Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained as Epics of Political Satire under the Guise of Spiritual Epics: A Critical Inquiry

Abstract

The paper points out the intention of ‘Satire’ and inquires into the biographical, historical, sociological, religious, economic, political and literary contexts of John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) and Paradise Regained (1671). It underscores the poignant example of John Dryden’s verse satire, Absalom and Achitophel (1681), which is modelled on John Milton’s political epics. It also traces the biographical, historical, sociological, religious, economic, political and literary reasons for the outbreak of the English civil war. Thus, it points out the mutual bond that exists between society and literature, and renders a historical reading of the literary works taken for analysis by exploring the possible purposes with which these texts have been written and the ways in which the meanings of these texts have changed over time owing to multiple interpretations.