Sunday, November 14, 2010

Ten of the best angels in literature

At the Guardian, John Mullan named ten of the best angels in literature.

One title on the list:
Paradise Lost by John Milton

Milton's angels don't just fly around doing good (or ill), they eat, drink (fruit juice only) and chat. Adam asks the visiting angel Raphael whether angels have sex, "To whom the Angel, with a smile that glowed / Celestial rosy red, Love's proper hue, / Answered, 'Let it suffice thee that thou knowest / Us happy, and without love no happiness'." Yes they do.
Read about another novel on the list.

Satan from Paradise Lost is among the 50 greatest villains in literature according to the (London) Telegraph and appears on John Mullan's list ten of the best devils in literature.

Paradise Lost also appears on Mullan's lists of ten of the best pieces of fruit in literature, ten of the best visions of hell in literature, and ten of the best visions of heaven in literature; it is also on Diane Purkiss' critic's chart of the best books on the English Civil War.

Also see Karl O. Knausgaard's top ten angel books.

--Marshal Zeringue