|
|
|
The Invocation of the Muse .......Milton
opens Paradise Lost by asking a muse to inspire his writing. In
ancient Greece and Rome, poets had always requested “the muse” to fire
them with creative genius when they began long narrative poems, called
epics, about godlike heroes and villains. In Greek mythology, there were
nine muses, all sisters, who were believed to inspire poets, historians,
flutists, dancers, singers, astronomers, philosophers, and other thinkers
and artists. If one wanted to write a great poem, play a musical instrument
with bravado, or develop a grand scientific or philosophical theory, he
would ask for help from a muse.
.......Satan
and his followers rebel against God. But God and his mighty angels defeat
the rebels in a terrible war. God casts them into a dark abyss with a lake
of fire. There, the defeated legions deplore their fate and consider their
future. In a great council, the many thousands of the fallen assemble in
the capital city and seat of government, Pandemonium, where Satan sits
on his royal throne, to hear
Outrageous to devour, immures us round Ninefold, and gates of burning Adamant Barred over us prohibit all egress.
With awful reverence prone; and as a God Extol him equal to the highest in Heaven.
A universe of death, which God by curse Created evil, for evil only good, Where all life dies, death lives, and nature breeds, Perverse, all monstrous, all prodigious things, Abominable, inutterable, and worse. Explores his solitary flight. . . . " Later, Satan's daughter, Sin, who was born from the archfiend's head, and his son, Death, who was born of Satan's union with Sin, decide to follow and assist their father. .......In heaven, God the Father and God the Son observe Satan flying in a rage toward earth. Satan will corrupt his new creatures, the Father says, even though they possess the willpower to reject sin. Their penalty will be death. However, because they will not rebel against God but instead succumb to Satan’s temptation, they will be redeemable–if someone takes on the burden of their sin by suffering and dying on their behalf. When the Son offers himself for this task, the Father accepts the offer and approves of his incarnation in the world of man. .......To reach earth, Satan must fly past Uriel, a member of the highest-ranking order of angels, the Seraphim. Uriel watches over earth from his post at the sun. Disguising himself as one of the cherubim–the second-highest-ranking order of angels–Satan asks Uriel to point out the planet where man dwells so that he may go there, admire this new creature, and praise his great Maker. Uriel instructs him, and Satan resumes his journey and arrives at earth. .......The sight of Paradise disheartens him, for it reminds him of all that he lost in his rebellion against God. After struggling with self-recrimination and doubt, Satan regains himself and enters Paradise, taking the shape of a cormorant–a web-footed sea bird–and perching in the Tree of Life (a tree producing fruit which, when eaten, yields everlasting life) to observe the newly created Adam and Eve. They are beautiful, happy creatures who surprise Satan with their ability to speak and think logically. .......Later, when they are asleep, Satan whispers evil thoughts into Eve’s ear–of “vain hopes” and “inordinate desires.” When the archangel Gabriel learns of Satan’s presence in Eden, he sends two angels to expel him. When they confront him, Satan defiantly scorns them and prepares for a fight. An angelic squadron descends toward Eden under the command of Gabriel, and a sign appears in the heavens in which God weighs the adversaries in his golden scales. When Gabriel tells Satan to look at the scales, the archfiend sees that they tip in the favor of the celestial forces, and he flees. .......On a mission from God, the angel Raphael warns Adam and Eve about Satan. So that they understand the nature of their foe, Raphael tells them the story of Satan’s rebellion and the great war in which angels on both sides fought fiercely. It ended in Satan’s expulsion from heaven, Raphael says, after the Son of God intervened on behalf of the celestial forces. A new world with new creatures was then created to fill the void left by the rebels cast into the deep. .......Adam, a curious creature, asks Raphael about the earth and its place in creation. Raphael explains the universe but warns Adam to temper his desire for knowledge with humility. When Adam expresses his great satisfaction with Eve as a mate, Raphael again cautions him to be careful. Living with and loving a creature such as Eve, with all of her charm and beauty, is wonderful; however, Adam must not let her divert his attention from his responsibilities to God. .......Satan returns to the Garden of Eden in the form of a snake and tempts Eve to eat fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in defiance of a divine command never to do so. If she and Adam taste the fruit, he says, they will become gods. Eve eats. After Satan leaves, Adam–though reluctant–also eats. And so Adam and Eve fall from grace, and the Son of God pronounces judgment on the transgressing humans. .......When Satan returns in triumph to hell, the multitude of fiends cheer him but suddenly turn into serpents. Earth becomes a place of changing seasons; the eternal spring is no more. Adam is downcast, wishing for death, and blames Eve for leading them astray. But they reconcile and decide to go on, confessing their wrongdoing and pleading for forgiveness. .......God decrees that heaven will remain open for them. But He sends the archangel Michael down to evict them from Paradise. Before Michael leaves, he tells them about events to come in the history of the world and, from a hilltop, shows Adam his progeny–Cain and Abel (and the murder of Cain by Abel) and the descendants who later will form a covenant with God after a great flood. .......Michael then foretells the advent of a Redeemer, who will die for the sins of humankind–then rise from the grave and leave earth but return later in a second coming.
The World was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide: They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way. They enter the imperfect world, with all its perils.  .. God the Father, God the Son Two of the three divine persons making up the all-powerful Godhead, the single deity that created and rules all that exists outside of itself. The third divine person, the Holy Spirit, does not play a role in Paradise Lost. God the Father is portrayed as just but merciful, condemning the defiant and unrepentant rebel angels but permitting redemption of the repentant Adam and Eve. God the Son volunteers to redeem them by becoming human and enduring suffering and death. Satan (Lucifer, Archfiend) Powerful and prideful angel who, with legions of supporters, leads an unsuccessful rebellion against God and suffers eternal damnation. To gain revenge, he devises a plan to corrupt God's newly created beings, Adam and Eve, through deceit. Modern readers often admire him for his steely defiance. He would rather rule in hell, he says, than serve in heaven. It was not Milton's intent, however, to create an admirable character; rather his intent was to create a character of colossal hatred–loathsome, execrable, incurably remorseless. Adam and Eve The first human beings, created by God to fill the void that resulted when God cast Satan and his supporters out of the celestial realm. Adam and Eve live on the planet earth in utter happiness in a special garden where spring is the only season and love and godly living prevail. Though they have all that they want and need, cunning Satan tells them they can have knowledge and status beyond their reach if only they eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Eve can become a goddess, he says. Vanity overtakes her. She eats. Adam reluctantly does the same. Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, Uriel Powerful and fearless angels on the side of God. Beelzebub, Mammon, Belial, Moloch Powerful leaders in Satan's army. In a great council in hell, each of them speaks his mind on what policy devil-kind should follow after losing paradise. Should they make new war? Should they make peace? Ithuriel, Zephron Angels who expel Satan from the Garden of Eden with the help of a sign from God. Satan returns to the garden later to complete his devious enterprise. Mulciber Fallen angel who designs hell's capital city and seat of government, Pandemonium. In ancient Roman mythology, Mulciber is another name for Vulcan (Greek: Hephaestus), god of fire and the forge. As a blacksmith, he kept shop in burning mountains (volcanoes). Sin Daughter of Satan. She was born from his head in the manner of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war, who sprang from the forehead of Zeus, king of the gods. Death Son of Satan and Sin Various Other Angels and Devils
In describing the planets
and other celestial bodies, Milton models God’s creation on the Ptolemaic
design (also called the geocentric design) rather than the Copernican design
(also called the heliocentric design). The former placed earth at the center
of the solar system, with the sun and other celestial bodies orbiting it.
Copernicus and other scientists later proved that the earth orbits the
sun. Milton was aware of the Copernican theory, but he used the Ptolemaic
design–either because he believed it was the more credible theory or because
he believed it would better serve his literary purpose. In Paradise
Lost, Adam inquires about the movements of celestial bodies–in particular,
whether earth orbits the sun or vice versa–in his conversation with the
archangel Raphael, but Raphael gives no definite answer. Raphael may have
been speaking for Milton.
. Milton wrote Paradise Lost in dignified, lofty, melodic English free of any colloquialisms and slang that would have limited the work's timeliness and universality. The format, Milton says in an introductory note, is "English heroic verse without rhyme"–in other words, blank verse, the same verse form used by Shakespeare in his plays. Milton's strong religious faith infuses the poem with sincerity and moral purpose, but he does not allow his enthusiasm for his subject to overtake control of his writing: Though Milton frequently uses obscure allusions to mythology and history, as well as occasional difficult words and phrases, his language is never deliberately affected or ostentatious. What is more, it does not preach and does not take the reader on circumlocutory expeditions. Like a symphony composer–mighty Beethoven, for example–Milton is always in control, tempering his creative genius with his technical discipline. With a good dictionary and an annotated text, a first-time reader of Milton can easily follow and understand the story while developing an appreciation for the exquisite writing. . Epic Conventions . In Paradise Lost, Milton imitated Homer and Vergil in their use of epic conventions–literary practices, rules, or devices that became commonplace in epic poetry. Among the classical conventions Milton used are the following:
.......(2) Telling a story with which readers or listeners are already familiar; they know the characters, the plot, and the outcome. Most of the great writers of the ancient world–as well as many great writers in later times, including Shakespeare–frequently told stories already known to the public. Thus, in such stories, there were no unexpected plot twists, no surprise endings. If this sounds strange to you, the modern reader and theatergoer, consider that many of the most popular motion pictures today are about stories already known to the public. Examples are The Passion of the Christ, Titanic, The Ten Commandments, Troy, Spartacus, Pearl Harbor, and Gettysburg. .......(3) Beginning the story in the middle, a literary convention known by its Latin term in media res (in the middle of things). Such a convention allows a writer to begin his story at an exciting part, then flash back to fill the reader in on details leading up to that exciting part. .......(4) Announcing or introducing a list of characters who play a major role in the story. They may speak at some length about how to resolve a problem (as the followers of Satan do early in Paradise Lost). .......(5) Conflict in the celestial realm. Divine beings fight and scheme against one another in the epics of Homer and Vergil, and they do so in Paradise Lost on a grand scale, with Satan and his forces opposing God and his forces. .......(6) Use of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is a figure of speech in which a character in a story fails to see or understand what is obvious to the audience. Dramatic irony appears frequently in the plays of the ancient Greeks. For example, in Oedipux Rex, by Sophocles, dramatic irony occurs when Oedipus fails to realize what the audience knows–that he married his own mother. In Paradise Lost, dramatic irony occurs when Adam and Eve happily go about daily life in the Garden of Eden unaware that they will succumb to the devil's temptation and suffer the loss of Paradise. Dramatic irony also occurs when Satan and his followers fail to understand that it is impossible ultimately to thwart or circumvent divine will and justice. Milton's imagery is at times graceful and elegant, as in this memorable personification in the second and third lines of Book VI:
Waked by the circling hours, with rosy hand Unbarred the gates of light.
Hugest of living creatures, on the deep Stretched like a promontory sleeps or swims, And seems a moving land, and at his gills Draws in, and at his trunk spouts out a sea.
Forth reaching to the fruit, she plucked, she eat: Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat, Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe That all was lost.–Book IX
She all night long her amorous descant sung; Silence was pleased: now glow'd the Firmament With living Sapphires: Hesperus that led..............[Hesperus: evening star which the Greeks associated with the brother The starry Host, rode brightest, till the Moon........of Atlas; later Hesperus was associated with Lucifer's brilliant light.] Rising in clouded Majesty, at length Apparent Queen unveiled her peerless light, And o'er the dark her Silver Mantle threw.–Book IV. . Milton uses enjambment (also spelled enjambement) throughout the poem. It is a literary device in which a poet does not complete his sentence or phrase at the end of one line but allows it to carry over to the next line, as in this passage near the beginning of the poem.
Rose out of chaos: Or if Sion Hill Delight thee more, and Siloa's Brook that flowed Fast by the Oracle of God. . . . Main Theme . Main Theme . In Book 1 of Paradise Lost, Milton reveals the central theme of the work: to justify the ways of God to man. Justify here means to explain and defend, and ultimately to vindicate, God’s course of action in dealing with Adam and Eve after they succumb to the temptation of Satan and eat forbidden fruit. . Secondary Themes . Inordinate pride It leads to Satan's downfall and his continuing defiance of God. Envy Arising from Satan's pride, it makes him jealous of God the Son, who is the favorite of God the Father. Revenge It motivates Satan to corrupt Adam and Eve and thereby subvert God's plans. Vanity It leads Eve to believe–under the temptation of Satan–that she can become godlike. Deceit Satan appears in many disguises and tells many lies during his mission to trick Adam and Eve. Infidelity Adam betrays God by siding with Eve and eating the forbidden fruit. Unbridled pursuit of knowledge It leads Adam and Eve to seek knowledge beyond their ken, knowledge that will make them godlike. Volition Angels and humans alike possess free will, enabling them to make decisions. Satan freely chooses to rebel against God, and Adam and Eve freely choose to eat forbidden fruit. The consequences of their actions are their own fault, not God's. Milton uses this theme to help support the central theme, "to justify the ways of God to man." Disobedience All sins are acts of disobedience against God, impairing or cutting off the sinner's relationship with God. Adam and Eve and all of the devils disobey God through their sins. Loyalty: Loyalty to God and his ways are necessary for eternal salvation. Loyalty requires obedience. All of the good angels exhibit loyalty. Repentance Even though Adam and Eve have disobeyed God, their repentance makes them eligible for eventual salvation. Hope At the end of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve enter the imperfect world with hope; they can yet attain eternal salvation. Redemption Through the suffering and death of the Son of God, sinful man can reconcile himself with God if he is sincerely sorry for his sins. . The climax, or turning point, of Paradise Lost occurs when Adam and Eve succumb to Satan's temptations and eat the forbidden fruit. This act of disobedience results in their downfall and eviction from Paradise. An angel is a supernatural being that serves God by praising and adoring Him and by carrying out special missions that assist humans. Angels have the additional task of opposing and punishing devils. Devils are angels cast out of heaven because they rebelled against God. The word angel derives from the Greek word angelos, meaning messenger. The major western religions–Christianity, Judaism, and Islam–all accept the existence of angels. The rank of angels from highest to lowest is as follows:
|
