Nah, it doesn't, I was pushing the boundaries of the definition a bit, Jesus Christ Superstar does qualify and that got me thinking along religious lines and back to Paradise Lost. But without being part of the genre, it's still an inspiration on some level for it - even if Milton surely didn't intend it like that, it's later generations of writers who started reinterpreting his text.

The argument as William Blake made it was that 'The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it.'

It's been probably nearly as long for me since I've read Paradise Lost, but I remember the Blake quote because it was the same way I felt. As I recall, the most epic scenes were of Satan and his lieutenants, while the most beautiful and poignant one was when Adam decides to stick by Eve even though she has 'fallen'. Whereas on the other end of the spectrum there was 'Paradise Regained' (I guess technically a separate poem, but my edition had both), which was just incredibly boring.

Doesn't mean Satan is a hero or that it would be so much fun to serve under him - but certainly Milton's angels and his Jesus are a rather boring lot.

Thanks for the recommendations, will keep them in mind. Never did read any of it, not even Narnia - though I did recently watch the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe movie as it happens, liked it well enough but not exactly wowed.