Paradise Lost by John Milton

*contains spoilers*

Before I say anything in this blog about John Milton’s Paradise Lost, it must be noted that John Milton was quite the writer, and that he was especially a talent in his youth – several of his essays and poems were published to rapturous acclaim whilst he was still studying at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and in his second year at Cambridge, he addressed the first years with a speech written entirely in Latin. Indeed, he’d go on to master Italian, Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, Anglo-Saxon and Aramaic – and a spot of Dutch. After graduating with a master’s degree and continuing his studies in private, Milton went on to marry Mary Powell, with whom he had a fractious relationship, and eventually Powell deserted Milton. From this incident derives Milton’s progressive Christian attitude regarding the church’s strict policies on marriage and divorce, and from this incident we can also draw the inherent patriarchy that consumes Paradise Lost. Of course, the piece should be taken as a relic of a certain time, reflecting the society in which it was written – a theocratic and thus patriarchal one, you could say – and this must be taken into account when considering this very disconcerting fact: Paradise Lost does not regard women highly.

Now, I’ll come back to this controversial point once I deal with the character of Satan. The story is pretty much taken from the bones of the Book of Genesis, and initially concerns Satan’s defiance of God (who basically requires worshipping, constantly) and Satan’s need to be set free, as well as the ambiguous nature of good and evil, and the questions that arise from the difficult decisions made by those seeking some brand new sense of freedom – Adam and Eve included in this equation. The text is a beautifully winding construction, as each book deals with elements consequentially, and then sometimes abstractly, but still framed neatly and cogently within a logical sequence of twelve books (which itself references the twelve books that make up Virgil’s poetic epic, The Aeneid). At one point we see, having been addressed by Milton’s omniscient voice explaining Satan’s fall (along with his followers – also, who knew Beelzebub was his deputy…?), the angel Raphael sitting down with Adam to continue telling the story so that all are brought up to speed – and this narrative persists for several books – the reader included. Milton elicits from the reader a deep sense of pathos in his description of Satan, as Satan wonders, “…but other powers as great / Fell not, but stand unshaken…” (Book IV, Lines 63/4). In being created by God, and therefore a representation of God, is Satan’s defiance not an essence of God? And in his greatness, as in others, why is it he and not they that have fallen? What is it in them that is not in him? Or what is it in him that others of his equal greatness lack, and why is he being punished for this otherness? Satan feels rejected, and following man’s creation, man being the creature most favoured by God, he wonders if “heaven’s free love [is] dealt equally to all?” (Book IV, Line 68) Thus we see Satan “recovered sad” (Book IV, Line 357), as he spots from afar God’s preferred pair of creatures settling down for sleep at sunset in Paradise.

Let me just digress and talk about the presentation of the text itself. Milton composed this piece of non-rhyming iambic pentameter magic whilst blind from old age. It was necessary, therefore, for Milton to dictate this dense epic to several willing (and some unwilling) contributors – his daughters included – and, as Milton stated in his introduction, he found rhyme “no necessary adjunct or true ornament of poem or good verse” and “the invention of a barbarous age”, using instead the form of the translated works of Homer and Virgil as testament that a piece of text without rhyme is “English heroic verse”. There are, however, moments of rhythmical and rhyming beauty, most notably as Satan professes his tragic lamentation of God’s rejection;

            O hell! What do mine eyes with grief behold,

Into our room of bliss thus high advanced

Creatures of other mould… (Book IV, Lines 358/60)

As Milton introduces Adam and Eve, we see Milton pondering the philosophy of his age, as Eve reflects on the sleep from which she arose; “That day I oft remember, when from sleep / I first awaked…much wondering where / And what I was, whence thither brought, and how.” (Book IV, Lines 449/52) In fact, it is Satan and Eve who share that connection of taking the initiative to ponder their existence and their place in the world created for them, whilst Adam is encouraged to learn with the help of the angel Raphael and with the affirmation of God. It is telling, however, that whilst Adam and the angel Raphael engage in their philosophical exchange, Eve considers it too “high” and saunters off to prune the bushes in the Garden of Eden. The overbearing patriarchal essence of the text is even explicitly proclaimed as Milton has Adam attempt to assert some sort of “firmness” with Eve, so that she prepares herself sufficiently so as to resist Satan’s temptation. Of course, as Eve rejects Adam’s assertions, she succumbs to Satan’s deceit and is satiated by the delicious Fruit of Knowledge. This comes about as Eve, obviously too ditsy to realise the danger she is in, suggests that Satan will be too proud a force to “first the weaker seek” (Book IX, Line 383). The message here is that she should have listened to her man…

One does not read Paradise Lost without noticing the paradoxes. Of course, how could evil exist in a world so perfect, which a god so omnipotent as He created? And how could two innocents be accused of wrongdoing if the concept of “wrong” never even existed before their transgression? One can only truly understand once one has experienced, no matter how much one is told – so how on earth are Adam and Eve to blame? And why would a God so incredibly smart place two innocents in a garden with a tree, called the Tree of Knowledge, with the most delicious fruit, called the Fruit of Knowledge and not expect even a little transgression? God’s actions are the actions of a sadist, and it is Eve who is left to beg and pray for Adam’s forgiveness in the end, thus justifying the subjugation of women for centuries to come. It is also for this original sin that we as a people must all beg to god for forgiveness, and even Milton questions the veracity of this notion; “Ah, why should all mankind / For one man’s fault thus guiltless be condemned…how can they then acquitted stand / In sight of God?” (Book X, Lines 822/8)