Love And Gender Identity In John Milton's Paradise Lost

A theme is the core of a central importance and often the universal idea that is explored throughout a piece of literature. In Paradise Lost, the importance of obedience to God is one of the main themes that shapes Adam and Eve and their different roles when focusing on gender identities. Milton uses Adam and Eve’s disobedience to further illustrate why Satan was rebellious and to educate why Jesus’ resurrection was important. Throughout the poem, two moral paths come from disobedience. One being, redemption of Adam and Eve and the other, increasing sin and degradation by Satan. In Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, Milton represents love and gender identities. He uses the gender identities of Adam and Eve when describing the importance of obedience to God. By emphasizing their different roles and their forms of disobedience, Milton preserves Adam’s intellectual and moral superiority. Adam and Eve were the first humans to show disobedience toward God. Throughout …show more content…
Love in this time period is centered around male and female love. Adam and Eve’s emotional, sexual, and romantic love is a major symbol that is established during the poem. Adam and Eve’s love for each other is important to Milton. Love comes with many aspects. One being, equality. However, the love that Adam and Eve share is nothing close to equal. The way Milton illustrates the love between Adam and Eve, provides Milton’s opinions about two people being compatible and going through weaknesses and strengths together. The love that exists between Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost, is romantic but also sexual. In the beginning of the poem, they demonstrate love in the sense of spirituality and celebration. As the poem continues, the act of love that happens between Adam and Eve is not because they have a mutual love for each other, it is because they share the same guilt. In this situation, it was more lust rather than love between the two main