Exploring the Role of Marriage in Paradise Lost
In his epic poem, Paradise Lost, John Milton addresses the role of woman and man within the institution of marriage. More specifically, he explores why such a bond is considered sacred within the context of his Protestant religion. The book of Genesis offers two guidelines for an ideal marriage, both exemplified in the relationship between Adam and Eve. The first account states, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2.24). A contextual reading gives the reader the impression that God encourages man and wife to pursue a spiritually enriched relationship, in which they share such intimate feelings that they seem to become a single person. The second account translates the word of God, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1.28). This statement asserts that procreation is an important aspect of an ideal marriage. Milton’s own account of Genesis within Paradise Lost, supports the first account, but does not discount the latter. Adam and Eve are the original parents of mankind, and do procreate within the Garden of Eden. However, Milton chooses to focus much more on the bond shared between them, instead of the results of their sexual relationship. Adam and Eve maintain a partnership that involves deep friendship and understanding for one other. Connecting with one another allows them to maintain a structured relationship without any confusion as to each role within the relationship. Concentrating on the bond between one another allows them this clarity, much like, in Protestant religion, a strong devotional relationship to God allows clarity within one’s life. In emphasizing the importance of t...
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According to Howard Gardner (1991), every individual is born with a certain intelligence or potential intelligence. It is unfair to teach and/or assess an individual with a standard guideline or benchmark. This is mainly because every individual possess a different intellectual strength and different kinds of mind that learn, perform and understand in a different ways which is difficult to be changed. If an individual cannot understand the way we communicate, we should communicate in the way they can understand. Howard Gardner (1983), in his Multiple Intelligence Theory, proposes that human intelligence has seven dimensions that should be acknowledged and developed by the encouragement of learning and self-development and
Milton’s theodicy is shown as a way to explain why if God is all loving, why he lets bad things happen to us. His basic concept is that because Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, many consequences came after. For example children dying of cancer. Many times in our lives things happen that we don’t think are good necessarily, but good things come from bad things. The choices we make have consequences and, but sometimes we are given trial for, what we believe, is no particular reason. This has been the question from the beginning. Milton decided to write this because it is on everyone 's mind, and he wanted to challenge Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey. Milton was successful, in that, his book is well known, but The Iliad and The Odyssey are still the basis of human thought. Everyone in their lifetimes wants to accomplish something that will help them to be more successful than they are now. This was Milton’s thought process. Who wouldn’t want to write a book and have it be considered the basis of human thought and maybe even the book people associate with our nation? Most people would, this is why Milton tried and somewhat had a success. The
...428). When Eve chooses the contrary to God's will she loses her innocence and original pleasant state, Adam follows suit and suffers equal consequences. This is humankind's tragic loss, after that first fall there is no hope to obtain that first perfect union with God. In man's current state union is only achieved through death, Milton says "I now must change/ Those notes to tragic; foul distrust, and breach/ Disloyal on the part of man, revolt/ And disobedience." (PL IX 5-8).
“Paradise Found and Lost” from Daniel J. Boorstin’s The Discoverers, embodies Columbus’ emotions, ideas, and hopes. Boorstin, a former Librarian of Congress, leads the reader through one man’s struggles as he tries to find a Western Passage to the wealth of the East. After reading “Paradise Found and Lost,” I was enlightened about Columbus’ tenacious spirit as he repeatedly fails to find the passage to Asia. Boorstin title of this essay is quite apropos because Columbus discovers a paradise but is unable to see what is before him for his vision is too jaded by his ambition.
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.
In Milton's Paradise Lost, the two images of sex in Books IV and IX sharply contrast one another in order to show the dichotomy of love and lust. The first act of sex is seen in Book IV and represents holy love. Before going into their bower, Adam and Eve make sure to praise God. This awe for their maker is seen when Adam and Eve "both stood,/Both turned, and under open sky adored/The God that made both sky, air, earth and Heav'n" (IV. 720-2). Even the heavens are in unison with Adam and Eve's love. While Eve decorates their "nuptial bed," there are "heaven'ly choirs" singing the "hymnenean sung" (IV. 709, -10). This love of Adam and Eve's is not "loveless, joyless, unendeared" but instead is "loyal, just, and pure" (IV. 766, 755). After their sacred act of sex, Adam and Eve are enraptured with joy and peace. They are "lulled by nightingales" and fall asleep naked, embracing one another (IV. 771). All is perfect in Paradise, but not for long.
Critics of the Romantic Period have claimed that John Milton was unconsciously allied with the forces of evil. In Paradise Lost Milton’s accounts of “Devils & Hell” are much more elaborate and awe inspiring than those of “Angels & God.” Hell and Satan are portrayed extensively whereas the reader is given brief and inconclusive glimpses of Heaven. The apparent dichotomy is explained by William Blake: “The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & Gods, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil’s Party without knowing it.”
Howard Gardner, a professor of human development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education described human cognitive competence as sets of abilities, talents, or mental skills, also called intelligences. He believed that all individuals possess each of these skills to some extent. However, every individual differs in the degree of skill and the nature of their combination (73-74). Howard Gardner is best known for his theory of Multiple Intelligences which proposed that there are several different kinds of intelligences rather than just one. He emphasized that
The short stories “Souls Belated” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” have in common ‘Marriage’ as main theme. However, the marriage is treated quite differently in both short stories. In "Souls Belated", Lydia chooses to take control of her destiny, to deviate from conventions and to choose what is good for her. She is the strongest character of the couple. Whereas, in "The Yellow Wallpaper", the name of the main character who is also the narrator of the story is not known. She is identified as being John’s wife. This woman, contrary to Lydia in "Souls Belated" is completely locked up in her marriage. This essay will first describe and compare the characters of Lydia and John's wife in the context of marriage, and then it will look at how marriage is described, treated and experienced by couples in these two short stories.
The novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is an amazing example of what not to do in a marriage, the novel also speaks about topics that revolves around marriage like trust,control ,fidelity ,lies , revenge ,and manipulation.The novel starts off with the story of the perfect two and it shows how fast a marriage can fall apart.This novel shows couples to be honest with each other and to communicate,the husband in the novel starts losing the love he had for his wife and he lets it win him over.
Marriage is ‘Juno’s crown,’ the manifestation of heavenly authority. Without marriage, heaven seems less empowered. This point is restated in the second line, where we discover how the ‘bond of board and bed’ empowers those who marry with divine blessing. Indeed, we discover that marriage is ubiquitous, as Hymen ‘peoples every town.’ This line carries a double meaning, as it also signifies how reproduction is divinely sanctioned only under the auspices of marriage. Such a spiritually important bond is thus appropriately considered a sacrament – hence ‘High wedlock then be honorèd.’ The final couplet then takes a step beyond the context of the Christian world, and claims that marriage is a universally recognized good. It is honored and renown throughout ‘every town.’ Even within the pagan tradition, marriage merits divine representation, for its pervasive ability to unite people spiritually and strengthen the community politically. At the conclusion of As You Like It, Hymen’s presence seems to give spiritual significance to the frivolity and coquettishness that has set the tone of the rest of the story. This mystical, pagan figure simultaneously teaches the gravity and the joy that is inherent in the act of loving, and why marriage is its most pure and universal
While this theory does explain my own development from the influence of the decisions made during my undergraduate studies, Stage 2 and Stage 5 allowed me to develop a better sense of myself and how my moral evolved. By applying my parents’ decision to my own goals and achievements, I learned from areas where it failed me before. I moved onward from the decisions created and identified my own aspects and beliefs from my parents’ morals. In return, I grew into a bigger aspect of myself and learned. As I reflect back on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and my own personal cognitive development during my undergraduate years until today, I can say that there might be conflicting aspects that impacted my development and growth. In Stage 1, while it was easy for me to understand my parents’ decision, it failed to describe the conflicting decisions I had to make moving onward to Stage 2. While Stage 3 and Stage 5 were more easily acknowledged, I felt that the theory did not describe my development as a whole. There were certain parts of the theory that were accurate, Kohlberg’s theory allowed some room for error in being generalizable toward the student
In the opening lines of Paradise Lost, Milton wastes no time conveying to his readers what his purpose in writing the epic is. He writes in the beginning that he intends to “assert Eternal Providence, / and justifie the wayes of God to men” (I. 25-26). What exactly does this mean though? In order to be able to clearly judge and evaluate what these lines imply, it is important that one understands what exactly Milton’s thoughts we regarding “Eternal Providence” and the “wayes of God”. Stemming from this idea, it is important to also realize how the idea of free will intertwines with the omniscience of God. For Milton, God’s omniscient did not constrain the free will of Adam and Eve. However, this idea presents the reader with a paradoxical situation that Milton as an author was fully aware of. Paradise Lost presents the reader with eternal providence and free will as being part and parcel of each other, neither constrains the other, and it is these two aspects, along with that of knowledge that lay the groundwork in understanding Paradise Lost.
Multiple intelligences can give educators a variety of different ways to instruct. Thus, helping to provide students an opportunity to meet their own special needs and increase their proficiency and development. According to Thomas Armstrong "MI theory essentially encompasses what good teachers have always done in their teaching: reaching beyond the text and the blackboard to awaken students' minds" (p. 56).
From this research Gardner’s multiple intelligence therapy was created. The multiple intelligence theory is based on the belief that everyone succeeds in at least one of the eight types intelligence, linguistic, mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal and naturalist. Each intelligence different from the other, however one person can strive at multiple intelligences or simply strive at one intelligence. Once Gardner released his book “frame of minds” in 1983 (Gardner’s multiple intelligence) the educational outlook on student’s success started to transform. With a new understanding that each student is different educationally then it became clear that students obtain education differently as well, the modern day class room transformed to fit each