Milton’s Paradise Lost Essay examples - 4372 Words

Milton’s Paradise Lost has been praised as being the greatest English epic of all time, most stunningly in its authors depiction of the parents of humanity, Adam and Eve. How Milton chose to portray the original mother and father has been a focus of much criticism with contemporary readers. One of the main subjects of these comments is in reference to Eve, who, according to many, is a trivial character that is most definitely inferior to her mate. Nonetheless, many do not recognize that, after the fateful Fall, she becomes a much more evolved character. When Eve is introduced to the storyline of the epic, her character is shallow and extremely undeveloped, meant simply for display. She is quite firmly set as being inferior to her mate†¦show more content†¦He does this because the scene happens in the past and therefore he uses her to discuss it rather than confusing the reader with a flashback type scene. He also has Eve relate what happened to prove that Eve must ind eed be beautiful if she herself was taken by her looks as she discusses how she â€Å"pined with vain desire† (IV, 466) for the image of her reflection. In fact, Eve’s beauty is discussed repeatedly. For example, when Satan first sees the human couple, he is overtaken by Eve’s â€Å"beauty and submissive charms† (IV, 498). Milton even goes so far to stress her beauty and charms as to have her stun Satan himself with it. Actually, as Satan is on his mission to seduce Eve into eating the apple, her beauty overtakes him. If chance with nymphlike step fair virgin pass, What pleasing seemed, for her now pleases more, She most, and in her looks sums all delight; Such pleasure took the Serpent to behold This flowery plant, the sweet recess of Eve Thus early, thus alone; her heavenly form Angelic, but more soft and feminine, Her graceful innocence, her every air Of gesture or least action, overawed His malice, and with rapine sweet bereaved His fierceness of the fierce intent it brought. That space the Evil One abstracted stood From his own evil, and for the time remained Stupidly good, of enmity disarmed, Of guile, of hate, of envy, of revenge. (IX, 452-466) Thus Milton creates an EveShow MoreRelatedA Discussion of Milton’s Theodicy in Paradise Lost745 Words   |  3 PagesWhat is free will? Milton explains in Paradise Lost that free will is the answer to the justification of Gods ways to man. There are three parts, or triangle, of theodicy, they are that God is all powerful, all good, yet there are still bad things that happen. Milton wrote to explain and justify why there are still bad things even though God is all good, and all powerful. Milton’s answer to this is that there is all good and all power, but the bad is not God’s fault. Milton has three key ideas toRead MoreEssay about Miltons Paradise Lost1123 Words   |  5 PagesMiltons Paradise Lost From the War in Heaven through the fall of man in Paradise Lost, Satans weapon at every point is some form of fraud (Anderson, 135). Miltons Paradise Lost explains the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the epic is similar to the Bible story in many ways, Miltons character structure of Satan differs from that of the Bibles version. Milton describes the characters as the way he believes they are throughout the epic. In book two of ParadiseRead MoreJohn Miltons Theodicy in Paradise Lost595 Words   |  2 PagesParadise Lost is an epic of John Milton, a seventeenth century English author, known for being the greatest reader in English history. The poem goes back to the beginning of time and tells of the rebellion of Satan and his followers, the war in that took place in heaven, and the defeat of Satan. The story also tells of the creation of the world, the life of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and their loss of everything when they give into the temptations of Satan in the form of a reptile. It endsRead MoreTheodicy in John Miltons Paradise Lost792 Words   |  3 PagesJohn Miltons theodicy in Paradise Lost is an attempt to justify the ways of God to men. Many ask how God could let someone as innocent as a child die in a horrible way. How could a God that is all loving and all powerful let something like that happen? He answers this using the fall of Mankind as the trigger point. Cordelia Zukerman and Thomas H. Luxon, The dominance of these themes comes from the fact that Milton is writing about the first humans on earth, humans who have no history and no wayRead More Miltons Satan in Paradise Lost Essay1783 Words   |  8 PagesMiltons Satan in Paradise Lost After researching Satan and his kingdom, Hell, through the Bible and Paradise Lost to compare and contrast the two characterizations, I realized that Milton must have been a true Bible scholar. Milton’s Satan is described so closely to the Biblical view of Satan that it is often times hard to distinguish the two. Milton changed and elaborated on a few characteristics of his Satan and his Hell in order to create Paradise Lost, but based his characterization andRead More Adam in Miltons Paradise Lost Essay1603 Words   |  7 PagesAdam in Paradise Lost: Fates Ruler - and Subject A central problem in John Miltons Paradise Lost in the theological issue of free will versus fate, a traditionally much-debated question. Free will is the condition of having control or direction over fate or destiny; the individual shapes his life and future through his actions. The opposing view, complete lack of free will (made famous by John Calvin), is predestination, which expresses the idea that our futures have been foreseen longRead More John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay1848 Words   |  8 PagesJohn Miltons Paradise Lost Freedom (free will) is the absence of imposed behavior. Individual freedom is obviously attractive, but when there is real freedom of choice, the wrong choice is the one that is made - such as the choice made by Satan who although he can be admired for his having dared to rebel against the norm, is not heroic for having chosen to plot against God. Free will was given to man in order to be able to choose the faith since in the absence of free will, there isRead MoreHumanism in John Miltons Paradise Lost2072 Words   |  9 Pagesthe greatest Puritan poet and the first English revolutionary poet in the 17th century. Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, written during the last stage of his life and being one of the poet’s greatest creations, covers the ideas of humanism most deeply and widely. Since the admiration and significance of antiquity are ones of the essential concepts of humanism, it appears that this ideology is revealed in ‘Paradise Lost’ by imitating epic style of Greek and Roman poets. Starting the epic poem from the invocationRead MoreJohn Miltons Paradise Lost863 Words   |  4 PagesParadise 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. ByRead MoreShellys Frankenstein and Miltons Paradise Lost Essay1136 Words   |  5 PagesFrankenstein, and his creation of a monster set apart from all worldly crea tures. Frankensteins creation parallels Miltons Paradise Lost and Gods creation of man; Victor Frankenstein is symbolic of God and the monster is symbolic of Adam. The parallel emphasizes the moral limitations of mankind through Victor Frankenstein and the disjunction and correlation with Paradise Lost. Shelly links the two stories together through Victors creation of the monster and his fall from humanity which