Christmas In John Milton's Paradise Lost

I can still remember my first Christmas knowing Santa was not real. The magic and enjoyment I had felt was no longer there. My entire perspective of Christmas, from opening presents to seeing Santa with my sister, had changed due to my new knowledge that Mom and Dad actually were buying my new scooter. Similarly, in Milton’s Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve lose the pure trust, acceptance, and joy provided by everything God had given to them in Eden. After eating from the Tree of Knowledge, they begin to doubt the fullness and truth of God’s creations. The fall of Adam and Eve proves that perception is a result of our experiences as God’s creations appear less perfect after sin enters the world. After the Fall, darkness is seen as gloomy and negative, not as a source of happiness and celebration. God plans for Adam and Eve to accept and enjoy the darkness, as there was only darkness before light and God was satisfied. When He creates light, it is “sprung from the Deep” (7.245) and the angels celebrate “when the first evening was” (7.260). After falling, Adam’s sense of acceptance and joy changes, becoming more difficult to fulfill. Instead of revering the pleasures of darkness like God and His angels, Adam and Even can not fathom praising the …show more content…
In the beginning, the earth “[seems] like to Heaven, a seat where gods might dwell.” (7. 329) with “fruits and flowers...gladlier [growing]” (8. 44-47) Adam and Eve love this aspect of creation as they enjoy so much vegetation they do not know how to put it all to good use. Ironically, this was one of the biggest problems Eve and Adam faced in the Garden of Eden. After the Fall, however, they must suffer through eating from the now barren land, as God curses the vegetation (10. 201). The activities they once found joyful, like eating and gardening, become a reminder of their sins against