Download Paradise Lost

John Milton’s
Paradise Lost
Source: John Geraghty’s Digital Facsimile Project
Mr. Adam Johnson
Senior English 2004-2005
Epic Poetry As a Classic
Literary Form
Examples:
Homer recorded first major epic poems: The
Iliad and The Odyssey
Virgil tells story of Rome’s founding in The
Aeneid
Dante describes Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory in
great detail in The Divine Comedy
John Milton gives account of Adam and Eve’s
expulsion from the Garden of Eden in Paradise
Lost
Why Write It?
Wanted to surpass previous epics
Deals with great deeds on a cosmic scale
Attempts to address the reason for sin and
suffering in the world: God is not responsible;
Adam and Eve “brought death into the world,
and all our woe.”
Asserts that God gave us free will, and we are
responsible for our choosing of evil
Why Write It?
Shows the struggle between good and evil
(goodness is not goodness without a
struggle to overcome evil)
Virtue is not virtue unless it is won in the
“dust and heat” of the conflict with evil.
Though Adam and Eve “lose,” they gain
the right to prove themselves.
Verse Style
Paradise Lost is written in blank verse
Unrhymed
iambic pentameter
Example: Paradise Lost
John Milton did not think that his poem had to
rhyme, since Classical poetry (e.g. The Iliad) did
not
You will notice when reading that perfect I.P. does
not always occur in Paradise Lost
I.P. and Paradise Lost
(Text from First 5 Lines of Bk. 1)
“ When I beheld the Poet blind, yet bold,
In slender Book his vast Design unfold
Messiah Crown'd, Gods Reconcil'd Decree,
Rebelling Angels, the Forbidden Tree,
Heav'n, Hell, Earth, Chaos, All; the Argument;”
Notice how there are 10 syllables in each line
To read correctly, emphasize every second
syllable
John Milton
Born on Dec. 9, 1609 in
London, England
Graduates from
Cambridge
with an M.A.
Completely blind by 1652
Paradise Lost published in 10-book form, 1667
Paradise Lost re-published in 12-book form, 1674
Dies, Nov. 1674
John Milton´s Times
1642-1649: English Civil War
King/Anglican
Clergy vs. Parliament (dominated by
Puritans)
Protestant Revolution (Death of King Charles I)
1649-1660: No British King
1649-1653:
Commonwealth
1653-1658: Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell
1660: Restoration (of King Charles II)
Paradise Lost – Leading Up to
the Beginning
At beginning of poem, war in Heaven has been
over for two weeks
For nine days, Satan and those who fought God
alongside him have been lying in Hell, stunned
at the outcome
The first character to move is Satan, who begins
by speaking to Beelzebub
Starts to sort of rally his troops
The Characters
Only Six major characters
Satan,
the leader of the fallen angels (now known as
devils)
Beelzebub, Satan´s closest friend/ally
God, God the Father
The Son, God the Son; also known as the Messiah,
Christ
Adam, The first man, living in Paradise
Eve, His wife, supposed to be under his control
Satan
Major Quote: "Better to reign in Hell then serve in Heav'n!"
The leader of the angels who were cast
from Heaven for eternity
His big entrance to the poem are lines 84191.
He is the focus of the section we’ll read.
Beelzebub
Satan’s best friend (“Lord of the Flies,”
Prince of Demons)
He is talking to Satan about a return to
Heaven for more fighting
Disappears after Book I
God The Father
Called the Father because of Holy Trinity:
The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit
Ruler of Heaven and Creator of Earth
It was he who cast Satan out