ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Milton’s magnum opus, the blank-verse epic poem Paradise Lost, was composed by the blind and impoverished Milton from 1658 to 1664 (first edition), with small but significant revisions published in 1674 (second edition).

Detailed explanation-2: -Paradise Lost is written in blank verse, or unrhymed iambic pentameter. This style lends structure and precision to the verse-providing exactly ten syllables per line-while also allowing Milton to experiment with his verse, without the constraints of rhyme.

Detailed explanation-3: -The poetic style of John Milton, also known as Miltonic verse, Miltonic epic, or Miltonic blank verse, was a highly influential poetic structure popularized by Milton. Although Milton wrote earlier poetry, his influence is largely grounded in his later poems: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.

Detailed explanation-4: -In a prefatory note to the poem, Milton explains that he has chosen to write Paradise Lost in what he calls “English heroic verse without rhyme” – that is, in unrhymed iambic pentameter. And Milton says that he’s done so because Homer and Virgil wrote their epics in unrhymed Greek and Latin, respectively.