Paradaise Lost by John Milton Essay

The story of Adam and Eve is simple. God created man and gave him a wife and all the animals, along with the Garden of Eden. The only rule was that they could not eat the fruit from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or the tree of Life (Genesis 2:8-3:24). Eve, tempted by evil, ate from the tree anyway and let her husband eat from it too.

Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost is a complex character meant to be the evil figure in the epic poem. Whenever possible Satan attempts to undermine God and the Son of God who is the true hero of the story. Throughout the story Milton tells the readers that Satan is an evil character, he is meant not to have any redeeming qualities, and to be shown completely as an unsympathetic figure. Satan’s greatest sins are pride and vanity in thinking he can overthrow God, and in the early part of the poem he is portrayed as selfish while in Heaven where all of God’s angels are loved and happy. Satan’s journey starts out as a fallen angel with great stature, has the ability to reason and argue, but by Book X the anguish and pain he goes through is

The great debate whether Satan is the hero of Milton’s Epic Poem, Paradise Lost, has been speculated for hundreds of years. Milton, a writer devoted to theology and the appraisal of God, may not have intended for his portrayal of Satan to be marked as heroic. Yet, this argument is valid and shares just how remarkable the study of literature can be. Milton wrote his tale of the fall of man in the 1674. His masterpiece is an example of how ideas of a society change with time. This is because it wasn’t until the 1800’s during the Romantic era, that people no longer saw the hero of literary works as perfect in every way. It started to become more popular to develop the flawed character similar to the ones written in the classics. A literary

Paradise Lost is a poem about Adam and Eve, how they were created and how they came to lose their place in the Garden of Eden, which was also called Paradise. It is very similar to the book of Genesis in the Bible, except it is expanded by John Milton into a very long, detailed, narrative poem with a different view of Satan. Even though he leads a war against God, is sent to hell, and seeks revenge throughout the poem h still ends up being a very likable character.

On the sixth day of creation, God created Adam and gave him total dominion over the Garden of Eden. After a period of time, God realized that it was not good for Adam to remain alone in the Garden, and therefore created Eve from Adam’s ribs. God allowed Adam and Eve to dwell in the Garden of Eden but commanded that they did not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, a serpent later persuades Eve to pick an apple from the Tree, who then offers it to Adam. God becomes very angry and casts them out from the Garden of Eden. The classical Disney movie, Snow White, alludes to Adam and Eve. In the movie, an innocent and pure girl named Snow White is offered a poisonous apple by a wicked witch. The witch claims that the apple was magical and had the power to grant Snow White a wish. Snow White becomes convinced and takes a bite from the apple, causing her to fall into a deep slumber. Both the serpent and witch used the art of temptation, sin, and greed to lure their foe into committing wrong things.

Paradise Lost, Milton’s epic poem narrating “things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme” builds on the subject matter of the Biblical story of the Genesis and sings of Satan’s temptation of “man” and his consequent fall. Having invested the first three books in revealing the rebellion in heaven and fall of Lucifer, and the divine plans concerning the fate of human kind, it is in the fourth book that Milton first takes the reader to the hallowed setting of the best part of the action, the Garden of Eden, and introduces two of his arguable protagonists, Adam and Eve, the general parents of mankind.

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

Eve’s account of her awakening and Adam’s version are not different. Both waked up and have questions about who they are, where they come from, what they are doing there, who created them (4. 450-452), (8. 270). They, both, were interested by their surroundings. Eve was attracted to the lake and went to see it when Adam was attracted to the sun, trees, and animals (8. 260-266). He also went to the discovery. Each of them had his center of interest.

The conversation led the two to have thoughts that they would never have had otherwise. But, interestingly, Adam and Eve gain more than just new thoughts, they also gain Muse. Muse goes a step beyond simple thoughts, suggesting “profound meditation” (OED). In other words, they become entranced by the new knowledge that they received; knowledge that was not available to them beforehand. Yet, the word Muse has another meaning that further complicates the impression of ignorance for Eve.

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.

Paradise Lost is a story of Genesis told as it normally would be, but with a protagonist focus on Satan. The story is told largely with Satan being favorably portrayed and God having little presence other than cursing things, which convinces the audience that Satan’s view of God as a tyrant may not be too far off. Still, Satan is portrayed as the villain of the story. However, he has characteristics of a classical hero; including flaws that make the audience relate to and feel sympathy for him. By using part of the black-and-white Genesis story which paints Satan as evil and juxtaposing a narrative which paints Satan as a sympathetic hero, Milton raises a question about morality that largely define the audience’s reaction to the story:

“The Diaries of Adam and Eve” are a Mark Twain satirical retelling of the bible’s Adam and Eve. Twain’s Diary entry style cleverly represents how differently, both the characters react and develop after meeting for the first time. Adam feels that Eve’s introduction worsens his quality of life because he feels invaded and he longs for the comfort of his own solitude whereas, Eve is interested in Adam and doesn’t like the feeling of solitude. As the diary entries progress it is Eve who takes the first steps to make the relationship work because unlike Adam, she can’t deal with loneliness. Eve is portrayed as a very intelligent and scientific character due to the fact that she names everything and is very interested in

Milton in Paradise Lost illustrates God as the main creator of life. Milton also expresses that God’s real desire is power. God here used his own power of free will to make the decision to create life. From this, the reader can already see the ability of free will being practiced. He mentions that he gave all angels and man the power of free will so they can express their own individuality in

The concept of revenge has prevailed as an integral component of literature, exemplified in Paradise Lost written by John Milton among other works. In Paradise Lost, Satan acts as the main proponent of revenge. The actions of his character create the basis for a Miltonic ideal of revenge, later modified by Emily Brontë and Mary Shelley. Wuthering Heights written by Brontë presents Heathcliff as a modernization of Satan. The characters share the experience of evolving from their lives as outcasts within their societies by means of revenge. The monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein romanticizes the Miltonic concept of revenge found in Paradise Lost. Although the creation and experiences of Satan and the monster differ, their premises for revenge become similar as the monster realizes his contempt toward his position within society and desires to retaliate. While the revenge exemplified in Paradise Lost shares similarities with both Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, the origins of the desire for revenge, as well as its function within each book, differ due to changing life and literary styles following the writing of Paradise Lost. While the roots of the revenge of Satan lay in a desire for power, Heathcliff and the creature use revenge as a means to chase love and companionship.

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