The Greatest Poem You’ve Never Heard Of

Milton's inspiration for Paradise Lost

When John Milton set out to write his epic poem Paradise Lost, he had a clear idea of what he wanted to accomplish:

"that epic form whereof the two poems of Homer, and those other two of Virgil and Tasso, are a diffuse model."

Homer and Virgil are undoubtedly known to all readers today — but Tasso? Who was this third man Milton looked to for inspiration? The only poet he deemed worthy of inclusion alongside the epic bards of antiquity?

Today, we explore the work of the man who influenced Milton arguably more than any other — the Italian, incidentally, who inspired England’s national epic.

It all begins with a trip to Europe…