Paradise Lost

by John Milton

Read by Anton Lesser

UNABRIDGED

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‘Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe.’

So begins the greatest epic poem in the English language. In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm and imagery, Milton tells the story of man’s creation, fall and redemption – ‘to justify the ways of God to men.’ Here, unabridged, and told with exceptional sensitivity and power by Anton Lesser, is the plight of Adam and Eve, the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.

The full text is contained on a CD-ROM feature on the final CD.

Philip Pullman writes: ‘I was very glad to be able to listen Anton Lesser’s recording of this great work – he’s one of my favourite actors, and this performance is full of intelligence and subtle power. Milton first intended to write this story as a drama for the stage, and this is evident in the rich characterisation of the main personages in the story, whether they are human or angelic. Lesser’s reading distinguishes between them all with enormous skill, and copes with the majestic passages of description with great authority. It’s hard to imagine a better reading of this, the greatest long poem in English.’

Music: Jenkins, Marais/Saint-Colombe

John Milton and his English Language
In a talk given at the 2008 Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, John Carey, Emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature in Oxford University, looks at John Milton and his use of the English Language through the main works, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, Lycidas, Comus and Samson Agonistes. With exceptional readings from the works by Anton Lesser.

Click on the link below to listen to/download the files. Alternatively, control-click (Mac), or right-click (PC) on a link, and choose ‘Save linked file as...’ to save the file to your computer.

John Milton and his English Language (MP3, 18.1 MB)

    

9 CDs • Running Time: 3:55:55 • ISBN: 9-62634-350-8 • Catalogue no: NA935012 • RRP: £31.50