“What’s your idea of Paradise?”
I posed this question to the 12 students in my class on John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost.” Lots of sparkling answers came. It was a wonderful group. At the end, a young woman named Jessica turned to me and asked, “What about you, sir?” Jessica had a predilection for calling me “sir”—various valences of irony applied, usually soft. “What’s your idea of paradise?”
My answer was out before I had time to think much about it.
“This,” I said, “sitting here with you, talking about Milton.”
I think that one of the best freedoms in the world is the freedom to sit in a quiet room and try to get at the wisdom in great writing with a group of students. Milton can help you think about almost any consequential human subject. How shall we govern ourselves? Milton endorses humane hierarchy in which those on top take particular care of those below, who respond, if all is well, with gratitude. The environment? Milton reflects on that too—paradise is a garden, after all. Tend your garden with care. Look out for the animals and don’t eat them! Adam and Eve are vegetarians.
I am never tired of Milton and neither, it seems, are my students. And I sometimes give quiet thanks for the freedom to teach “Paradise Lost” as I like.