il Giardino Romantico

I own a copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost with a preface written by the author of the trilogy His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman.  At the time of purchase, and even by the time I had gotten hold of my box set of the trilogy, I had not made the connection between the two works.  What had drawn me into reading the trilogy initially was my inclination towards getting myself familiarized with the plot, the story, the themes, and the characters before watching a film adaptation.  After completing the reading of His Dark Materials, I realized I had gotten more than what I had anticipated for.

The copy of Paradise Lost I had bought upon me an excruciating reading experience.  I could only look at the words, but not comprehend them.  It was not until I got myself an annotated Norton edition of Paradise Lost did I begin to appreciate the masterpiece a little more.  John Milton is one of the greatest English poets.  His Paradise Lost had inspired many, such as Blake and Wordsworth, just to name a few.  The masterpiece continues to inspire other contemporary artists.  Philip Pullman is one of those contemporary artists that have been inspired by this extraordinary work.  The title of the trilogy had been taken directly out of Milton’s words:


This was enough to guarantee a decent reading.  Seeing a quoted verse of one of my beloved poets, William Blake, in the beginning of the Amber Spy Glass, the third installment of the trilogy, further reassured the quality of the reading.  You see, for me, is it not enough for a book to make it to the best-selling rack.  Neither is it ample for the author to be an Oxford graduate.  Any dope can write a book if they tried.  But for a book to reach a certain quality, the author must have enough inspiration to begin with, and pass on that inspiration to his readers as well.  Not many books have that power. 

After only a week since the purchase of the trilogy, I had completed the whole thing.  But I must admit, that I have not come to a full understanding of every theme.  However, I am quite satisfied to say that it has inspired me to continue to peruse the timeless masterpiece, the priceless legacy left to us by a might blind poet, John Milton.  I anticipate that after completing Paradise Lost, I will have a better understanding of the trilogy.  The trilogy has already helped me grasp a few elusive notions of the poem.  They work hand in hand, as any decent work of literature aught to. 

This is a book that is unfortunately been dismissed as mere fantasy.  The genre of fantasy is a mistake.  Just as people dismiss Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings as pure fantasy, this trilogy faces the same inevitable fate.  The idea that anything is ‘merely’ any one thing is most imprudent of any reader.  Writers create their own worlds because it is easier to promulgate certain ideas through completely imaginary characters, events, and worlds.  This is what we call ‘allegory’² in the literary realm.  Nevertheless, I should suspect that even an average reader should be able to get ample entertainment out of it.

The film adaptation will be enjoyable entertainment.  Though I know it will never reach the level of satisfaction that the book has brought me. 

There is much I wish to discuss.  Let this be an introduction of the discussions that shall follow.  If you have not read the trilogy, and wish to do so someday, then you may skip the discussions and perhaps return when you have completed the reading.  If you have already read the trilogy, feel free to discuss your ideas and afterthoughts.  If you have not read it, and have no intention of reading it, ever, then you have wasted your time reading this, and I beseech you not to waste any more of your valuable time to read the discussions that follow.



*allegory: [Greek: to speak in other terms] a form of art which sustains simultaneously both literal and abstract levels of meaning…allegory is often though of as expanded or integrated combinations of metaphors, symbols, personification, in which the two levels of meaning are sustained with characters, actions, or ideas functioning not only in a literal surface meaning but on another level of implied meaning (moral or abstract teaching) not expressly stated.[2]

1. Milton, John. Pullman, Philip. Paradise Lost. Oxford, 2005.
2. The Reader’s Companion to World Literature. Second Ed., Signet Classic, 2002.