Analysis Of John Milton 's ' Paradise Lost '

   Satan's primary operational problem in Paradise Lost is his lack of obedience. The fundamental misunderstanding which leads to Satan's disobedience is his separation of free will from God's hierarchical power. In the angel Raphael's account, Satan tells his dominions, "Orders and Degrees/Jarr not with liberty" (5.792-93). Tempting as this differentiation seems, Satan is mistaken. Free will and hierarchical power are not mutually exclusive, as Satan suggests, but overlapping concepts. Even though Satan has been created with sufficient freedom to choose to disobey, he tacitly acknowledges God's sovereignty when he exercises his choice. Satan is constrained existentially, from the outset, by

Milton’s scale of nature, while appearing linear, allows the creatures within in it to “ascend to God” by “steps,” (V.512). This creates a dynamic scale that would enable a particular being the ability to move up and down the scale based on its behaviors, and align itself closer to God. However, an animal or a human can only climb so far. No matter how virtuous an animal was it could never surpass a human because it is lacking the spiritual essence that God awarded to man. Similarly, a human, while living, could never attain the same closeness to God as an angel. So while this allows for some degree of mobility, each sect of the scale is confined within the parameters that God set forth.

Of Things Invisible to Mortal SightThe Holy Bible is in many ways a story of origins. The history recounted both in the Old and New Testaments has at its base the perception of a fallen humanity; beginning with the fall from Eden and the nature of evil, to the means of regaining Gods grace and the discussion of free will, it emphasizes humanitys inability to fully comprehend the nature of God and of the universe. In writing his epic Paradise Lost, John Milton is fully aware of his limitations as a mortal man; however, in an attempt to transcend the finite to the infinite, to describe the indescribable and to understand the unknown, Milton bases his arguments on Biblical theology to show that mankind has fallen from immortality to mortality

John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, has been the subject of criticism and interpretation through many years; these interpretations concur in that Adam and Eve are the sufferers of the poem, and it is their blight to lose Paradise because of their disobedience; however, their exile is merely a plight brought by Satan, and it is he who suffers exile before any others. Satan changes from Book I of the poem to Book XII; his introduction is heroic and grand, appearing as a hero rebelling against an unjust God. But by the finalization of Milton’s poem, Satan is a burnt shell of himself and, though ruler of Pandemonium, he sits in a throne in the lowest pit from God’s light. Satan’s exile brings forth the salvation of mankind and his own regressive transformation; tying in with the theme of disobedience, Satan’s exile gives

When John Milton decided to write, he knew from the start he wanted his creation to be that of an epic. Paradise Lost is just that. It is Milton's own take on the biblical story of Satan's fall from grace as well as man's fall. Milton was not only armed with an extensive knowledge on the Bible, but in everything a man of his time could learn. With his wisdom he emersed himself into his work, making Paradise Lost not only a tale of epic perportions, but one that would "Justify the ways of God to Man." (I 26)

Throughout time, John Milton's Paradise Lost has been studied by many people and comprehended in many different fashions, developing all kinds of new interpretations of the great epic. There have been many different interpretations of this great epic. Milton's purpose in writing the epic was to explain the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the epic is similar to the Bible story in many ways, Milton's character structure differs from that of the Bible's version. All through out the epic Milton describes the characters in the way he believes they are. In book II of Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as a rebel who exhibits certain heroic qualities, but who turns out not to be a hero.

Milton, through Satan's soliloquies in Book 4, shows that Satan's idea of free will is a facade, and God carefully manipulates him to fulfill his plan of Adam and Eve's fall. While speaking, Satan inadvertently places doubts in the reader's mind that his will is free. Satan proves through his actions that God created him to act in a very narrow range, even though he himself does not realize this. The combination of pride, ambition, abhorrence of subordination, and ignorance of his own state as a puppet lead to perpetually diminishing stature and divinity.

Satan’s definitions include the advocate of God, a personification of evil, the fallen angel, a spirit created by God, and also the accuser. People see Satan differently, some know of his existence, others think of him as just a myth, and there are those that just ignore him. John Milton's Paradise Lost tells of Satan's banishment from Heaven and his gain of earth. He and his brigade have plotted war against God and are now doomed to billow in the fiery pits of hell. Satan is a complex character with many different qualities. God is a character who we, as Christians, know about but do not completely understand. We also do not completely understand Satan. Some may think they know Satan but when asked “Is Satan divine?”

If God created a hierarchy in Heaven, then, he was responsible for Satan’s rebellion, and by that responsible for man’s fall. It is important to relate these events to 17th century England in order to grasp Milton’s reason behind this representation. Charles I’s absolutism and divine kingship is the first cause of the civil war according to Milton and his puritan community. They refused to obey to Charles I’s authority and considered him as a tyrant. Moreover, puritans do not believe in divine kingship, they believe in a direct relation with God. As a result, they discredited Charles I’s divine authority and encouraged the puritans to execute him. In Paradise Lost, Satan not only disobeyed God’s authority but he had questions about God’s origins too. Like the puritans, demonstrates Armand, Satan was wondering if God’s authority is just “a result of customs and

In the middle of the 17th Century, one man produced a work of literature that would shock and confuse the Christian world. John Milton, a poet and a servant of the commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell, understood more than most the power of Christianity and the effects that it had on its sympathizers. In 1667, he decided to write an epic that would justify God’s actions to man, and how sin and death came into being, through the arduous decisions made by Adam and Eve. This epic was called Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost is a nontraditional epic in that the main decision, otherwise known as the epic decision, was not one that agreed with the classic Christian virtues. The epic decision of the book fell into place when Adam, knowing his eventual death, ate from the tree of knowledge because of the love and desire that he had for Eve, knowing that he was not following God’s commands. Why does Milton incorporate such defiance into the main decision that formulates his epic novel? Why would Milton, who is writing to a Christian society, go against common belief, and what does the epic decision in Paradise Lost teach the Christian reader?

The most important characters in the epic poem, “Paradise Lost”, are Satan and Eve. These two characters are most responsible for the development and progression of events within the poem. Satan is the main figure throughout the vast majority of the plot. “Paradise Lost” follows Satan’s ultimately successful attempt to destroy God’s perfect creation, humanity, by forcing Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. In creating humanity, God set expectations and put in place boundaries for Adam and Eve, yet they were not particularly restrictive.

In his epic poem titled Paradise Lost, John Milton describes his work as a process to justify “the ways of God to men”. In terms of the personal and individual, Milton’s main concern was between a man’s relationship and God. With this, comes the very idea of free will itself. One can define free will as the ability and freedom to choose between different possible courses of action. Not only is free will portrayed in Adam and Eve, but is also associated with God, Christ, Satan and the fallen angels. Milton enables these characters to make their own choices and have their own consequences based on their own decisions and free will. Throughout the poem, John Milton supports this concept of acting freely under God, he shows the reader that choosing ones own actions freely and independently is way more substantial and becomes more meaningful to ones self. Each characters free will in this poem helps explain why having this freedom of choice is so important and crucial in expressing and becoming ones self.

As Book VIII of John Milton’s Paradise Lost begins, the “new-waked” human Adam ponders the nature of the universe and the motion of the stars (ll. 4-38). When Adam has finished his speech, Milton takes the opportunity to describe Eve, who is listening nearby. We find Eve reclining in the Garden, but with grace, not laziness: “she sat retired in sight,/With lowliness majestic from her seat” (41-42). This “lowliness majestic” is the central phrase to understanding Eve’s character—she is both humble and glorious. Everything that beholds her is captivated by her “grace that won who saw to wish her stay” (43). Even in this paradise, every other beautiful creation is drawn to Eve. She walks

Considering these interpretations of Satan’s rebellion and Satan’s failure, let us, now, focus on the character of Satan in Paradise Lost, Book 1. Despite his defeat, claims Professor David Loewenstein in his essay “The Radical Religious Politics of Paradise Lost”, Satan remains “a courageous military leader”. Charismatic, ruthless and using an excellent rhetoric speech “of resistance”, Satan continues defying God and asks his falling angels, lying in the lake, to plan to take revenge on God (PL, 1: 156-191). David Loewenstein draws his readers’ attention to the troubling parallel between Satan’s language in Hell against God’s tyranny and Milton’s language as a republican activist just week before the Restoration. Lowewenstein argues that “Satan’s language is not stable [..], at one moment he sounds like a bold revolutionary, at another like a conservative royalist”. This remark can be explained by Milton’s intention to reveal human’s tyranny which may affect human liberty and

John Milton's epic “Paradise Lost” is one that has brought about much debate since its writing. This epic tells the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, although from a different perspective than what most people usually see. Milton tells the story more through the eyes of Satan, whom most people usually consider the ultimate villain. The way in which Satan is portrayed in this story has caused speculation as to whether Satan is actually a hero in this situation. He certainly has heroic qualities throughout the story, yet still is ultimately responsible for Adam and Eve's sin. Satan can easily be classified as a hero in this story, as well as the main antagonist, depending on the viewpoint of the reader. Milton introduces Satan as an important