Milton’s poem is the first soap opera, with a lot of sex, war, arguments, jealousy and more. It is also the first science fiction fantasy tale with flights through “outer space” (word coined by Milton). The poem bounces around with flashbacks and a lot of philosophy and many events concurrent. I think it is probably the greatest work in the world!

The “secret” of Milton’s Satan is that he carries Hell within him. The entire poem is a parable of an internal spiritual struggle that many people go through on a lesser scale.

My theory with this version is that all a good story needs is “patter.” i.e., it must read lyrically. So you will see longer and shorter stanzas, sometimes rhyme, most often not. It works. I will record my reading soon.

My acrostic summarizes the poetry that accompanies it. The story is told in the acrostic. I am currently gathering together all my paintings and drawings done over the years and will include many of them in this book.