Milton

(3) Milton is showing a Puritan’s revolt against the dictator & against the established doctrines of the Catholics & the Anglican Church. This alone is sufficient to prove that Milton’s revolutionary feelings made him forsake religious orthodoxy.
(2) The angels who surrounded the God are stupid. They never seem to have any opinions of their own, and they never think of expressing any opinions of their own. This image of God surrounded by such angels resembles the court of an absolute monarch.
(4) the creation of the earth and of Adam and Eve; (5) the fallen angels in hell plotting against God; (6) Satan’s temptation of Eve, and (7) the departure of Adam and Eve from Eden.
(3) Apparently with Satan & his followers as his mouthpiece, Milton is uttering his intense hared of tyranny in the capacity of the Revolutionary. By depicting Satan & his followers as well as their fiery utterance & brave actions,
Paradise Lost
(1667)
Introduction
--- Paradise Lost is Milton’s masterpiece. It is a long epic written in blank verse in 1663 & published in 1667. It is divided into 12 books.
--- The poem goes on to tell how Satan took revenge by tempting Adam & Eve, the first human beings created by God, to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge against God’s instructions. For their disobedience, Adam & Eve were driven out of paradise.
The Character of Satan
(1) According to the logic of the argument that Milton gives at the outset of Paradise Lost, Satan is the spirit of evil. He is a rebel, a plotter. He is the spirit questioning the authority of God.
(3) He is firmer than the rest of the angels. He is resourceful & courageous. It is he who, passing the guarded gates & boundless chaos, and across so many obstacles, makes man revolt against God.
(3) Physically he is defeated, but spiritually he triumphs. To Milton, the proud and somber Satan represented the spirit of rebellion against unjust authority.
Biblioteka Baidu
(3) Satan is by far the most striking character in the poem, who rises against God & though defeated, still seeks for revenge. Satan & his followed, who freely discuss all issues in council, remind us of a republican Parliament.
Plot
• The stories were taken from the Bible, The Old Testament: (1) the creation; (2) the rebellion in Heaven of Satan and his fellow-angels; (3) their defeat and expulsion from Heaven;
B. Revolution (from 1640 to 1660): - taking part in the English Revolution, - using his pen as weapons, - writing political pamphlets.
C. Writing (from 1660 to 1674) - two epics (Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained) - a poetical drama (Samson Agoniste).
--- They were sorry for what they had done & prayed to God. In the last book they were given the hope for redemption. The poem ended with Adam & Eve walking away from Paradise, hand in hand, and the gates of Eden were closed behind them.
--- In Heaven, Satan led a rebellion against God. Defeated, he & his rebel angels were cast into Hell. However, Satan refused to accept his failure, vowing that “all is not lost”, and that he would seek revenge for his downfall.
John Milton
(1608—1674)
Life & Work
--- His lifetime can be divided into 3 periods: A.Study (from his boyhood to 1640): - receiving education, - writing shorter poems, - traveling (the Ground Tour).
(4) It is this longing for knowledge that opens before mankind a wide road to intelligent & active life. It has been noted by many critics that Milton’s revolutionary feelings made him forget religious orthodoxy.
(2) In Milton’s words, the purpose of writing the epic is to “justify the ways of God to men”, i.e. to advocate submission to the Almighty. But after reading it, one gets his impression that the main idea of the poem is a revolt against God’s authority.
Style • His diction is a combination of plain English & classical Latin -- stately, sonorous and yet essentially simple. It is the “grand ” style.
Characterization
(1) (When he gets to the Garden of Eden, he can see no reason why Adam & Eve should not taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge).
(2) Yet in spite of himself, Milton was in deep sympathy with Satan. Milton was a rebel, too, challenging alike the authority of King & Church. So reading between the lines, we can see that Satan is the real hero of the poem. Like a conquered & banished giant, he is obeyed & admired by those who follow him down to hell.
Theme
(1) The theme is the “Fall of Man”, i.e., man’s disobedience & the loss of paradise, with its prime cause— Satan.
(1) It is about how Adam & Eve are tempted by Satan to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, and how they are punished by God & driven out of paradise.
(1) In the poem God is no better than a cruel & selfish despot, seated on a throne with a chorus of angels about him, singing songs to praise him. His long speeches are not pleasing at all. He is cruel & unjust in punishing Satan.
Style • The poem was written in blank verse which was already made familiar by Marlowe and Shakespeare. But in Milton’s hands, it became a magnificent organ-music.
(4) Adam & Eve embody Milton’s belief in the powers of man. Their craving for knowledge, as Milton stresses, adds a particular significance to their characters. God denied them craving for knowledge.