Myth of the Fortunate Fall in Paradise Lost
From this descent / Celestial Virtues rising, will appear / More glorious . . . than from no fall. (ii. 14-16)1These are Satan's words to the fallen angels in Paradise Lost. Satan claims that their fall from Heaven will seem like a "fortunate fall," in that their new rise to power will actually be "more glorious" than if they had stayed in Heaven all the while. Can we, as fallen humans, possibly make Satan's words our own, even if it is not our own work but God's that causes our "rising"; or, if we do claim a "fortunate fall," have we been beguiled by Satan to rejoice in our fallen state? While it is common among beguiled critics to claim that Paradise Lost presents the Fall as fortunate, in fact the Fall is much less fortunate than these critics presume.
Millicent Bell is among the beguiled, but he starts off with a vital point that is too easily forgotten. What does the narrative make explicit about the Fall? "The bare story makes no mystery of it. It was infinite disaster."2 From the beginning of the epic we learn that the Fall "Brought death into the world, and all our woe" (i. 3). It "brought into this world a world of woe,/Sin and her shadow Death, and misery/Death's harbinger" (ix. 11-13). We learn that Eve, after leaving Adam to go her own way in Eden (just before the Fall) "never from that hour in Paradise/Found'st either sweet repast, or sound repose" (ix. 406-07). Eve's Fall is a great calamity for the world (ix. 782-84); so is Adam's, completing the original sin (ix. 1003). The couple's early reactions to their sin include disgust, shame, lust, and scorn for the earth (ix. 1010 ff.). The woe of Satan, too, is "perpetual" (ii. 861) and "eternal" (iv...
... middle of paper ...
...s that Paradise is where she and Adam are together, so that an Eden without Adam would be no Paradise at all (xii. 615-17).
15. Bell (878-79) asserts that Milton could not have understood Raphael's words about education and spiritual uplift without tying them to the harshness of error and suffering; though I disagree, Bell's general point stands: as a fallen human the life of righteous suffering is the only good one that Milton could have had true sympathy for. On the other hand, in the context of the epic, Frank Kermode and Barbara Lewalski recognize that in Paradise Lost we yet know nothing of this inner paradise with which to compare it to Eden (we have only Michael's word): "The paradise of Milton's poem is the lost, the only true paradise, we confuse ourselves . . . if we believe otherwise" (Kermode, "Adam Unparadised," Elledge 603-04; cf. Lewalski 270).
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 criterion that is based on a protagonist, who undergoes conflict on the outside and from within and is prevented by a specific flaw to accomplish their main goal, creates an epic Hero. In Paradise Lost, God does not face conflict because he is perfect and all-knowing, and Adam’s conflict is not presented from the very start, Satan’s is. Because Satan is the main character of the work and possesses qualities that would deem him heroic, such as his determination against tough odds, his ability to lead, and his human-like nature to error, he can be seen has the Hero of the famous poem.
The girls did not even talk or form any meaningful relationship with him whatsoever; they were just there to buy food and leave. She even went out of her way not to look at them, Updike states; “She must have felt in the corner of her eye me and over my shoulder Stokesie in the second slot watching but she didn’t tip, not this queen” (462). Their whole relationship was him watching her throughout the store; forming a somewhat creepy and awkward one-sided relationship. That is not how a meaningful relationship starts; stalking them like animals, peaking on them like an immature boy; and ogling at them through multiple aisles of a grocery store. He hangs on every single word that the queen bee says, analyzes her speech and tone of her voice, and vividly imagines the inside of her house. They have not even met before this day and he has not even talked to her. All of these feelings that he is feeling are unwarranted, maybe it is because that she is pretty, but he acts as if though he is in love with
An example of Eve’s portrayal from the text is, “All who in vain things, Built their fond hopes of glory or lasting fame” this shows that she is vain (Paradise Lost, Book 3, lines 448-449). In the Bible it never describes her as a vain human being, she is not someone who is vain and self-centered. She is portrayed in the Bible as a spiritual being and as someone who is faithful to the Lord. Milton portrays Eve as a being that is not faithful and that is all about herself. This makes Paradise Lost a false doctrine because it portrays Adam and Eve as bad people who consequently partook of the fruit and made everyone suffer. This is not a right doctrine, it is not because she partook of the fruit, everything is part of the Lord’s
First of all, it is important to address that Milton’s Paradise Lost still contains many elements that define it as a member of the epic genre. It follows the story of a hero (or anti-hero), it involves warfare and elements of the
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 among the “fruits and flow’rs,” and they all light up in her presence (44-47). In line 44, Milton replaces “the” with “her” to describe these fruits and flowers, indicating that they belong to her--she is like a mother to all things that “bud and bloom” (45). He even uses the term “her nursery” to describe Eve’s relationship with the Garden, signifying that Eve nurses the growing things like she would her children (46). As their mother arrives, the plants all perk up: “they at her coming sprung/And touched by her fair tendance gladlier grew” (46-47). Eve is beyond beautiful—not only does all creation adore and marvel at her, in her presence, each created thing is renewed. Her glory is found in her outward appearance and her ability to bring things to life, while her humility is in her character. Contrast Eve to the witch-queen Jadis in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. Both are exceptionally beautiful and possess a sort of magic—Eve to bring things to life and Jadis to destroy them. However,...
This can be seen in various ways. As of 2011, there were over 120,000 tribal homes lacking access to basic water sanitation services (EPA, 2012). Meaning that the health within the community is not at its best due to the poverty. The quality of life is also failing. The NCAI states that “More than 60% of the roads within the Indian Reservation Roads system are earth or gravel. Nearly a quarter of IRR bridges are classified as deficient” (NCAI, 2012). Also the Housing assistance council says “The percentage of homes that are overcrowded on reservations is 3-6 times higher than the percentage of overcrowded homes in the U.S. as a whole”. Native Americans also struggle in education due to poverty. Such as the Education Trust Statistics states that “Native students are the only student population that did not improve their reading and math testing scores in grades 4 and 8 from 2005-2011. High school graduation rates are also among the lowest of any population. In the states with the most American Indian and Alaska Native students, less than 50% of Native students graduate, on average”. The Bureau of Labor explains “Native Americans have the lowest employment rate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. In the poorest Native countries, only about 1/3 of men in Native American communities have full-time, year-round employment. Which means both education and employment
Most versions of Eve’s experiences in Eden before the fall are never truly explored, instead adhering strictly to the biblical text and focusing on her role in the fall. Milton, however, offers a radically different depiction of Eve. Her active involvement is not constrained only to her deception and fall. Milton goes beyond her portrayal in the Bible, depicting her prelapsarian role in Eden. While the hierarchical order of all creatures, including men and women, remains intact, Milton portrays an Eve who works directly alongside Adam. She is able to think and act for herself and exhibits her independence throughout the story. Milton’s Eve in Paradise Lost, then, is a feminist, rejecting
Paradise Lost is an epic poem portraying John Milton’s theological standpoints. The theme is knowledge and the fall of man. Milton uses his poem to state some of his theological beliefs and his personal reflections. Milton wrote Paradise Lost in the 17th century but uses influence from classic poets. Milton’s epic is an extremely important piece of literature. The excerpt used in this commentary takes on the subjects of sin and the punishment with regards to the atonement from God’s point of view. Milton’s states many of his own theological opinions but wants the reader to know that God is justified in everything that he does, and also wants them to know that man has free will.
With the constant notion of war in the neighboring situation, Katniss Everdeen reactions to her threats much differently than Harry Potter. As the Hunger Games contains a lot of futuristic elements, the society although as many innovative technologies, in the most part these technologies do not impact the people in the capitol or the districts. The only use of the common people of these advanced mechanisms is surveillance, as it control the separation of movement to prevent any alliances between the people. Hence, as Harry Potter is surrounded with his friends, Katniss is surrounded with the isolation of the
A designer must be able to make his or her work visually appealing so that consumers are more likely to consider making purchases. A designer must be able to understand what a consumer wants to be able to capture his or her desires. One must listen to the needs of his or her clients and be able to interpret that information into an original and unique design. Prospective designers must be flexible and must work quickly while paying attention to the details within their designs. A designer may have several projects at once and must be able to work diligently on these projects as to finish them in a timely manner, so as not to disappoint the customer. Despite seeming like a glamorous and easy career, majority of the time designers work long hours to make ends meet with their projects (Romano 64). A designer has to consider several thousands of different images and fonts to put into his or her work to make it more visually appealing to the customer. Designers consider the fonts, images, colors, and layouts to make sure that none of the items clash in a bad way. One must do all of this while also making sure not to intrude on any copyright laws. If a designer were to break a copyright law, he or she could be fined and sued for a very large sum of money. A designer could use pictures from public domain or even take pictures for themselves
The lack of competition for Harley-Davidson gave them a profitable advantage and they became quite successful with the sales of their motorcycles. However, by1969, Harley-Davidson experienced some financial hardships through losing ventures and was purchased by American Machine and Foundry Company(AMF). As time went on Honda and Kawasaki entered the U.S. market and by 1981 Japanese motorcycles were viewed as a high performance motorcycle that was also dependable. By 1987, Harley-Davidson was a publicly traded company that has removed its product line into four different styles with a unique engine. Their quality improved as well. Through all the hard times, Harley-Davidson faced they always seemed to bounce right back. (Strategic Management ,
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...
There are many burdens and there are many privileges that I encounter everyday. Some of the privileges that I encounter are more dominate than some privileges. And there are burdens that I encounter on a day to day basis that hinder me from saying my true feelings or saying my point of view in certain situations. These types privileges and burdens I believe can be a bad thing because you don’t experience apart of life that can be a great teacher and teach you many lessons that you cannot learn without experiencing some type of hardship.
The play Othello was littered with accusations and errors of many people. Some hurt one another for self benefit, some did for revenge, but some others were just plain stupid. Nobody stuck up for themselves as normal human beings should do in times of need, instead just sitting and taking it, letting the antagonist win the battles and eventually the war. All of this is true, but the primary example of stupidity in this book is the main character, Othello. Othello is hands down the dumbest character in the book, clearly not having the ability to use his head and get his facts straight in any shape or form. He is solely to blame for his own actions in the book because he lets Iago control his beliefs, he is overcome by jealousy, his love for Desdemona, and his goodness to people.
Suicide tourism involves a suicidal individual travelling within regional/residential sites to end their lives in synchronistic fashion. The phenomena is not new, but the sites are defined by the phenomena of travelers to a particular destination to end one’s life. Euthanasia tourism describes a irremediably or terminally-ill individual traveling out of region to non-residential places which lawfully sanction assisted suicide in asserting his/her right for a dignified death. The circumvential practice centralizes around the fact the individual cannot lawfully be assisted. The study’s research points to the conflation of suicide and euthanasia tourism, both in the lexicon and discursive practice. Beginning with the former, the lexicon had drastically changed between 2007-09. “Suicide Tourism in Manhattan, New York City, 1990-2004” discussed how “little research has studied “suicide tourism,” the phenomenon of out of town accompanied by suicide” (Gross et al. 2007, 755). A follow-up periodical by the Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health (2008) stated that the Gross et al. articles “[were] the first known report” (5) documenting the phenomena of suicide tourism . In 2009, the epistemology of suicide tourism transcribes around the lexicon of medical