Paradise Lost by John Milton

Wow!!! Where do I start? True confession: for me, this is the most intimidating book I’ve ever taught. Positives: If you know the story of the Creation and Fall, at least you understand the plot. Adam and Eve are sympathetic characters. Satan, of course, is a “bad guy.”

Features of Paradise Lost It is the last great epic Paradise Lost and Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen are really the only two epic poems in the English language. John Milton, the poet, is generally regarded as the second greatest writer in the English language after Shakespeare. Its purpose is “to justify the ways of God to men” (1:26).

John Milton (1608-1674) Christian humanist Sums up the entire development of classical and Christian civilization up to his time. Most learned of English authors, he fills Paradise Lost with allusions to classical mythology, the Bible, and history.

Milton’s Life Milton’s life falls into three well-defined periods: Childhood and young adulthood, when he wrote his lyric poetry (1608-40). Career as a public servant (1640-60) when he was Latin secretary to Oliver Cromwell. He was a Puritan and wrote polemical works in support of the Puritan cause. This is the period of the English Civil War when Cromwell and the Parliament were at war with the Royalists, who represented the monarcy.

Milton’s Life Period of Major Works (1660-74): Being a highly visible public figure on Parliament’s side (the losing side) in the English Civil War, Milton was imprisoned for a time and most of his property was confiscated. By about 1652, he had completely lost his sight. In retirement, he composed in his head and dictated his three epic poems: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.

Milton’s Impact Milton’s Of Education (1644) is sill regarded as a landmark treatise on the importance of a liberal arts education. Aeropagitica (1644) is still the classic defense on the right to publish ideas for public discussion and the freedom of the press. Paradise Lost (1667) is really in a class by itself as the English language epic poem.

Milton’s Faith Milton was a Protestant Christian of the Puritan persuasion. Classic doctrines, both Catholic and Reformed Protestant, inform Paradise Lost such as: Creation ex nihilo The providence of God in governing the universe The Fall of man and his resulting sinfulness Faith in Christ and His substitutionary atonement as the means by which one becomes justified with God.

Specific Puritan Emphases Specific Puritan Emphases include: An extraordinary immersion in the Bible An obsession with work and vocation Affirmation of marriage and the physical relations consonant with it. The primary of the spiritual over the physical Source: Leland Ryken, Milton’s Paradise Lost: Christian’s Guide To The Classics, 12

Paradise Lost Fundamentals Attempt to do for England what Homer did for the Greeks in the Iliad and Virgil for the Romans in the Aeneid. The story material for epic poems originates in ancient stories. For Paradise Lost, the story of origin is the Bible. Milton’s approach is to “Christianize” the classic tradition wherever possible. Source: Leland Ryken in Os Guiness and Louise Cowan, Invitation To The Classics, 164-168.

Setting Milton’s cosmology, unlike Homer’s, is Christian. Heaven, earth, and hell are the main places where action takes place. The gods of classical epic are replaced by by the angels, both obedient and fallen, and most importantly, by God Himself.

Hero? There is some disagreement as to who the hero is in Paradise Lost. Some believe that the hero is Satan. It appears on first reading that Satan accomplishes his quest to rule the earth through successfully tempting Adam and Eve to sin.

Satan However, upon closer examination, in Book 2, when the fallen angels bow down to worship Satan as a god for volunteering to go down to earth to tempt Adam and Eve, we see later that this is a parody of the Son presenting Himself to the Father to deliver humanity from the ruin that Satan has wrought upon the human race.

Satan: Other Considerations For me, Satan’s speeches in Pandemonium (the parliament of demons) are too pompous to be seen as heroic. Also, if you compare the language used in heaven and hell, the timing, pacing, and vocabulary of heaven creates the atmosphere of peace and serenity, whereas the timing pacing, vocabulary, and sounds of hell create an atmosphere of discord and unpleasantness.

Inverted Epic If Satan is not the hero, then Paradise Lost is an inverted epic. While in the classical epic, the hero is a virtuous man, Adam and Eve are the archetypical sinners. Their “epic feat” is a crime – the original sin The crucial struggle is not on the battlefield, but in the human soul

Inverted Epic While the classical epic celebrates virtues such as military strength and political might, Milton replaces them with pastoral and domestic virtues. Adam and Eve’s life in Paradise is a life of contentment

Themes Moral and spiritual conflict between good and evil Christian view of history from eternity to live before the fall, through fallen human historyto eternity future. Divine human relationship Importance of hiearchy Reason as the means to virtue Importance of governing passions and appetities Evil as disobedience to God’s commands

Books I and II Setting = Hell Satan and his fallen angels debate about what to do about their plight. Satan’s speeches often sound impressive, but we learn either from Satan himself or through a comment from the narrator that Satan and the fallen angels are in misery and ruin. 1:33-83 demonstrates the futility of Satan’s war against God and are difficult passages for the “Satanists” (those who believe Satan is the hero)

More on Satan If you read closely, you can see that Satan himself destructs the claims that he makes. Even though he pompously speaks of “mutual league”, “united thoughts”, and “glorious enterprise” to describe the league of demons, he admits that he and his followers are in misery and ruin. The epic simles in Book 1 actually disparage Satan, making the irony rather rich.

Book I Outline Prologue: 1-26 Introducing Milton’s Satan 27-375 Roll Call of Demons 376-521 Satan’s Speech to Demons 522-669 Building of Pandemonium 670-798

Book II Primary action: Demonic council in hell to determine how the fallen demons can get back at God for having defeated them in the war in heaven. Four principal speakers advocate different courses of action: Molech proposes a military attack on heaven Belial proposes laying low and hoping that God wil ignore the demons Mammon believes that hell can be turned into a magnificent dwelling place for eternity.

Satan’s Displeasure None of these proposals are agreeable to Satan. His second-in-command, Beelzebub, proposes what Satan, the dictator, wants. This proposal is to send someone to Paradise to bring about the Fall of Adam and Eve into sin and ruin God’s intention for Creation. This wins the approval of the demons, and Satan himself is dispatched to make the journey from Hell through Chaos to Paradise.

Satan’s journey While Satan is not the hero (at least I don’t think he is), he is modeled after the ancient heroes of the epics His quest in the second half of Book II is to destroy the human race

Satan’s obstacles Epic heroes always go on a perilous journey, meet obstacles and must conquer them. Satan meets these obstacles at the gates of Hell in the personified beings of Sin and Death. They initially don’t allow Satan to pass through, but once they perceive a family identity, Satan is allowed to pass through into Chaos. Satan’s journey through Chaos is a terrifying experience, and the reader is actually relieved when light appears and the darkness of Chaos begins to retreat (1035-55)

Hell With Satan Gone In Book II, while Satan is gone, the rest of the demons entertain themselves by exploring areas of hell, playing games, listening to music, or engaging in philisophical discussion. Milton’s hell is a busy and active place.

Book III Setting = Heaven Begins with an invocation (one of four) paralleling Homer and Virgil’s invocations to the Muses. It is an extravagant prayer to light (1-55). Following this is the Dialogue in Heaven. This is a council that is counterpart to the council of demons in Book II.

Dialogue in Heaven The Father acknowledges that the human race will succumb to the temptation from Satan and fall from grace. Then, there is a discussion on how the Godhead should respond to the fall of the human race. The Son offers to undertake the mission of the redemption of fallen humanity.

Back to Satan The second half of book 2 is a complete opposite to the action in heaven. It picks up where the end of book 2 left off, with the ongoing journey of Satan from hell to earth. On this journey, Satan encounters a series of unearthly scenes and supernatural agents.

Works Cited Guinness, Os, and Louise Cowan, eds. An Invitation To The Classics: A Guide To The Books You’ve Always Wanted To Read. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998. Lewis, C. S. A Preface To Paradise Lost. London: Oxford University Press, 1961. Ryken, Leland. Christian Guides To The Classics: Milton’s Paradise Lost. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013.