Revised eighteenth-century translation of the legendary English epic poem, accompanied by the celebrated critical observations of Joseph Addison, whose essays helped establish the work as one of the greatest achievements in Western literature. First published in English in 1667, Paradise Lost recounts the biblical story of the Fall of Man, the rebellion of Satan, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Milton's masterpiece profoundly influenced literature, theology, philosophy, and political thought, shaping generations of writers from the Enlightenment through the Romantic era, including William Blake, Goethe, and Shelley.