Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost by John Miltonby John Milton
Shares rank 6 of 8 poetry books by recommenders
Recommended for its dense, impressive verse, though one critic calls it unoriginal and derivative of the Bible.
Recommended for its dense, impressive verse, though one critic calls it unoriginal and derivative of the Bible.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Dense and impressive to read
“one of the most impressive and dense, at least to me, is Milton”
Comment from 21 Aug 2026 in “I like 'em thick OR: an apology to my English teachers”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Seen as derivative of the Bible
“The entire thing is unoriginal and fan fiction derivative work of the Bible”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Are we all plagiarists now?”
Other poetry books people recommend
The four most recommended other poetry books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odysseyby Ὅμηρος and Emily R. Wilson | 21 | 3 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Gilgameshby Simon Armitage | 11 | 4 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
| The Iliadby Ὅμηρος | 9 | 1 | 90% | 7 | — | — |
| The Claudysseyby Claude Fable 5 | 8 | 5 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Paradise Lostby John MiltonThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“one of the most impressive and dense, at least to me, is Milton”
“The entire thing is unoriginal and fan fiction derivative work of the Bible”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.