Themes

Summary

Paradise Lost is not just an old story with outdated material, of interest only to rather grim Christians, the Puritans. Students who are not Christian can find in this beautiful epic a secular story of a contemporary celebration of the potential to fall and the potential to recover: Adam and Eve fall, it is true, but they recover through the grace of god and the sacrifice of his son, Jesus, just as all human beings may fall in some way or other but possess the ability to recover, to redeem ourselves, to start anew.

Milton is writing in the sexist tradition, and there are centuries of anti-feminists behind him (consider the lack of equality in the medieval world), but Milton makes Eve the center of the action. The fall of Eve is the central moment in the poem. Milton creates an Eve who is worthy not to fall; this vindicates God. If she were a silly goose she would be doomed to fall and this would make God look bad. Reconciliation centers on Eve. Some interpretations of the Adam and Eve story, focus on Eve's fault. Milton sees this fault in a different way: Eve was tricked by the serpent (Satan) but Adam knew what he was doing.

Before the action of the poem, one third of the angels of heaven, led by Satan, rebel because for these angels heaven was hell. Why?

Very important to Milton is the exercise of reason in the face of temptation. (Milton wrote"Aereopagitica," in defense of freedom of the press.)

Book X -- Adam is vicious to Eve, verbally abusive, but Eve shows a Christ-like nature after the fall: "Reject me not." She answers him with love; she's not ego-wounded. She doesn't answer anger with anger. They take responsibility for their actions. They stop blaming, and moral regeneration is the result.

Metaphor of the Fall Book I -- Satan Book III -- God and the Son Book IV -- Satan alights in the Garden. Sees Adam and Eve.

Book I
Invocation of the Muse
Milton states his purpose: "Justify the ways of God to men."

Satan speaks:

Epic roll call: skip lines 375-570

Pandemonium

Book II

Speeches by devils on what should be done. Each speech more sophisticated than the last. The devils' speeches are demonic parody of heaven and what we will see happen in heaven in other books. This parody is Milton's way of suggesting the idea that evil is only parasitic, that it has no power of its own. It can only be a twisting of the truth. This idea comes from the Augustinian idea that evil is only negation or deprivation of good.

Moloch -- despairing; wants to fight and if not victorious be annihilated; at least they would be avenged.

Belial -- wants to wait for better days; not willing to be annihilated.

Mammon -- sounds like a twentieth existentialist; let's endure and make the best out it. Keep ourselves to ourselves and create something from our pain. Let's create something good out of evil. But "creation" sounds rather like greed.

Beelzebub -- the most realistic speech; he seems to understand their position; he comes close to sounding wise; but wisdom here is guile: how about doing something sneaky? Let's create evil out of good.

Satan volunteers to go explore the rumor that there is a new creature, man, in the universe. His bravery here is a parody of Christ's in Book III where Christ alone volunteers to go out and save mankind as

Satan volunteers to go out and ruin mankind. Parody: everything evil is a corruption of good.

ll. 580- description of physical hell

Satan wings his way to the Gates of Hell, guarded by Sin and Death.

Sin explains that she was born from Satan's head. (Like Athena from Zeus) Sin is his daughter. Satan had sex with her and so Death was born. A parody of the Father begetting the son. Here Satan begets a daughter. From the love of the Father and the son comes the Holy Ghost. From the embrace of Satan and Sin comes Death.

In the Abyss are Chaos and Night and Chance

Book III

Book IV

Satan lands on the Earth.

Troubled Satan

Discussion of the freewill of Satan to fall

Why Satan can't repent

Sin of despair

Description of Paradise

Adam and Eve

Eve recounts her first moments

Comparison of Eve to Narcissus

Uriel warns Gabriel of Satan's possible entry

Sex in the Garden

Book IX

Satan imbruted. Degeneration of Satan's form

Irony: helplessness of evil; unknown to Satan he is imitating something already formulated in the mind of God, the incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth

Eve insists on working apart from Adam

The Tempting

Eve becomes greedy, selfish, and egotistical, and deceitful after she eats the fruit

Adam's fall: his love for Eve is inordinate; this great love is his flaw, for his love should be subordinate to his love of God