PARADISE LOSTBY JOHN MILTON, 1664

JOHN MILTON’S BIOGRAPHY

John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8

November 1674) was an English

poet, polemicist, man of letters, and

a civil servant for the

Commonwealth of England under

Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time

of religious flux and political

upheaval, and is best known for his

epic poem Paradise Lost (1667),

written in blank verse.

PARADISE LOST, A POEM

The first version, published in 1667, consisted of ten books

with over ten thousand lines of verse. The poem concerns the

Biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and

Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the

Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is to "justify

the ways of God to men".

PARADISE LOST SUMMARY

Fall of Man

SATAN’S PLAN & CHARACTERS

Rebellious angels reunite in the Lake of Fire, to complot against God. After discussing their options, they decide to surpass Earth and tempt Adam & Eve:

•Satan: inspires other fallen angels to raise and revenge against God the Father

•Mammon and Mulciber: build their palace and capital, Pandemonium

•Moloch: fallen angel that suggests to take over Heaven by forcing a war

•Belial: fallen angel that suggest to do nothing about their doomed fate.

•Mammon: materialistic angel that suggest to do the best they can with what they have.

•Beelzebub: second in command after Satan. He suggests to get at God by attacking his creation on Earth: man.

GOD’S OMNISCIENCE

God watches Satan approach Earth and predicts his success in

corrupting Man. Man has free will. But God omnisciently knows what

will happen. God adds that Man can be saved through mercy and

grace, but he must also accept the just punishment of death, unless

someone takes on death for Man. The Son offers to become a man and

suffer death in order to overcome it. The angels rejoice.

HEAVEN CHARACTERS

•Uriel: angel sitting in the sun, he realizes of Satan's approach to the earth and informs other angels

•Gabriel: angel that takes care of the Paradise’s security

•Ithuriel and Zephron: they catch Satan on his first attempt to surpass the Paradise

•Raphael: God sent angel that warns Adam and Eve of Satan’s rebellion and the intentions to attack them.

•Michael: angel that expels Adam and Eve from the Paradise, but leaves them with a biblical approach of what had occurred.

•Son of God: sent by God to Earth to pronounce judgment on the humans and the serpent. The Son goes to Earth and makes his judgments. He adds though, that through mercy, Adam and Eve and all humans may eventually be able to overcome death.

THE PARADISE

Adam and Eve are presented for

the first time in Christian literature

as having a full relationship while

still being without sin.

They have passions and distinct

personalities. Satan, disguised in

the form of a serpent, successfully

tempts Eve to eat from the Tree by

preying on her vanity and tricking

her with rhetoric. Adam, learning

that Eve has sinned, knowingly

commits the same sin.

PARADISE CHARACTERS•Adam is the first human created by God. Though initially alone, Adam demands a mate from God. Considered God's prized creation, Adam, along with his wife, rules over all the creatures of the world and resides in the Garden of Eden.

•Eve is the second human created by God, taken from one of Adam's ribs and shaped into a female form of Adam. Far from the traditional model of a good wife, she is often unwilling to be submissive towards Adam. She is more intelligent and curious about external ideas than her husband.

•Serpent, after previous failed attempts, Satan manages to enter the Paradise in the shape of a serpent. He is cunning, deceptive and persuasive.

THEMES

Besides the fall of man, Paradise Lost has other

approaches or interpretations related to these

themes:

•Marriage: The relationship between Adam and Eve

is one of mutual dependence, not a relation of

domination or hierarchy. They compliment each

other.

•Idolatry: In Book XI of Paradise Lost, Adam tries to

atone for his sins by offering to build altars to

worship God. In response, the angel Michael explains

that Adam does not need to build physical objects to

experience the presence of God

THE END