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The paradise lost by john milton analysis
Analysis of The Paradise Lost by John Milton
The paradise lost by john milton analysis
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Discuss Milton’s presentation of Satan in Paradise Lost
There has been considerable critical interest in the figure of Satan in Paradise Lost,
and in the possibility that he may be the true hero of the epic poem. The opening of
the poem finds Milton in a tough spot: writing an epic poem without an epic hero in
sight. In order to achieve a rationally balanced poem, he wants to let the first half rise from Hell through Chaos and towards Heaven, thereby balancing the fall of
humankind in the following Garden scenes. Since Satan is the only point of view
(other than God above) that witnesses all of these early scenes, he must be
transformed into the hero for the first few books. Besides allowing Milton to add new
scenes to the story which is crucial, since all his readers already know the general idea
of it, making Satan temporarily heroic makes his subsequent evil deeds that much
more appalling to the reader.
One of Milton’s early biographers, his nephew Edward Phillips, asserted that
it was Milton’s original intention to write a tragic drama on the subject of the fall. He
claims to have seen a speech by Satan (now Book IV lines 32-41) some years before
the publication of Paradise Lost. The attractiveness of Satan and the genesis of
Paradise Lost as a drama are to some extent interwoven. It is a critical fact that in
drama, the audience is lead to believe in the first voice they hear, especially if that
voice speaks directly to the audience. R.C. Jones (1986: P.56) demonstrates how this
principle operates in Renaissance plays such as Shakespeare’s Richard III. One
reason why there is any case for regarding Satan as the hero of the poem is that we
learn his version of events first, and by the end of Book II, w...
... middle of paper ...
...t all the characters Milton needs to the proper places at the proper
time in the narrative. The delicate way in which he holds the character of Satan
poised between heroic and villainous acts during his physical ascent and spiritual fall
makes use of the full gamut of poetic devices, including allusion, metaphor,
hyperbole, diction, and more a tricky juggling act of character development, until he
is ready to let the ball drop.
Bibliography
Bradley, S.A.J. (1992). Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Everyman.
Burden, Dennis. (1967). The Logical Epic. Routledge.
Jones, R.C. (1988). Engagement with Knavery. Duke University Press. Durham. England.
Milton, John. (1998). Paradise Lost. Penguin. England.
Waldock, A.J.A. (1947). Paradise Lost and its Critics. Cambridge University Press.
Wittreich, Joseph, ed. (1970). The Romantics on Milton. Cleveland Press. USA.
Across these three works Satan was transformed from a seductive, but flat, character, to a suffering monster, to a complex, multidimensional antagonist. Within the Christian world, Satan provides an interesting representation of evil. He can be used to demonstrate the charms of sin or its consequences. The these three works demonstrate a changing and increasingly complex understanding of evil and sin.
... concentrate on the intervention of god’s plans. His worsening intention further defines Satan’s role as the antagonist. The appearance of a protagonist with the role of antagonism is the ideal blend for a heroic-appearing, villainous character.
...s Online - Harvard Theological Review - Abstract - The Social History of Satan, the "Intimate Enemy": A Preliminary Sketch. Harvard Theological Review, 1991. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
In order to attempt to discern if Satan is a tragic hero, his character must fit a certain profile. According to Aristotle's theory, the tragic hero has the potential to be great, but is doomed to fail. The tragic hero, although fallen, still wins a moral victory. The general characteristics follow that the tragic hero is a noble, is responsible for their fate, contains a tragic flaw, and is doomed to make a severe error in judgment. Eventually, the tragic hero falls from a high status, realizes the mistake that was made, faces and accepts their death, and finally ends in a tragic death. It is important to state that, in all tragic heroes, the audience is affected by fear and/or pity. In Paradise Lost, the reader is easily able to relate to Satan, even pity him at some points...
Although the epic poem centers around the story of the fall of man, it is interesting that Milton intertwines in this story the fall of Satan from heaven and the consequences it has not only for Satan himself, but for Adam, Eve, and the world as a whole. Milton allows the reader to see the fall from the point of view of Satan, God, as well as Adam and Eve. Because Milton gives insight into these characters feelings regarding the fall, it is no surprise that he uses “eternal providence” in conjunction with the stories of Satan, Adam, and Eve. The providence being described here is the knowledge of good and evil. However, ev...
Carey, John. “Milton’s Satan.” The Cambridge Companion to Milton. Ed. Dennis Danielson. ???. 1989. 131-145. Print.
In the eyes of a non-religious person, the figure of Satan might appear as an obsolete, mythical character of an antiquated view of the world. However, upon immersing oneself in the study of this persona, one can observe the strong belief in its power and the influence that the figure of Satan represents in the religious world. One might wonder how such a feat is possible even after hordes of scientists and academics objected to the existence of such a fabled character. Moreover, many theologists advanced theories that strived to diminish the importance of Satan in order to achieve a more monistic religion. It would be normal, nowadays to find the figure of Satan relegated to the status of a mere myth of the old times much like the ancient
It is thus that Books I and II of "Paradise Lost" are so unique, as is the alternative, and less-frequently explored world of the devils, is probed in such a. fascinating manner of the story. Milton uses the story of the fallen angels to open up on numerous eras, civilisations, myths and stories, allowing him to convey his own. perception of the world's history, as the reader is guided through various. points in time to be made. Before we are introduced to the individuals, Milton. depicts an enormous army of different species, each of changeable size and.
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a religious work, and is in many ways an autobiography of Milton’s own life. John Milton was raised catholic and converted to Protestantism. Later in life he became a Calvinist. His strong Calvinists beliefs can be seen throughout Paradise Lost. It was Milton’s desire to be a great poet, but he did not believe that was his purpose in life. He believed that he had been put here to serve God, and that any thing that he wrote should be in one way or another related to that purpose. In this way Milton felt that in writing Paradise Lost not only was he writing the epic poem he had always wanted to, but also fulfilling his godly purpose here on earth.
Milton uses many events like the ones listed above to encourage the reader to view Satan as a hero. "Satan is described to be the brightest and most important angel" (McColley 32). These traits of Satan show how one might recognize Satan as the second in power right below God, who was the highest power of all. Before Satan decides to give up what he has and to rebel against God, he was one of the wisest and most beautiful of all the angels in heaven (McColley 24). Although Satan was beautiful, the most important trait that makes him fit into the hero category is that he was the most powerful angel in heaven.
The questions I had for the author included a lot about Satan. I was wondering why Satan was the main character of this epic poem, and not God, like the Bible.
Mankind lives in a physical, tangible, material world, which is influenced by the invisible, spiritual world around us. The present day spiritual world is just as existent as it was nearly two thousand years ago when Lord Jesus walked the earth. The Old and New Testaments reveal to us from time to time, glimpses of this spiritual world. These Testaments provide us with the most factual information regarding Satan. Unfortunately, many have been misinformed and do not thoroughly comprehend Satan’s origin and what his purpose concerning the spiritual and physical world. There is a great need to set the record straight regarding Satan especially in our hour with its present angel craze, channeling and a belief in spirit guides. I chose Satan as the subject of my paper because I am one who does not thoroughly comprehend who he is and what his purpose in both the spiritual and physical world is.
The regularity with which Milton frequently conforms to principles of epic structure make his occasional (but nevertheless fundamental) variations on the epic tradition all the more striking by contrast. The most important departures from epic decorum--the rejection of a martial theme, and the choice of an argument that emphasizes the hero's transgression and defeat instead of celebrating his virtues and triumphs--are paradoxically conditioned by concern for the ethical and religious decorum of the epic genre. On the whole, Milton has retained the formal motifs and devices of the heroic poem but has invested them with Christian matter and meaning. In this sense his epic is . . . something of a "pseudomorph"--retaining the form of classical epic but replacing its values and contents with Judeo-Christian correlatives. (Epic and Tragic Structure . . . 20)
In conclusion, Paradise Lost can be seen through a historically contextual lens that allows us to see the parallels between Milton’s life and experiences during the reign of Charles I, and the predominant themes in his epic poem. Many of the themes in Paradise Lost, from the broader situational occurrences to the behavior of individual character’s and their attitudes toward the situations in which they find themselves can be seen as directly influenced by Milton’s time as a Parliamentarian in 17th century England.
John Milton's great epic poem, Paradise Lost, was written between the 1640's and 1665 in England, at a time of rapid change in the western world. Milton, a Puritan, clung to traditional Christian beliefs throughout his epic, but he also combined signs of the changing modern era with ancient epic style to craft a masterpiece. He chose as the subject of his great work the fall of man, from Genesis, which was a very popular story to discuss and retell at the time. His whole life had led up to the completion of this greatest work; he put over twenty years of time and almost as many years of study and travel to build a timeless classic. The success of his poem lies in the fact that he skillfully combined classic epic tradition with strongly held Puritan Christian beliefs.