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The Western Canon Mailing List
Moderator: Paul John Barnette Jr.
Activation Date: March 8, 1997
Current Date: April 27, 1997 
Current Membership: 40
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The following work will be discussed
during the month of May, 1997.

Title: Paradise Lost

Author: John Milton

Year: 1674

Subject: Literature/Poetry

URL: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/6681/milton.htm

The are two versions of Paradise lost. The original
1667 version, which is divided into ten books, and the
1674 revised version, which is divided into twelve books.
The 1674 revised version also contains an argument at the
beginning of each book. We will be reading the 1674 version.
My personal recommendation for finding this version online
is the following URL:

http://www.mindspring.com/~verax/milton.htm

If you find this particular site not to your liking, the
following URL contains a listing of other sites.

http://www.urich.edu/~creamer/pl.html

The following is a suggested timetable for
the reading of the selected work.

May 1-8:

Books I-III

May 9-15:

Books IV-VI

May 16-23

Books VII-IX

May 24-30

Books X-XII

Please note that this is only a suggested
time table. Your reading of the work does
not have to progress in exactly this manner.


I decided to choose Paradise Lost for the May
selection for the following reasons.

1. I have never read the poem and I have always
    wanted to.

2. Most literary critics consider Paradise Lost the
    greatest epic poem in the English language.

3. The following quote from William Blake

   "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote
    of Angels and God, and at liberty when of Devils
    and Hell, is because he was a true poet and of the
    Devil's party without knowing it."


Important Note: Although we are are now leaving off
reading Veblen and moving on to Milton, this does
not mean that the discussion on Veblen is closed. 
I encourage anyone who would like to make comments
on Veblen's "The Theory of the Leisure Class" to
please do so.


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