and you should probably expect a more general article about this once I'm more familiar with the history. In terms of a version of the poem, it's an abridged version with selected passages of importance to John Wesley's religious perspective. 

Paradise Lost AI Illustrated Edition - Front Matter

And so we get started on my AI Illustrated Edition of Paradise Lost by John Milton. It partly stems from an older project to scan and transcribe my first antique edition of the book. Someone beat me to it but reviewing that version they haven't cleaned up the OCR and the scans aren't of amazing quality, so here we go...

The front matter basically includes everything from the front cover, to the start of the body of the book (the actual story content). The cover for this edition isn't much visually: red leather with gilt title lettering. The feel and smell of it, on the other hand, is incredible and also with real weight when you hold it.

I'll certainly put together an ebook version of the project once it's complete, but I think I'd like to see what it would take to release a hardcover version of a similar size to the edition it's based on. I can't imagine that'll be cheap, but I can investigate further when we get there.

My cover is a tad more colourful, and the main image was generated from a relatively simple prompt, but with a lot of regeneration until I felt happy about it. I kept with the gilt lettering as a connecting factor because it works, and I've been eager to use the technique in anger since figuring it out and discovering that it didn't work at all for the project I originally developed it for. My Photoshop skills aren't the best, so I'm still happy with the small victories!

Note that I haven't recreated the author and title pages as yet. For the author page I think I'll use the same image, although trying to create Milton's portrait in Midjourney could be an interesting challenge. For the title page I think I'm going to replicate it 'as is', but obviously cleaned up quite a bit.

I'll confess that I was tempted to not transcribe the List of Subscribers, as as the OCR did most of the heavy lifting I started a clean-up pass and it didn't take as long as I feared, although trying to maintain the original spelling caused Word's spell checking to throw a minor fit. Which raises an interesting question, for the final version do I keep the 18th century text, or modernise it? Feel free to comment below if you have an opinion.

The List of Subscribers turned out to be interesting in its own right. Books weren't cheap, especially larger tomes like this, so it makes sense that it was either crowdfunded or subscribed to in advance. Running through the names and places also held my curiosity simply from observing the different names, and changes in placenames too. I'd also like to imagine that at some stage, someone investigating a person from history could connect them to someone listed here. That would be kinda cool :-)

1794 Edition Front Matter Transcription

Note that only the List of Subscribers is transcribed. Source files for the text (in DOCX, PDF and TXT formats) and scanned images have been uploaded and can be accessed here: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xXphioGNdgSRq2XQQTg6aSTJaiZx-ayT?usp=sharing

LIST OF THE SUBSCRIBERS,

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS GEORGE PRINCE OF WALES.

A

The Rt. Hon. Henry Addington, Speaker of the House of Commons

Mr. E. Allen, Frith-street

Miss M. Aynscombe, Mortlake

Mr. Adensted, Stanhope-street

Mr. Aspinal, Norfolk-street

Mr. Arrundell, Great Windmill-street

Major Auften, Parliament-street

Mess. Artaria, and Co. Vienna, 7 copies

Mr. Arglers, Borough

Mr. Amery, Bedford-street, Covent-garden

Mr. Agar, Artillery-place

B

The Earl of Beverley

Atkinson Bush, Esq. Great Ormond-street

W. P. Baker, Esq. Portman-square

Abm. Bracebridge, Esq. Warwickshire

The Rev. Dr. Barrow, Soho-square

Mr. J. Boult, Bank

Mr. Bainbrldge, Strand

Mrs. Brodie

Mrs. Bernard, Richmond

Mr. Bel.*bur, Highgate

Mr. J. Batson, Stamford

Alderman Boydell

Mr. J. Boddy, Phccr.lx Fire-office

F. Bartolozzi, Esq. R. A.

Mr. S. Brookes, Strand

Mr. Bourne, St. Clement's Church Yard

John Bayne, Esq. Kensington

Peter Blackburn, Esq. Ramsgate

Suffield Brown, Esq. Leesthorpe, Leicestershire

A. W. Bellairs, Esq. Stamford

Miss Buckworth, ditto

James Barratty, Esq. Gracechurch-street

Mr. Barrett, Clement's-lane

Dr. Bates, Red Lion-square

Mrs. Buxton, Mortimer-street

Richard Barwell, Esq. St. James's-square

The Rev. Mr. Betham, Stonhall, Suffolk

Colonel Barry, Great Ryder-street

C,

Lord Viscount Courtenay

Earl Cholmondeley

The Most Noble Elizabeth Duchess Dowager of Chandos

The Marquis del Campo

The Bishop of Clonfort '

Field Marshal Conway, Soho-square

Prince de Castelcicala

Mr. Compton, Buckingham-house, 6 copies

Mess. Colnaghi and Co. Pall Mall, 7 copies

Wm. Cruikshank, Esq. Leicester-square

The College Library, Cambridge

John Collick, Esq. St. Martin's-lane

Mr. P. Contencin, Pownal Terrace

Mr. Callendar, Frith-street

J. R. Cocker, Esq. Nassau-street

B. C. Cocker, Esq. ditto

J. Clarke, Esq. Bulwick, Northamptonshire

Mr. Richard Cooke, Stamford

Mr. B. Christian, Burgliley, Northamptonshire,

Mr. Cramphorne

Mr. Cooke, Portland road

The Rev. Mr. Carey, Stamford

John Crawley, Esq. Stockwood, Bedfordshire

Mrs. Caslon, Chiswell street

John Clarke, Esq. Walton-place, Northamptonshire

Mr. Cline, St. Mary -axe

Mr. H. Church, Devonshire-street

Mr. Carr, Cornhill

Wm. Caulier, Esq, Stepney

Mr. Clarkson, Essex-street

Capt. Carruthers

Mr. Clarke, Bond-street

J. Carbonell, Esq. Hinde-street

Crawford, Esq. Kensington

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

Mr, Samuel Chase, Luton, Bedfordshire

Jolin Clark, Esq. St. Martin's, Stamford

D.

His Grace the Duke of Dorset

Lady Jane Dundas

The Earl of Darnley

Lady Charlotte Denys

The Hon. Mrs. Darner, Sackville-street

WM. Douglas, Esq. Teddington, Middlesex

The Rev. Wm. Daking

Dickingson, Esq. Lower Seymour-street

Mr. C. Dibdin, Strand

Samuel Day, Esq. Hill-street

Mr. Wm. Davis, Carey-street

Miss Denshire, Stamford

Mr. Dowderwell, Market-court

John Devall, Esq.

Mr. Diemar, Strand

E.

The Earl of Exeter, 2 copies

Lord Eardley

Lord Elcho

Sir Henry Englefield, Bart. Tilney street

Henry Eggers, Esq. Woodford

G. A. Ernst, Esq. Green Lettice-lane

Edge, Esq. Temple

Mr. Everingham, Oxford-road

Miss Edwards, Ketton, Rutland

Earle, Esq. Hanover-square

Mr. Edwards, St. James's- street

Mr. T. Edwards, Cross-street, Hatton-garden

Messrs. Eckhardt, Bond-street

F.

Earl Fitzwllliam

I.ady Henry Fitzgerald

Sir Samuel Fludyer, Bart. Uffington, near Stamford

Mr. Fryer, Stamford

Mr. Forrest, Temple Forbes,. Esq. Nassau-street

Mr. Fell, St. Martin's-lane

Mr. P. Frost, Pepper-office

J. Forbes, Esq. Stanmore-hill

Mr. French, jun. Oxendon-street

G.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester

Earl Grosvenor

The Earl of Gainsborough, Exton, r. ear Stamford

Mr. Gandon, Bank

Mr. T. Gayfere, jun. Ablngdon-street

Wm. Garrow, Esq. Temple

Mr. Gruiber

Mr. Graham, Charles-street, Westminster

Mrs. Grant, Portman-square

Mr. F. Gardner, Birchin-lane

Mr. Groves, Crown-court

H.

Lord Howard

Sir Robert Herries, St. James's-street

Warren Hastings, Esq. Park-lane

H. Holland, Esq. Architeft to H. R. H, the Prince of Wales

Major Wm. Tooke Harwood, Wood Norton, Norfolk

Lieut. Hughes, Royal Navy

Mr. Harman, Jermyn street

Mr. C. Hayter, Rathbone-place

Mr. R. Higs, Gray's-Inn-lane

Mr. Wm. Hopkins, Greek-street

The Rev. Mr. Harris, Exton, Rutland

The Rev. Mr. Hopkinson, Overton, Rutland

Mr. Hamoir, Sloane-street

Mr. Harris, St. Clement's Church Yard

Charles Hatchett, jun. Esq. Long-acre

Mr. Hinton, Gerrard-street

Mr. Harvey, St. Martin's-lane

Wm. Hayley, Esq.

J. Hurst, Esq, Stamford

Mrs. Heseltine, Doctor's Commons

Mr. Heseltine, jun. Doftor's Commons

Mrs. Charles Hastings, Feltham-place

Mr. Harper, Jerusalem Coffee-house

Geo. Hartshorne, Esq. Dorrington-street

Mr. H. Hole

I & J.

The Hon. St. A. St. John, M. P.

J. Ibbetson, Esq. New-street, Spring-gardens

Mr. Wm. Jackson, Stamford, Lincolnshire

The Rev. Dr. Jenkin, Ufford, near Stamford

Jos. Jackson, Esq. Baker-street

Johnson, Esq. Congleton

Mr. Thomas Jeffryes, Great East-Cheap

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

Edward Johnson, Esq. Mile-End

--- Ingram, Esq.

K.

Mr. Kelk, Compton-street

Mr. Kennion, Charlotte-street

L.

The Hon. Colonel Leslie, 1st Guards, Little Ryder-street

The Rev. Dr. Layard, Castle-street

Mr. Lepard, Newgate-street

Mr. Legge, Stamford, Lincolnshire

—— Leverton, Esq. Penrim

Dr. Lyon, Bartlet's-buildings

The Rev. Mr. Lucas, Casterton, Rutland

Mr. Wm. Langdale, Red Lion-street

John Latouche, Esq. Dublin

Lowden, Esq. Temple

Capt. John Lambe

M.

Her Grace the Duchess of Montrose

Earl Moira

Lady Eliz. Moncrieffe, Stamford

William Maxwell, Esq. Carriden, County of

Linlithgow

P. Muriel, Esq. Ely

P. Methuen, Esq. Lower Grosvenor-street

T. Mathias, Esq. Scotland-yard

J. Martindale, Esq.

Major Metcalfe, Portland-pl.ice

George Martin, Esq. Gracechurch-street

M. Mitchell, Esq. Beaufort-buildings

Miss Monckton, Fineshade, Northamptonshire

Mr. Marriott, Lamb's Conduit-street

Mr. Thomas Marston, ditto

Mr. H. Morreau, Lambeth Terrace

Mr. Maud, St. Clement's Church-yard

Mr. H Mist, Long-acre

Mr. Middleditch, Great Newport-street

Mr. Marshall, ditto

Charles Mainwaring, Esq. Lincoln

Mr. B. Miller, Bank

Wm. Moffat, Esq. Queen-square

N.

Samuel Nicholls, Esq. Russell-place

J. Nicolay, Esq. St. James's-palace

Mr. M Nair, Glasgow

Mr. G. Nixon, Hatton garden

Dr. Nisbett, Great Marlborough-street

Mr. Neeld, Norfolk- street

Mr. Nouge

Mr. Newcombe, Pall-mall

P.

Earl of Pomfret

The Honorable George Pitt

Petrie, Esq. Portland-place

R. C. Paul, Esq. Great Ormond-street

Charles Piggott, Esq. Lincoln's-Inn

The Rev. Mr. Parker, Brentford

Mr. Penfold, Castle-street, falcon-square

Mrs. Pearson

Mr. George Prince, Arundel street 

Prevost, Esq. Red Lion-square

Mr. J. G. Perry, Oxford-road

Geo. Pocock, Esq. Great George-street

Mr. Parker, Fleet-street

Mr. S. Petit, Bank

Mr. G. Pettitt, Brewer-street

Mr. Purripont, Stamford

Mr. Parbury, Holborn

Mr. Place, Southampton

Mrs. Pyke, Luton, Bedfordshire

Mr. Pearkes, Richmond-buildings

R.

Her Grace the Duchess of Rutland

His Grace the Duke of Roxburgh

The Earl of Radnor

The Marchioness of Rockingham

Lady Rich

Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart. Portland-place

George Romney, Esq. Cavendish-square

Mr. R. N. Richardson, Stratfield, Hants

Mr. Railton, Cheapside

Mr. Rankin, ditto

Mr. Rogers, King-street, Westminster

S.

The Most Noble the Marquis of Salisbury

The Marchioness of Stafford

The Earl of Shaftsbury

Earl Stanhope

Sir John Smith, Bart. Sydling, Dorsetshire

Sir John Skynner, George-street

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

Sackville, Esq. St. James's-street

G. G. Stonestreet, Esq. Phoenix Fire-office

Jos. Sales, Esq. Gower-street

Geo. Steuart, Esq. Upper Harley-street

Scrope, Esq. Bath

Major Scott

Flint Stacey, Esq. Maidstone

Wm. Sharp, Esq. Winchester-street

Capt. Shaw, Sloane-street

H. C. Selby, Esq. Northumberland-house

Mr. Spilsbury, Snow-hill

Mr. J. S. Spilsbury, Lombard- street

Mr. Swainson, Frith-street

Mr. Stanger, St. James's-street

Mr. Smith, Newgate-street, 2 copies

Mr. Smith, Charlotte street

Mr. T. P. Stead, Bank

Mr. Suett, Drury-lane Theatre

Wm. Symes, Esq. Ufford, near Stamford

Mr. Shoute, Holborn

Mr. C. Steer, Church-street, Spitalficlds

Henry Strachcy, Esq. Hill-street

Mr. W. Scrooby, Catherine-street

Mr. Simpson, St. Paul's Church-yard

Mr. Stockwell, Crutched- friars

The Rev. Mr. Skynner, Easton, near Stamford

Mr. James Lumsden Sherriff, Deptford

T.

Charles Townley, Esq. Park-street

Colonel Treen

J. H. Tooke, Esq. Wimbledon

T. Turner, Esq. Caughley-hall, Salop

John Travers, Esq. Crutched-friars

Mrs, Thomas, Lindhurst, Hants

Mr. Thomas Taylor, Red Lion-street

Mr. Taylor, Bond-street

Mr. Taylor, Grosvenor street

Mr. Tregent, Leicester-square

Miss Thompson, Stamford

Mr. Thompson, Strand, 2 copies

U & V.

Thomas Vaughan, Esq. Suffolk-street

The Hon. G. Villiers, Upper Grosvenor-street

Felix Vaughan, Esq. Essex-street

W.

The Earl of Wemyss

The Earl of Warwick

Lord Wycombe

Sir John Wodehouse, Bart.

Benj. Weft, Esq. R. A. President of the Royal

Academy

George Wrighte, Esq. Gayhurst

Mr. J. Walter, Charing-cross

Jos. Wyndham, Esq. Portland-place

William Willis, Esq. Chatham-place

S. Weltje, Esq. Hammersmith

George Wye, Esq. Red Lion-square

Mr. Winnock, St. James's street

Mr. E. White, jun. New London-street

Mr. Gabriel Wirgman, Denmark-street

Mr. Wellington, Crown-court

Mrs. Willan, Mary-le-bonne Park

Dr. J. Willis, Greatford, near Stamford

J. Wingfield, Esq. Tickencote, near Stamford

Mr. Woodroffe, Stamford

Mr. Wakelin, Panton-street

Mr. F. Willatts, Brewer-street

Mr. E. Waters, Edgware-road

Mr. T. Wood, jun. Sloane-square

Mr. Warren, Little Newport-street

Jacob Wilkingson, Esq. Bath

Mr. Whately, King-street, Covcnt-garden

Walker, Esq. Conduit-street

Mr. Whitaker, Castle-street

Walker, Esq. King-street, Golden-square

Wills, Esq. Harley-street

The Rev. Mr. Wheeldon

Mr. West, 2 copies

The Rev. Mr. Wight, Bridewell Hospital

The Rev. Mr. Williams, Chelsea

Walker, Esq. Rotheram, Yorkshire

Capt. Williams, Howland-street

George Wilson, Esq. Bedford-street

Y.

John Yenn, Esq. R, A. Treasurer of the Royal Academy

Mr. Yate, Borough

1794 Edition Front Matter Scans

Front Cover

 

Inner Front Cover
There may be a proper name for this! It's a bold eye-catching pattern,
and one easily distinguishing feature when comparing similar editions.

Author Page
Simple and elegant, although lacking in information about John Milton -
something I'm likely to change in my final version

Title Page
Again, simple and elegant. I'll follow suit for my final version.

Dedication Page
We're starting to get a bit more flamboyant now,
but that's probably more due to the patron's status.

List of Subscribers (1)
As already noted this is an interesting feature. If there is a hardcover version then
it'll likely need some backing, so new versions of these pages will be needed.

List of Subscribers (2)

List of Subscribers (3)

List of Subscribers (4)

Break on Through to the Other Side

I'm sure there's more than a few English Literature students who would agree that Paradise Lost can be a difficult read, and I'd say even more difficult if you're just trying to read and appreciate it. After all, it's considered the greatest of English Literature so why not see what all the fuss is about?

It's not really a big surprise that it can be impenetrable to a modern reader, there are a few factors that conspire to confound our reading perspective:

• While the general themes are familiar and from a human perspective almost timeless, Paradise Lost was released in 1667.  The world around us, and lives we lead are in many ways vastly different from how it was in the 17th century.
• Not only have we (and society with us) changed, the English language has evolved through natural use, and to incorporate new concepts.
• The form of the poem isn't one that is generally encountered by modern readers. This is coupled with poetry not being as often read.
• The references used by Milton to enrich his writing are not ones we encounter too often these days unless studying classical history or related subjects.  
• The story is a religious one (although I would argue that it's core themes are more fundamental than that) , and as such is replete with religious and theological imagery and thinking. 

Some or all of these represent barriers to entry for the new reader, and all too easily can put a new reader off that they do not enjoy, or get to appreciate why it deserves its classic status. That's not to say that you should force yourself to read it (unless you're studying it maybe) - people's tastes are different, but also evolve as you pass through life.

There are ways I've discovered over the years that may help make Milton's epic work easier to get into.

While Reading

• Don't try and read too much in a single sitting. You can binge it once you are comfortable, but at first read a book at a time (there are 12 depending on which version you're reading), or just a page, or even just the argument (it's a summary of what is to come in that book), and then put it aside and let what you've read percolate nicely in your mind.
• You don't have to understand every metaphor. As with all good writing, the reader is rewarded for multiple reads. Mark it in your mind and look the reference up once you've ended your session.

Parallel Prose Edition

This is one of my favourite versions of the poem. It is a prose translation of the poem and structured so you havre the poem on one page and the matching prose on the neighboring page. So you can easily switch between the two. It's almost like cheating, it's so easy to follow.

It can be a little hard to get hold of, although a quick search has found a few copies on ebay. Expect to pay at least £20 for it, but it's well worth the money. If you're new to classic literature of this style then I'd recommend this edition before the others. Get the bug and then start your quest for editions from all the ages.

The author, Daniel Danielson was one of the early guest authors on my The Cult of Me blog. You can read it here (who is an actual Paradise Lost scholar):

https://thecultofme.blogspot.com/2012/09/guest-author-interview-dennis-danielson.html

Audio Book

I confess that I'm a late convert for audio books. I found it frustrating how slowly listening was when compared to reading. However for poetry or any writing that should be read aloud and with a cadence is automatically made better if you can hear it as intended.

It's important find a good production. Thankfully there are plenty to choose from, here's one I recently enjoyed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINzUBvQ5nw

For your first listen I advise refraining from pausing to look up an obscure phrase, but instead just immerse yourself in just listening - headphones are good for this as they reduce distractions.

As I'm listening to it now - here's a decent (if abridged) audio version of Paradise Regained - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GINzUBvQ5nw Emperor Palpatine performs a most excellent Satan. 

Dive On In

Contrary to my earlier advice dive on into the world of Paradise Lost. Learn about John Milton and the world he lived in. Listen to the band (very little to directly relate to the topic, but an excellent band anyway). Read the history of the classical world and its rich tapestry Milton draws upon.

And while generally you should read the poem before venturing into professional critiques and essays, in the case of C.S.Lewis' Prelude to Paradise Lost is a wonderful introduction and commentary on the book, but also explains about the various forms of epic poems. An excellent read.

Hopefully there's a few useful hints there is you are a new reader - if you have any tips or suggestions then comment below.

Paradise Lost (AI Illustrated Edition) - Introduction

The start of a project is always very exciting - there's a newness to it, although not quite in this case as it's taken a decade or so to get going. This first post was originally intended to be the first part of the book, but it's evolved a bit beyond that! No great surprise there - I can waffle on sometimes...

People who know me are aware of my love for Paradise Lost - whilst it's not my favourite book, it is my favourite story and probably the greatest story ever told. So a few years ago I treated myself to antique copy that cost me more than I'd ever spent on a book, but that didn't matter - I had an over 300 year old copy of the book. It still has pride of place in my collection (I would love a first edition, but £50,000 is a bit beyond my means at the moment), although I did order an older version last night 😇 )

Since owning it I've described it as a 1797 edition (because apparently I can't read Roman numerals) and tonight I discovered that it is actually a 1794 edition. I'd always planned to digitise and transcribe it, so there was some sort of online record for it. Naturally someone has already done exactly that:

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL14033609M/Paradise_lost

I guess that's my own fault for not getting on with it in the ten years or so since thinking of the project.I'm not a great believer in duplicating effort, or reinventing the wheel, so if that had been the only reason to finally start the project, then this may well as been the second, and last post.

As Vader finally realised, 'There is another!'. In this case not a sister, but a reason. I recently discovered an AI art creation tool. As an untalented creator of art, except maybe with the written word, I've always dreamed of a method to translate the images (probably best not to do all of them) in my head, into the real world somehow. Midjourney is frustratingly close to that dream. Unlike previous examples, Midjourney is capable of creating images that look composed as a single whole, rather than a collection of disparate objects because the user can't quite describe what they want.

You can follow my experiments with this wonderful tool here:

https://www.midjourney.com/app/users/882974693294997555/

My first Midjourney created image that I was reasonably happy with. It's far from perfect and does generate some odd outputs. You prompt it with descriptions, and the system doesn't parse the language in the same way a human does. This means that writing the prompts is an art form in itself, and one that I have far from mastered, but am able to use to a certain extent. To improve my skill I decided to set myself a project (because I do have an abundance of spare time - not) to provide an end goal that also allowed for a degree of experimentation. This seemed to gel nicely with the idea of digitising the prized copy of Paradise Lost (as an aside I do own a few versions, so I'll set up a page to add them to - they won't be fully scanned though. Well, not at first). Thus a large part of the project will be using Midjourney to create artwork for this version.

Because all good things come in threes - there is a third reason. Since first reading Milton's poem I appreciated how difficult it could be to connect with. I've read it several times and also various opinions and studies (I repeat from yesterday's post that I am no scholar, but say a devoted fan), and still find myself skipping over obscure references or alien language. For many people living 300 years later it is a hard read, and while I have encountered some incidents of intellectual snobbery that one should have to learn to read it properly I thought it a shame that so many people couldn't enjoy Milton's magnificent octopus.

A not quite successfull Midjourney image that I've yet to complete - the main challenge is controlling the layout - which I haven't mastered yet.

The idea was to create a film telling the story. Maybe not the most original idea, but I wanted to be both authentic and accessible, so had the idea to make two films for the price of one! The classic version would replicate the poem exactly in form, but with visuals and audio from the modern version. The modern version would follow the same plot, but with it being expressed in a friendlier fashion, one that would connect more easily with contemporary audiences. I wasn't the first with that general idea, and that will be the subject of a future post.

It would have been an ambitious project, one currently in the 'When I win a Euromillions jackpot' list, along with some decent Lovecraft film adaptations. And being on such a list, it's probably not going to happen, but here I can at least have some creative input to show my love for John Milton's Paradise Lost.

The Greatest Story Ever Told

I wish I had a first edition :-)

A new project is building momentum, and this one is significant enough to need its own blog so it doesn't get lost in other random activities I post about on my personal blog  - the link below will take you there if you've not previously visited. As the title of this post indicates, I'm a big fan of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, in fact it's the greatest story ever told. I've previously waxed lyrical on the subject here:

http://thecultofme.blogspot.com/2012/08/paradise-lost-greatest-story-ever-told.html

I've read the book a few times since and has sparked some additional thoughts, so I'll need to write an updated version at some stage. I should be clear, that I'm not a scholar or an expert, nor can I quote it from memory :-)

Tomorrow I'll post the start of the project.