Milton turns 400 today!

It's also my Mom's birthday (can't tell you how old she is) and my good friend, Alicia Rowe (don't know how old she is).

From Matt Ristuccia on the "double-irony" of contemporary Milton celebrations in World...

On the one hand...

Consider New York City...[and] the hoopla of three major exhibits...most of what Milton lived for is disliked in Manhattan...Do they really believe his superhero was Satan the caped crusader...?

On the other hand...

Those most apt to share Milton's worldview—clear-thinking Christians—are probably not celebrating his anniversary. Worse, they are not reading him....

Why not?

The verse is dense, demanding, and didactic, making for a rough read. But once you "get" Milton's epic language, you will be taken. Nothing else in literature so achieves the union of truth and passion at the heart of the gospel...

Ristuccia closes with his appeal and counsel to read Paradise Lost—or at least "Books" 1, 3, 9, and 12:

Make sure you avail yourself of an annotated text like Norton's or Lewis' brief A Preface to Paradise Lost, which may help you better understand why Milton did what he did.