What was the impact of Paradise Lost to the people of 18th century England?

by Dildeauxs

I finally got around to reading Milton's Paradise Lost, in it I was struck by the beautiful imagery. When I finished I was left wondering how did the common people of 17th century England react to the writings of Milton and his contemporaries? Would they be aware? We're there any historical changes to the perceptions of God?

Edit: corrected to read 17th century

Enrico_Dandolo

Point of clarification, you're asking about the reaction of people 100 years after it was first published? First edition was 1667.