TODAY IN LITERARY HISTORY: December 9 John Milton (1608–1674), author of Paradise Lost Born on this day in 1608, John Milton stands as one of the towering figures of English literature. He is best known for Paradise Lost (first published in 1667), a work widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in the English language. Together with Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, Milton secured a reputation not only as a poet of immense intellectual ambition, but as a writer deeply engaged with questions of power, liberty, faith, and moral responsibility. Paradise Lost retells the Biblical story of the Fall—how Satan tempts Adam and Eve and brings about their expulsion from Eden. Written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, the poem reshaped English poetic tradition and gave Satan a psychological depth that has fascinated readers for centuries. Its themes of rebellion, obedience, free will, and redemption continue to resonate far beyond theology. Milton’s influence extended well beyond poetry....