John Milton was an English writer and politician who lived during tumultuous times. He observed the English Civil War, its violence, and the execution of tyrant King Charles I of England. He also knew of the vicious 30 Years' War and its impacts on a ravaged Holy Roman Empire. Some of his views were controversial, but his most lasting achievement was his epic poem Paradise Lost.
Milton loved classical literature. His inspiration included The Odyssey by Homer and The Aeneid by Virgil, both epic poems. He mourned that no epic poem - or a poetic, 12-book story - had ever been originally written in English, so he decided to create his own.
Paradise Lost is an epic poem detailing the Christian creation story, with plot and thematic elements drawn from Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Paradise Lost takes the basic framework from the Bible story and adds Milton's own interpretation in the form of detailed characters and plots. The story follows the rebellion of Satan, the creation of the world, and finally the fall of mankind.
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First published in 1667, Paradise Lost gained fame quickly, and by the turn of the 18th century was considered a literary classic.
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Paradise Lost actually opens from Satan's perspective. Having just been cast out of Heaven for rebellion, Satan finds himself in a lake of fire, where he fumes over his defeat (Book I). He then gathers together all of his fellow fallen angels and they devise a plan. They will take their vengeance on God by tempting God's newest creation, mankind, to sin - and then God, who is the eternal judge, will have no choice but to also destroy his new beloved creation.
Satan convinces the other devils to let him be the one to leave Hell and travel to paradise to tempt mankind. On his way out of Hell, he meets Sin and Death, two personified characters (or characters who are the embodiment of an abstract idea). He learns that he is actually the creator of both - his rebellion yielded Sin, and his lust for sin yielded Death. Sin and Death agree to let him out of Hell if he allows them to feast on mankind after their fall (Book II).
As Satan approaches the earth, Milton shifts his narration to Heaven, where the reader observes God speaking with his Son (in Milton's version, the Son of God is a created angel adopted to be the Son of God; Milton was not a Trinitarian). Since Milton's character God is omnipotent, he can see everything in the past, the present, and the future. He knows that Satan will tempt mankind and decides to let him do so - but to prove his own glory, he will allow humanity an opportunity to repent, so that when humans die, they will enjoy paradise in Heaven instead of suffering in Hell. God asks for someone to volunteer to pay and die for the sins of mankind. The Son of God volunteers (Book III).
Satan, a shapeshifter, takes the form of an angel as he approaches earth. The brightness of the sun reminds him of the glory and happiness his rebellion lost him, and he rages about his punishment but also confesses that he feels no real remorse.
After he sneaks into the paradise designed for mankind, called The Garden of Eden, Satan observes Adam and Eve, the first humans. He learns that they are free to do whatever they please but have one commandment they must not disobey on punishment of death: They may not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan also listens to Eve describe the backstory of her creation from one of Adam's ribs and her temptation to love her own reflection more than Adam or God.
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Before long, Satan is discovered and thrown from the Garden, but he continues to wander the earth, looking for a way back in (Book IV).
God sends Raphael to warn Adam of Satan's presence and intended deception. Raphael informs Adam of how Satan rallied a third of Heaven's angels to rebel against God, gathered an army, and attempted to take the throne of God. Satan nearly succeeded before God sent his Son to destroy the army. Terrified of the Son's wrath, the angels threw themselves out of Heaven and into Hell out of a desire to escape it (Books V and VI).
Raphael then describes the creation of the world. After the destruction of a third of Heaven's angels, God wanted a new creation. For six days he worked, designing the earth and the Garden of Eden before he created Adam out of dust and gave him a companion in Eve. When Raphael has finished his message, he leaves Adam and Eve alone with the command to resist Satan's upcoming temptation to eat from the fruit of the forbidden tree. (Books VII and VIII).
Satan finds a way back into the Garden and possesses a snake to keep from being discovered. As he prepares to tempt the humans, Adam and Eve begin to argue. Eve, seeking to explore, wants to garden separately from Adam, and Adam, fearful of temptation, wants to stick together. Eve insists on leaving but agrees to meet Adam at noon.
While Eve is gone, the serpent comes to her, flatters her, and brings her to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He convinces her that eating the fruit will make her powerful but will not kill her. After she has eaten, the serpent slinks away and Eve's nature falls. Whereas before she was innocent and loving, now her character is conniving and cruel. She determines to share the fruit with Adam so she will have a companion in death. When she meets with Adam, he agrees to eat the fruit because he does not want to be given a new Eve after her death. After they have eaten of the fruit, they fall asleep, wake up, and argue away the last of their time in the Garden (Book IX).
God sends his Son to the Garden to judge the humans. They initially try to cover their sin but eventually admit to having eaten the fruit. He doles out punishments for everyone involved. Satan will forever retain the form of a serpent; Eve will suffer terrible pain during childbirth; Adam will only be able to provide food for his family through intense labor.
Sin and Death make their way from Hell, where Satan meets them and announces his success to all the other demons. In the meantime, God explains that the Son will offer redemption for all mankind, but for now the world will be in a fallen state full of disease and suffering. Finally, Eve apologizes to Adam and the two decide to repent and seek reconciliation with God (Book X).
God accepts the prayers of Adam and Eve but declares they must still leave the Garden. An angel approaches the humans and delivers the news and shows Adam a vision of what will happen on Earth until the flood of Noah (Book XI).
The angel then describes human events until the end of time: Abraham's covenant with God, the Son of God's birth as Jesus Christ and mankind's redemption through Christ, and the Second Coming. Finally, the angel promises Adam and Eve that even though they are required to leave the Garden, they will always have peace in their hearts if they choose virtue over vice. Adam and Eve leave the Garden hand in hand (Book XII).
Literary critics have long debated Milton's intended meaning in Paradise Lost. Milton wrote during the Reformation, or when Europe was dividing between Catholic and Protestant beliefs. Some Protestants, including the Calvinists and the Puritans, believed that all mankind's behaviors were predestined, or predetermined by God. Other Protestants, such as the Anglicans and the Lutherans, believed that mankind had free will, or that God did not force his creations to make certain choices.
There is evidence that Milton believed in both concepts - in fact, there are points where he seems to switch back and forth from page to page.
The meaning of Paradise Lost changes depending on whether Milton was a predestinarian or whether he supported free will doctrine. If he believed in predestination, then the meaning of the poem is that God is ultimately in charge of all events; escaping God-given fate is impossible, and finding peace is to accept one's fate.
If Milton believed in free will, then the meaning of the poem is that all creatures are responsible for their own choices and therefore cannot blame a higher authority for their suffering.
In dramatizing the short creation story of Genesis, Milton naturally had to add personality traits and specific strengths and flaws to the characters to make them more lifelike for a longer narrative.
Milton portrays Satan's character as a proud, resentful demon who constantly carries misery within him as a result of his rebellion. Literary critics debate whether Milton sympathized with Satan. Some historians argue that Milton intended God's character to be a tyrant-like figure, similar to King Charles I, since Milton argued for the King's execution. Other historians disagree and insist that the story of Satan's rebellion is one of warning, since Milton later argued that the English people had to either submit to a fair, rebuilt government after the English Civil War or face chaos.
Adam is an obedient character who falls into temptation, and Eve is portrayed as a weak-willed, deceitful character. Modern historians have criticized Milton's depiction of Eve, since his interpretation matches 17th-century perspectives of women as infantile, morally base, and prone to deceit.
One theme from Paradise Lost is free will. The theme of obedience is inherently included in a discussion of free will - are humans free to choose whether they will obey or disobey, or are their decisions predetermined by a higher power, the doctrine of predestination?
Revenge also serves as a central theme in Paradise Lost. After his fall from Heaven, Satan's character plots how to extract vengeance on God for his punishment. Ultimately, God chooses to redeem mankind but leaves Satan in an even more desperate position than before the demon enacted his revenge.
Another theme is pride. All characters vacillate between humility (recognizing their own mistakes) and pride (insisting they have never faltered). The characters who ultimately resist their pride (Adam and Eve) ultimately find happiness, while the characters who give into their pride (Satan and other demons) ultimately find misery.
"That to the highth of this great Argument/ I may... justify the ways of God to men."
John Milton describes his purpose in writing Paradise Lost in Book I of the epic poem.
"Nevertheless there be three principal things, without which all praising is but Courtship and flattery, First, when that only is prais'd which is solidly worth praise."
Milton discusses in a speech the way to avoid base flattery.
"As good almost kill a Man as kill a good Book; who kills a Man kills a reasonable creature... but hee who destroyes a good Booke, kills reason it selfe."
Milton discusses the dangers of destroying books.
Politician and writer John Milton wrote Paradise Lost to create an epic poem, or 12-book poetic narrative, for the English language. Paradise Lost narrates the Christian creation story from the book of Genesis and captures core debates from the Reformation regarding the question of free will or predestination (God-determined fate). First published in 1667, Paradise Lost is considered a classic by many modern literary critics.
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Paradise Lost has many themes: free will, obedience, revenge, and pride. The main theme Milton confronts in his writing is the question of free will or predestination, or whether or not humans make their own choices or whether they are fated.
Some historians argue that Milton sympathized with Satan, since there are parallels between Milton's character God and the tyrant King Charles I of England, whom Milton argued should be executed. Other historians argue that Milton intended for Satan to be an unsympathetic character, since the poem assigned the blame for Satan's misery to his own character, and since Milton argued that the English people should accept the new government after the English Civil War.
At the end of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve fall from their perfect states and are forced to leave the Garden of Eden. They must find a way to create happiness and peace in a fallen world.
In Paradise Lost, Milton was arguing that mankind is inherently fallen due to the fall of Adam and Eve. Mankind will naturally choose evil over good if given the choice.
The meaning of Milton's Paradise Lost changes depending on whether Milton ascribed to the doctrine of free will or the doctrine of predestination (God-given fate). If he believed in free will, the meaning of Paradise Lost is that humans cannot blame God for their poor choices. If Milton believed in predestination, the meaning of the poem is that no one can escape their God-assigned fate.
Paradise Lost follows the story of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The story describes the Christian creation story and mankind's fall.
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