BPA | The Poetic Mind Seminar - What in Me is Dark? Paradise Lost and Psychoanalysis

The Poetic Mind Seminar

Saturday 31st January 2026 11am - 1pm

What in Me is Dark? Paradise Lost and Psychoanalysis

Prof Orlando Reade
Chair David Howell Morgan

Hybrid – In-person and online
89 Prince of Wales Road, NW5 3NT & Online via Zoom

This talk will explore the key psychological insights of John Milton’s Paradise Lost and describe its influence on psychoanalytic thinkers including Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Melanie Klein, as well as the controversial clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson. Traversing the inner landscapes of Satan, Adam, and Eve, it will reveal how Milton’s epic thinks about dreams, envy, temptation, guilt, and reparation.

Orlando Reade is the author of What in Me is Dark: The Revolutionary Life of Paradise Lost (2024). He studied English at Cambridge and Princeton, where he received his PhD in 2020. He writes about contemporary culture and politics for publications including The Financial Times, The New Statesman, and The Nation. He is currently Assistant Professor of English at Northeastern University London.

The Poetic Mind Seminar

A series centered on the intersection of poetry and psychoanalysis can explore how both disciplines utilise language to navigate the complexities of human experience.

Future topics

Metaphor and Meaning: Examining how metaphors function in both poetry and therapeutic dialogue to reveal unconscious content.

The Poetics of Therapy: Investigating the role of narrative and in psychoanalytic practice.

Language and Healing: Exploring how the expressive qualities of language in poetry can inform therapeutic techniques aimed at emotional processing and integration.

By delving into these areas, we could illuminate the rich, symbiotic relationship between poetic expression and psychoanalytic exploration, offering deeper insights into the human condition through the lens of language.

Image: The cupola above the stage in the Wigmore Hall, incorporating the painting 'The Soul of Music' by Gerald Moira.  Reproduced thanks to Historic England.
The opinions and views expressed are entirely those of the speaker in a personal capacity and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of the BPA.
Refunds available up to 10 days before the event start date.