Why did Eve bite the apple? Milton puts this question at the center of Paradise Lost, the greatest long poem in English. Why did Eve listen to Satan, pluck the apple from the tree, and take a bite? This temptation bears on us now. Satan always hides in plain sight. So it’s no surprise . . . . Continue Reading »
What this bias in academia has produced is two generations of college teachers who don’t realize their bias. Continue Reading »
A review of Tom Dulack’s Paradise Lost, playing now in New York. Continue Reading »
Young Rabbi Binder has opened the floor for a “free discussion” period at the afternoon Hebrew school housed in the synagogue, where the minimal Jewish education he dispenses to postwar Jewish boys is a prerequisite for their bar mitzvah ritual. As usual, most of the kids are indifferent, even . . . . Continue Reading »
The junior fellows discuss Milton's love sonnets and Max Weber on the spirit of capitalism. Continue Reading »
A version of the following talk was given at the Shelbourne Easter Seminar on March 29, 2015. Shakespeare had a Catholic imagination. He loved to write about monastic and religious characters; he had a keen sense of sacramentality in symbol; and his work seemed to reflect the themes of Catholic . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
