PARADISE LOST

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Arts Humanities

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Jan 9, 2024

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PARADISE LOST—John Milton EPIC Definition : an epic is a long narrative poem written in an elevated style on a great and serious subject centered on a heroic figure whose actions are important to the fate of a nation or race of people. Characteristics and Conventions 1. the hero is of great national or cosmic importance and is of historical or legendary significance 2. the setting is vast in scope 3. the style is elevated, ceremonial, and simple 4. invocation to the muse (a prayer for poetic inspiration) 5. cataloguing (a listing) 6. epic similes (a long comparison between things basically unlike but having at least one point in common—uses like or as ) 7. statement of theme 8. begins en medias res (in the middle of things) 9. descent into hell Type: literary epic, one of known authorship Connection to the Chain of Being Satan first breaks the Chain of Being in thinking that he is equal and perhaps superior to God; he is jealous of Christ and resents Christ's elevation over the angels. His resentment and arrogance result in the first sin, his ejection from heaven and the presence of God, and his condemnation to hell for all eternity. Satan then tempts Adam and Eve to break the Chain of Being; when they decide to seek God-like knowledge from the Tree of Knowledge then they too experience the chaos that
results when one violates and disrupts the universe as designed and ordered by God. Purpose Milton states that his purpose is to justify the ways of God to men. As an English Puritan (one who wished to purify the Anglican Church of England), Milton believed that the central purpose of man was to glorify and worship God and to know His will. He also believed that the Bible was a literal document, the source of all truth, and a code to all human behavior. Consequently, his greatest work, Paradise Lost , is biblical in focus and topic; it covers the entire range of human existence from the Creation of man in the Garden of Eden to the Second Coming of Christ, in order that man might more fully understand God and, with that understanding, be better able to serve and glorify Him. In order to explain the ways of God, Milton focuses on four concepts: permissive evil, prime wisdom, paradox of the fortunate fall, and predestination vs. foreknowledge. Question: If there is a God, and if He is good, then why does He allow evil to exist? Answer: Permissive Evil — evil exists because God allows it to exist, not because He is powerless to stop it. And He allows evil to exist for two reasons: (1) because all evil done by Satan will rebound back onto him; he will heap further damnation on himself while seeking to do evil to others and (2) because God will bring good out of each evil done by Satan. See Book 1, ll. 209-220. Question: What is right knowledge for mankind? Answer: Prime Wisdom —man s knowledge should not be the equal of God s. Right knowledge does not include a complete understanding of the heavens (God s realm); rather, man
should focus on matters closer to home. In other words, man should labor to know only that which he needs to know in relationship to God. Man should seek knowledge that helps him to obey, to love with fear, to walk in His presence, to solely depend on Him, to observe His will, to be meek, suffer for sake of truth. In short man should learn to overcome evil and to properly worship and serve God. See Book 8 and Book 12., ll. 557-574. Question: Was man predestined by God to fall? Answer: Foreknowledge not Predestination —in His omniscience, God knew beforehand that Adam and Eve would be deceived by Satan, listen to his lies, and break the one commandment that they were given. But this foreknowledge did not cause their fall. God says that Adam and Eve cannot justly accuse their Maker of making their fate; they cannot assert that predestination overruled their will (1) because He made them just and right/ Sufficient to have stood. In other words he gave man the intelligence, the virtue, the goodness, the ability to reason—all the things he needed to withstand the temptation of Satan—and (2) because He made them free to fall. In other words, He gave them freedom of will, free choice. Finally, in order to give Adam and Eve every opportunity to resist Satan, He sends the archangel Raphael to warn them of the danger of Satan and of his intent to do them harm. See Book 3, ll. 80-125 and Book 5. Question: Was the Fall of man the worst moment in human history? Answer: Paradox of the Fortunate Fall —in many ways the Fall of man seems to be a horrible event; the consequences were dire: loss of immortality, ejection from the Garden of Eden, sin, pain in childbirth, condemnation to work by the sweat of the brow, separation from God. Yet the Fall was fortunate in that it created a need for Christ. In giving up His only Son for the redemption of man, God showed a supreme, almost incomprehensible love for man. In sacrificing His Son,
God shows an even greater love for man than He did by creating man. In short, the Fall was fortunate because it enabled God to show man the magnitude of His love for him. In fact, the Fortunate Fall is a great example of permissive evil, of how God takes something terribly evil and makes good spring from it. See Book 12, ll. 469-477. Other Critical Thinking Points Provide definitions of heaven and hell that appear in PL , including which characters defined heaven and hell and in what context (e.g., plot manifestation). Analyze the purpose of each of the arch angels. Analyze the frequency of the muse invocations , including the rationale for each invocation and what is occurring in the plotline at the time. Examine the parallels between heaven and hell. Think about the difference between the fall of man and the fall of the angels , including the resulting penalties . Analyze why some literary critics see Satan as the hero of PL. Do you agree or disagree? Explore the function of free will in PL . Apply the characteristics and conventions of an epic to PL . Have an intimate knowledge of the four concepts that Milton uses to justify the ways of God to men. Book I. 1. Who are the two muses who are invoked (see ll. 6-7, 12-13, 17). Why are these two muses chosen? The holy spirit Urania, the Muse of Astronomy 2. What is the statement of theme (ll. 24-26)? Gods providence is used justified God’s action to men He shows life, fall, and death are all Gods doing
3. Read the lines that give the background of Satan s fall (ll. 40-45); note then that Book I actually begins with Satan, waking up and finding himself chained on the Lake of Fire in hell (ll. 59-62). Now explain how the epic begins en medias res. The story starts after the Devil is defeated by God the first time and the Devil is locked away in Hell. Beginning after the fight and the fall with Satan, the story begins in meida res. 4. Although Satan has changed somewhat physically, how has he NOT changed (ll. 94- 97, 105-108, 111-116). His rage has not changed nor his desire for power 5. How does Satan deal with his punishment? What is he thinking about (ll. 120-122)? By considering ways to escape from hell and how to attack God again. He is thinking about the viability of launching a second attack against God. 6. What does he define as the fallen angels new task (ll. 158-161)? To never do good and to do bad out of their own delight 7. In l. 209 Satan is described as chained on the Lake of Fire. What is the only reason that he is able to get up and shake off his chains (ll. 211-212)? Because God allowed him to “high permission of all-ruling Heaven” 8. What idea does Satan express in ll. 253-255? He expresses that the mind is separated from outside circumstances. The mind isn’t affected by time or place and can therefore make Hell seem like Heaven 9. What does Satan reveal about himself in ll. 261-263? He would rather be a leader than a servant, even if it means being the leader of the worst place (Hell) 10. What are the epic similes in ll. 284-286 and 292-294? When Satan is described. His shield is like the moon, and his spear was equal to the tallest Norwegian pine, moon enormously tall tree like a cloud of locusts is another epic simile when describing how fast Satan's minions got up. 11. After Satan calls the fallen angels to a conference, they fly up from the lake of fire like a cloud of locusts (what is that, by the way?), then on pages 1954-58 follows another of the conventions of the epic. What convention is it? Give a few examples (names only). These pages can be skimmed. A cloud of locusts refers to a large group of something (the devils were flying out of the lake of fire in a group) 12. What kind of plan does Satan suggest in ll. 645-647? deceit 13. What does Satan think has potential as their first eruption (ll. 651-655) The corruption of the human race Ruining gods image 14. Pages 1961-63 describe the creation of the capital of hell. What is the name of it, and what does the name mean? They have to have a nice conference center so a building comes out of the ground pandemonium City of demons
Book I. 1. Who are the two muses who are invoked (see ll. 6-7, 12-13, 17). Why are these two muses chosen? Urania “Heav’nly Muse”, & the Holy Spirit. Classic Invocation to the Gods but also Christian Because astronomy (in stars) God and heavens are up there, (pray to inspiration to the one in charge of the Heavens) 2. What is the statement of theme (ll. 24-26)? Statement of topic: explain the ways of God to men 3 .Read the lines that give the background of Satan s fall (ll. 40-45); note then that Book I actually begins with Satan, waking up and finding himself chained on the Lake of Fire in hell (ll. 59-62). Now explain how the epic beginsen medias res. (What the beginning is) told in flashback 4. Although Satan has changed somewhat physically, how has he NOT changed (ll. 94-97, 105-108, 111-116). He is not repentant, a defiant attitude. Even in hell is still incredibly beautiful, he becomes more physically and less admirable. 5. How does Satan deal with his punishment? What is he thinking about (ll. 120-122)? He said he may have lost the battle but not the war. He still has his incomparable will, he will never bow, never deify God. 6. What does he define as the fallen angel’s new task (ll. 158-161)? “We must now in order to be successful continue to wage eternal war on our grand foe that we have to decide between force and guile (deception, trickery, deceit)” “To do evil will be the only thing that will bring us delight because anything evil is contrary to God’s will who we resist” “If he uses his powers to bring good out of evil, we must try to stop that no matter what” “Reassemble the fallen angels and see what we can do” 7. In l. 209 Satan is described as chained on the Lake of Fire. What is the only reason that he is able to get up and shake off his chains (ll. 211-212)? The will and permission of heaven (God allowed him to get up), God has to allow it, because if Satan God up then God wouldn’t be all-powerful. God allows him to get up because of free will (because God isn’t a dictator).Everything that he does that’s evil God will turn it into good. 8 .What idea does Satan express in ll. 253-255? If we have to stay here so, be it, we are above his equals, let’s take procession of this new location, I am one who brings a mind not to be changes but time and place It doesn’t matter if we’re in heaven or hell, the mind is its own place (state of mind) 9. What does Satan reveal about himself in ll. 261-263? “Better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven” he wants to be number 1 (in charge) 10. What are the epic similes in ll. 284-286 and 292-294? “Shield is bright like the moon”, “spear was equal to the tallest pine (pine)”, “flew up like a cloud of locust”
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