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jsburbidgeThere is a new "translation" of Paradise Lost into English prose referenced in this NYT blog article by Stanley Fish (who didn't teach me Milton -- I had him for several 17th century authors in a graduate seminar, but not Milton -- although I do admire Surprised by Sin).
The thing this put me most strongly in mind of was Bentley's "edition" of Paradise Lost, which had the same characteristics as this effort (albeit reducing Milton to neat, as opposed to rough, blank verse rather than prose): it took away all the problematica which Milton deliberately built into his poem -- aside maybe from Joyce, I can think of no author of whom it is more true that he intended every little detail of what he wrote, especially when it looks odd -- in favour of a smooth and rational discourse.
The whole endeavour is entirely misconceived: a crib which will miss the essence of the work; and another sign that we are sliding into some sort of abyss. (Bentley was, of course, an earlier such sign, which is why he bulks so large in the Dunciad; we've been sliding for quite some time).
