I. Libro primero
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An epic poem in prose for C2
Paradise Lost El paraíso perdido
John Milton, 1873
John Milton’s 1667 poem in Cayetano Rosell’s Spanish prose translation, from the 1873 Barcelona edition by Montaner y Simón, not an adaptation. In the catalog it is C2: about 158,200 words and 38 words per sentence on average. The volume holds the 12 books of Paradise Lost, plus Robert Vaughan’s life of Milton, critical opinions and Paradise Regained in the translation by Enrique Leopoldo de Verneuil.
- C2
- 158 211 words
- 26-44 hours
Will this text hold?
C1
Earlier
At C1 sentences of 38 words full of inversions and invocations will slow you down, and so will the biblical and mythological names on every page.
C1C2
This text
You can manage it at C2: the poem is evenly demanding from start to finish, so it reads well one book at a time, translating the longest sentences whole.
Check this passageThe average sentence has 38 words: almost twice as long as in the catalog’s Spanish C1 books (17 to 26), and twice the longest sentences at B2 (18). One word in nine has 9 letters or more. The difficulty is even and high throughout the volume: the books of Paradise Lost run from 33 to 49 words per sentence, Paradise Regained 32-42, and even the life of Milton has 35. The language is bookish: biblical and mythological names, invocations, inversions. Hence C2. This is the catalog’s assessment, not a certificate.
- 158 211
- words
- 38
- words in an average sentence
- 26-44
- hours of reading
- 1873
- Montaner y Simón
Montaner y Simón, 1873. Project Gutenberg
What it is about, without the ending
After defeat in heaven, Satan and the fallen angels wake in hell, and he resolves to take revenge on God through his new creation, man. He makes his way into Eden, where Adam and Eve live, while the angel Raphael tells Adam of the war in heaven and the creation of the world. In the ninth book the Serpent speaks to Eve. How the poem ends is not revealed here, though everyone knows the biblical story. The volume also contains Paradise Regained, a poem about the temptations of Christ in the wilderness.
Compare two places
El paraíso perdido
IX. Libro nono
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Choose an underlined word.
Calling on the Spirit
Milton addresses the Holy Spirit with imperatives: inspírame, ilumina, realza y alienta (“inspire me, illumine, raise and support”). The last sentence names the aim of the whole poem: justificando las miras de Dios para con los hombres (“justifying the ways of God to men”). Para con means “towards”.
Eve marvels at the Serpent
Eve addresses the Serpent as tú, amazed that an animal can speak. Los irracionales are “the irrational creatures”, that is, animals; del primero and del segundo point back to lenguaje and pensamiento in the first sentence. No ignoraba means “I knew well”: a double negative making an affirmation.
Chapters
- ILibro primero
- IILibro segundo
- IIILibro tercero
- IVLibro cuarto
- VLibro quinto
- VILibro sexto
- VIILibro séptimo
- VIIILibro octavo
- IXLibro nono
- XLibro décimo
- XILibro undécimo
- XIILibro duodécimo
- ·Juicios críticos sobre el Paraíso perdido
- ·El paraíso recobrado. Libro primero
- ·El paraíso recobrado. Libro segundo
- ·El paraíso recobrado. Libro tercero
- ·El paraíso recobrado. Libro cuarto
Translation while you read
The book stays free on every plan. Reader, €1 a month, removes the daily limit on words and sentences.
Reader
€1 a month
Sentences here average 38 words, and in book XII about 49: translating the whole sentence in Reader keeps you from losing the main verb.
ReaderIf this book is not the one
Spanish books C1 Earlier Don Quixote El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha Another C2 classic, but a novel written in Spanish: even longer sentences, 43 words against 38, yet a long word only one in fourteen rather than one in nine C2
All books at this level
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Before you read
Is this the original or a learner adaptation?
It is the complete poem, not an adaptation: all 12 books of Paradise Lost in Cayetano Rosell’s prose translation. The reader follows the 1873 volume by the Barcelona publisher Montaner y Simón, illustrated by Gustave Doré (the reader has the text only). Robert Vaughan’s life of Milton comes before the poem, and after it critical opinions, Paradise Regained in Enrique Leopoldo de Verneuil’s translation, and notes.
Is there an audiobook?
Paradise Lost in Spanish has no audiobook on MovaReader: here the poem is read. The translation appears when you tap a word, and you will need it most for bookish words such as bajeza or discernimiento.
Can I translate a whole sentence?
Yes, with the Reader plan. In this poem it helps everywhere: sentences average 38 words, and in book XII about 49. Without the plan, single words are translated up to the daily limit.
How many hours does it take?
The whole volume takes about 26-44 hours: the pace of someone reading with translation of new words, slower than a native speaker’s. The books of the poem run from 6,000 to 11,600 words, so one takes a few evenings.
Where does the text get easier?
The difficulty is even: all books of Paradise Lost run from 33 to 49 words per sentence. Books IX and X are a little lighter, at about 33-34, and book XII is the hardest, at about 49.
Will my place in the book be saved?
Yes. Once you sign in, the reader keeps your last place and the words you opened, so you can come back to the poem every evening where you left off. Any of the 12 books, and Paradise Regained too, opens from the contents on this page, for example the first book, right after the life of Milton.