Medieval Dramatic Sources for Paradise Lost

Many scholars agree that portions of Paradise Lost show the influence of mystery
and morality plays from the Middle Ages, yet it is difficult to establish the availability of
these plays for John Milton. He wrote the poem during the Puritan Revolution in
seventeenth-century England when medieval drama was suppressed and suspect because
of its Catholic origins and content. As a Puritan propagandist, Milton might have been
expected to share the Protestant distrust of medieval Catholic culture. However, he
evinced his broadmindedness both by holding theological views that were nearer to
Catholic than to Calvinist orthodoxy, and by making substantial literary use of medieval
sources. Although the revolution of which he was a part made it difficult for him to
access medieval biblical drama, there were avenues through which these plays were
available, in texts or performances, to Milton as he composed Paradise Lost.