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Analysis of paradise lost by John Milton
Paradise lost john Milton critical analysis
Paradise lost john Milton critical analysis
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Throughout the text of Milton’s Paradise Lost, we can see many instances of binary relationships connecting separate conceptual ideas. The construction of "authorship" in the poem exists as a good example of just such a relationship. This theme incorporates two very different ideas in the poem, and is central to the understanding of issues concerning the creation and use of power.
The attention Milton gives to each character, and their specific personality, allows us to interpret their actions as consciously chosen deeds within the larger framework of the poem. Great detail is given to the idea of "creation". Beyond that of the creation of the world in Book I, there are many instances where the act of creation itself becomes an act of endowing power on some object or person. The most obvious example would be the creation of Adam and Eve by God. By creating the pair, God, desires them to glorify His ways through their praises and deeds. He gives them enough power over their destiny to choose to worship Him as the Almighty. The fact that they have free will is important to God because they choose to give Him praise despite any outside temptation. There is one obvious drawback to this kind of power. They chose to follow Satan’s beguiling words. The fact that they had the free will to follow Satan’s words meant that their decision was cosmically more important because it was arrived at through conscious thought. We can see this idea of power demonstrated throughout Paradise Lost. The dual relationship between the beneficial act of bestowing power at the time of creation and the negative side of the free will to use that power freely, shows up within every character. Instances of creation appear in every book, and can be associated with every character. Some of the first appearances of the word "author" are connected with the idea of creation. In Book III, the throngs of assembled angels say,"Eternal King, the Author of all being/Fountain of light, thyself invisible/..." (III, 376-7) Here God is portrayed as the great originator of everything in all of creation. To be the "author" of something is to be the creator, much the same way as Milton himself is creating the world of the poem. In virtually every instance the act of "authoring", is associated with images of primacy and legitimacy. The ultimate act of creation, that of shaping the physical world itself, brings about another reference to this idea.
In his time Hannibal was a Carthaginian general revered for his prowess as a tactician and is still studied today. He learned to fight, outthink his enemies and garnered much of his animosity towards the Romans from his father Hamilcar Barca who fought against Rome in the First Punic War. After his father’s death, Hannibal succeeded him as general to the Carthaginian army at the age of 23. Hereafter he spent two years solidifying his position and gathering support before carrying out an assault on Sanguntum. He later came to be known as one of Rome’s greatest adversaries when he led a campaign against the Romans in 219 B.C.E.
The seat of faith resides in the will of the individual and not in the leaning to our own reasoning, for reasoning is the freedom of choosing what one accepts as one’s will. In considering the will was created and one cannot accuse the potter or the clay, Milton writes to this reasoning, as “thir own revolt,” whereas the clay of humankind is sufficient and justly pliable for use as a vessel of obedience or disobedience (3.117). The difficulty of this acceptance of obedience or disobedience is inherent in the natural unwillingness in acknowledging that we are at the disposal of another being, even God. One theme of Paradise Lost is humankind’s disobedience to a Creator, a Creator that claims control over its creation. When a single living thing which God has made escapes beyond the Creator’s control this is in essence an eradicating of the Creator God. A Creator who would create a creature who the Creator would or could not control its creation is not a sovereign God. For who would not hold someone responsible for manufacturing something that could not be controlled and consider it immoral to do so? To think that God created a universe that he has somehow abdicated to its own devices is to accredit immorality to the Creator. Since the nucleus of Milton’s epic poem is to “justifie the wayes of God” to his creation, these ‘arguments’ are set in theological Miltonesque terms in his words (1. 26). Milton’s terms and words in Paradise Lost relate the view of God to man and Milton’s view to the reader. Views viewed in theological terms that have blazed many wandering paths through the centuries to knot up imperfect men to explain perfect God.
“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health.” Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2010. Print.
Hannibal was a great leader and had very good military strategies and tactics. He was smart and adaptive when things didn’t go as planned. If he had a bigger army and and resources to use his army would have been unstoppable. Hannibal was and will always be known as one of the world’s most famous leaders.
Hank Aaron was a famous baseball player who was respectful to his teammates and his fans. His nickname was “Hammerin’ Hank”. At one time he led the league in the most home runs. He was born in a poor family and then grew up to be a great professional baseball player. He became one of the most admired baseball players in Major League history.
You are in college, you are at a party, and you are drunk. You, and the people around you, know you are drunk by your disorientated behavior but do they know what is causing you to act in this manner? Most likely not. Most people do not think about what the alcohol inside them is doing, the only thing they are worried about is the buzz that they get from it. Moderate drinking is alright but drinking excessively can wear out the body. Three important things to know about alcohol are how it enters and leaves the body, the effects of alcohol, and how the body responds to alcohol.
Roger E. Meyer writes this article to explain the effects of alcohol and how it affects the body. Once alcohol is taken into the body it is absorbed from the stomach and the small intestine and into the bloodstream. If too much alcohol is taken in the stomach may secrete a mucous that will slow absorption. One tenth of the alcohol exits form the body as sweat or urine, as the rest is slowly broken down by the body. This article and information can be helpful to me because it will give me a background and information on alcohol and what happens when one consumes it.
Alcohol is a depressant causing the nervous system to slow down. When the nervous system slows down you lose coordination, reaction time, and you will be unaware of your surroundings. Once you take a sip of alcohol, it enters your stomach through your small intestine. When it reaches the small intestine, the small blood vessels transport it to your bloodstream. The alcohol will soon reach your brain being a depressant to your body. This is when you start to feel intoxicated and your body starts to slow down. Alcohol can stay in one’s body up to six hours depending on what you drink and your weight. (MedicineNet. com, Page
Hannibal, a Carthaginian general and one of the greatest generals that ever lived was renown for his strategies and courageousness, such as crossing the Alps and using the "bottleneck strategy" at Lake Trasemene. He used strategies that a lot of generals at this time, especially Roman generals, would never think of and in doing this he almost destroyed the Roman republic.
In order for me to understand the effects of alcohol I began researching how it affects a person from the time they consume a drink and how quickly it enters the blood stream. To define Alcohol it is known as ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, ethanol, fermentation alcohol. A colorless, limpid, volatile, flammable water-miscible liquid. The effect is intoxication from fermented liquors, produced by yeast fermentation or certain carbohydrates. Alcohol is normally consumed through the mouth it then passes to the stomach. While in the stomach a small amount of the alcohol will become absorbed into the bloodstream. The rest that is consumed then ...
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.
Furthermore, drinking alcohol can effect badly in person’s health. Also, it can make damage to the person’s brine. According to pubs.niaaa.nih.gov alcohol can affect the brine by making difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, and impaired memory (NIAAA, 2004).
People who drink know that the next morning when they wake up they are going to have a hangover and just accept it. You feel awful your head is killing you and you have this obnoxious urge to throw up. Not many people know what a hanger actually is. “It takes the body one hour to metabolize one drink and process it through your body” ("There 's A Scientific Reason Why). The more you drink the worse you are going to feel the next day. Your body can only break down a certain amount of alcohol. Once you drink past that limit and become drunk you are going to have a hangover. What actually causes a hangover” is the toxic chemical acetaldehyde flushes into our blood stream, basically poisoning our systems” ("There 's A Scientific Reason Why). Hangovers do not feel well for a reason, therefore they are not healthy to have all the time. Having a hangover makes you not want to do your everyday life responsibilities due to the fact of you feeling completely horrible. Having a hangover means you are dehydrated and nauseas, which are not
Milton. New York: Norton, 1957. Elledge, Scott, ed., pp. 113-117. Paradise Lost: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources.
Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton uses various tools of the epic to convey a traditional and very popular Biblical story. He adds his own touches to make it more of an epic and to set forth new insights into God's ways and the temptations we all face. Through his uses of love, war, heroism, and allusion, Milton crafted an epic; through his references to the Bible and his selection of Christ as the hero, he set forth a beautifully religious Renaissance work. He masterfully combined these two techniques to create a beautiful story capable of withstanding the test of time and touching its readers for centuries.