British Literature - Miltons Paradise Lost - Essay Example

Milton’s Paradise Lost Paradise Lost, the epic poem of Milton, portrays the story of Adam and Eve. It also depicts the intriguing character of Satan who was an angel named Lucifer and sent to Hell along with his followers owing to the war that he waged against God. Adam and Eve, who were created by God, lost their place in Paradise or the Garden of Eden when Eve was enticed by Satan at the outset and consumed the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge followed by Adam. Due to their disobedience, they were destined to face death and pain upon their fall from the Paradise. Sexism Milton’s misogyny has been the focus of various critics in literature as he exhibited unconcealed and deliberate hatred against women, which can be accounted as one of the reasons for which Eve has been manifested as inferior to Adam and expressed in the following lines when Adam asked God: “O! why did God, Creator wise! That Peopl’d highest Heaven with spirits masculine, create at last, this Novelty on Earth, this fair defect of Nature? And not fill the world at once with men, as Angels without Feminine? (10: 881-89). These thoughts clearly revealed as if Milton had achieved the patent to hold Eve entirely responsible for the sin of disobeying the order of God. The character of Eve was not that of her own as she was created from a part of the body of Adam. Although, women of today can express their righteous anger and resentment towards the portrayal of Eve, it can be said that the social milieu during the time of Milton was responsible for her character being typified as weak when compared to that of Adam to a certain extent. It is true that Milton’s description of the relationship between Adam and Eve succinctly touches the tones of synchronization; however, the coordination is largely based on inequalities between them. The explanations bear clarified testimonies to Milton’s conception of heterosexual love in his times as he has always preferred to mention the society which was essentially patriarchal in nature although his explanations have also remained nebulous in certain instances. Therefore, the sexism or inequality between Adam and Eve is also revealed in his depiction of Eve and her dual crime towards God and Adam (Corns 71-73). There are various instances in Paradise Lost in which the sexist tendencies of Milton are more blatant and compatible with Bible: “For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man” (11:7-9; Corns 72). Although, it can be understood that the sexism of Milton was propelled by the maxims of the patriarchal society, it cannot be denied that such tendencies were put forth through the platform of Paradise Lost, which exposed the association and affiliation of man and woman from the point of creation. Therefore, the inequality depicted by Milton in this long narrative poem in several occasions, the inherent attraction between Adam and Eve and Adam’s inquisitiveness about Eve challenges his sexist attitude and makes it a mere tool for the portrayal of these characters. Portrayal of Satan Satan is arguably the hero or the major protagonist of Paradise Lost and the portrayal of his character is profoundly interesting. Milton begins with a depiction of Satan as the leading man in the beginning and his transformation into a serpent showed the poet’s power of artifice while composing this long narrative poem. Paradise Lost has gained infinite fascination owing to the trickery and wiles of Satan, which balanced the actions of other characters including Adam, Eve, God and his son. With evil personified and meant to be such, Satan has attracted enthusiasts over decades. The physical transformations of Satan in different phases of Paradise Lost convey that there is extreme lack of integrity in his physical and emotional existence (Fuller, 51-53). It is beyond doubt that Satan’s emotional state is spiteful and malicious throughout his depiction in Paradise Lost although it is not clear when related to his real existence. Thus, sometimes he is the “stripling Cherub” (3: 636) and “like the wolf” in other times (4: 183) (Fuller, 52). The devolution of Satan as the strong-minded demon in Book I of Paradise Lost to the serpent in Book X is symbolical and incorporated his state of mind, which is also the general perception of most readers. He was certainly not meant to be the hero that he seemed to be towards the beginning and there should not be an element of awe when he was punished by God and turned into a serpent as he was lonely despite being surrounded by a host of demons. It is perhaps the confusion and the complication on the one hand about his change of being and his colossal stature and power of convincing the devils to continue the war with God is what overshadows his evilness initially and the acuity of the readers make him the hero. In all proportions, his devolution is apparent and it is also the dexterity of Milton that has engaged readers and critics for analyzing Satan over the years. Good and Evil Milton’s concept of good and evil is perceptible and evident in more ways than one. As a matter of fact, Milton was dedicated to the principles of the church and it came out in his writing, as well. Although, it seems orthodox, but the intentions are well understood when the time frame is kept in perspective. Adam and Eve are aware of good and evil from the beginning when Raphael warns them about the malevolent intentions of Satan and to avoid his persuasion and lures for the establishment of true good (Tanner 80-81). It could not be that God symbolized everything that is good for he must have conceptualized evil in order to construct good. Thus, the creation of Satan and subsequently the execution of his evil actions clearly reveals that there is no existence of good without evil as expressed in the following lines: “a Universe of death, which God by curse / created evil, for evil only good” (2: 622-23). While creating happiness and benevolence, God himself could not stop his creation of the enemy. Therefore, Eve was tempted by the demon to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Similarly, it cannot be denied that Satan chose the path of self destruction owing to his lack of acceptance of the good that also embarked the road to evil. Thereafter, Raphael’s consistent warnings to Adam and Eve about the evil intentions of Satan could not be interpreted by Adam even when Raphael said: “something so unimaginable as hate in Heav’n/ And war so near the seat of God in bliss” (7: 54-55). This expression stupefied Adam to such an extent that the impending evil actions of Satan about which Raphael mentioned with deepest hint fell flat and Eve was tempted by the demon. However, it can also be said that being an angel who was not familiar with evil, Raphael’s warnings were not as effective as they should have been and saved Adam and Eve from disobeying the orders of God or the Creator. But God exhibited clemency and compassion by allowing Adam and Eve to choose pain and death to regain Paradise once again, which also restores the adage of righteousness and Milton’s intention of showing the justification of the ways of God towards mankind. References Corns, Thomas. Regaining Paradise Lost, New York: McMillan, 1994 Fuller, Elizabeth. Milton’s Kinesthetic Vision in Paradise Lost, London: Associated Press, 1983 Milton John. Paradise Lost, NY: Cambridge, 1667 Tanner, John S. Anxiety in Eden: A Kierkegaardian Reading of Paradise Lost, New York: OUP. Read More