Paradise Lost John Milton (1608-1674)

Fun Facts Paradise Lost Author: John Milton Type of work: Epic Poem Written:  1656–1674 Setting: Hell, Chaos and Night, Heaven, Earth (Paradise, the Garden of Eden) Protagonists:  Lucifer, God, Adam, and Eve Major conflict:  Lucifer, already damned to Hell, undertakes to corrupt God’s new beloved creation, humankind.

Structure Rising Action: The angels battle in Heaven; Satan and the rebel angels fall to Hell; God creates the universe; Satan plots to corrupt God’s human creation; God creates Eve to be Adam’s companion; Raphael answers Adam’s questions and warns him of Satan Climax:  Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Falling Action: The Son inflicts punishment; Adam and Eve repent; Adam learns about the future of man Themes: The Importance of Obedience to God; The Hierarchical Nature of the Universe; The Fall as Partly Fortunate Motifs: Light and Dark; The Geography of the Universe; Conversation and Contemplation Symbols: The Scales in the Sky; Adam’s wreath Foreshadowing: Eve’s vanity at seeing her reflection in the lake; Satan’s transformation into a snake and his final punishment

Epic = Long Poem 12 books Over 200 pages of text A total of 10,565 lines Written to “justify the ways of God to man.” Discusses: Fall of man, original sin, loss of Paradise War in Heaven Satan would rather “rule in Hell than serve in Heaven” Satan (Lucifer) to be revenged on God Milton wrote Paradise Lost after losing his eyesight and falling from personal power

Tells a story The fall of Satan The creation of man Man’s sin Man’s expulsion from Eden

Epic Hero Adam The fate of the epic hero determines the fate of a whole group. In this case, Adam’s fate determines the fate of all mankind.

Epic Villain Satan While Satan is the villain, we cannot help but admire his courage and his tenacity. Byronic Hero: The Byronic hero is an idealized but flawed character exemplified in the life and writings of Lord Byron, characterized by his ex-lover Lady Caroline Lamb as being "mad, bad and dangerous to know."

Byronic Hero high level of intelligence and perception The Byronic hero typically exhibits the following characteristics: high level of intelligence and perception cunning and able to adapt sophisticated and educated self-critical and introspective mysterious, magnetic and charismatic struggling with integrity power of seduction and sexual attraction a distaste for social institutions and norms being an exile, an outcast, or an outlaw "dark" attributes not normally associated with a hero emotional conflicts, bipolar tendencies, or moodiness disrespect of rank and privilege a troubled past cynicism and arrogance self-destructive behavior

Lofty Purpose “I may assert Eternal Providence, / And justify the ways of God to men” (1.25-26).

“In Medias Res” In the middle The story begins with Satan in Hell. We find out later how he was cast with his angels out of Heaven.

Epic Question “Say first what cause / Moved our grand parents in that happy state, / Favored of Heav’n so highly, to fall off / From their Creator, and transgress his will / For one restraint, lord of the world besides?” (1.28-32).

Claim of Originality and Uniqueness “I thence / Invoke thy aid to my advent’rous song, / That with no middle flight intends to soar / Above th’ Aonian mount, while it pursues / Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme” (1. 12-16).

Appeal to the Muse In line 6 (“Sing Heav’nly Muse”), Milton calls on the Holy Spirit, and then he says, “And chiefly thou O Spirit, that does prefer Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure, Instruct me” (1.17-19). Milton goes on to ask the Muse to “illumine” what is dark in him(1.23)—perhaps a reference to his blindness.

Book I, lines 1–26 Summary: Lines 1–26: The Prologue and Invocation Milton opens Paradise Lost by formally declaring his poem’s subject: humankind’s first act of disobedience toward God, and the consequences that followed from it. The act is Adam and Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, as told in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. In the first line, Milton refers to the outcome of Adam and Eve’s sin as the “fruit” of the forbidden tree, punning on the actual apple and the figurative fruits of their actions. Milton asserts that this original sin brought death to human beings for the first time, causing us to lose our home in paradise until Jesus comes to restore humankind to its former position of purity.

Book I, lines 1–26 Analysis The beginning of Paradise Lost is similar in gravity and seriousness to the book from which Milton takes much of his story: the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The Bible begins with the story of the world’s creation, and Milton’s epic begins in a similar vein, alluding to the creation of the world by the Holy Spirit. The first twenty-six lines, of Paradise Lost are extremely compressed, containing a great deal of information about Milton’s reasons for writing his epic, his subject matter, and his attitudes toward his subject. Milton’s ambitions go far beyond joining the club of Homer and Virgil. Milton’s epic will surpass theirs, drawing on a more fundamental source of truth and dealing with matters of more fundamental importance to human beings.

The Iliad and the Aeneid are the great epic poems of Greek and Latin, respectively, and Milton emulates them because he intends Paradise Lost to be the first English epic. Milton wants to make glorious art out of the English language the way the other epics had done for their languages. Not only must a great epic be long and poetically well-constructed, its subject must be significant and original, its form strict and serious, and its aims noble and heroic. In Milton’s view, the story he will tell is the most original story known to man, as it is the first story of the world and of the first human beings. Also, while Homer and Virgil only chronicled the journey of heroic men, like Achilles or Aeneas, Milton chronicles the tragic journey of all men—the result of humankind’s disobedience. Milton goes so far as to say that he hopes to “justify,” or explain, God’s mysterious plan for humankind. Homer and Virgil describe great wars between men, but Milton tells the story of the most epic battle possible: the battle between God and Satan, good and evil.

Book I, lines 1–26 “Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Sing Heav'nly Muse,that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed, In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill Delight thee more, and Siloa's Brook that flow'd Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song, That with no middle flight intends to soar Above th' Aonian Mount, while it pursues Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime...”

Book I, lines 1–26 “And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all Temples th' upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss And mad'st it pregnant: What in me is dark Illumin, what is low raise and support; That to the highth of this great Argument I may assert Eternal Providence, And justifie the wayes of God to men.”