Paradise Lost Research Paper

Thesis: The boundaries of knowledge and the capacity for humans to know is limited in Paradise Lost both because only God is omniscient and there is no point for Adam to understand more than what Raphael is telling him. The want to know or to gain knowledge is compared to an appetite in Paradise Lost. Milton says, “knowledge is as food and needs no less her temperance over appetite to know, in measure what the mind may well contain, oppresses else with surfeit and soon turns wisdom to folly” (216). Adam continues to question the archangel Raphael because gaining knowledge is like eating food, and humans need food to survive. Therefore, the desire to know more is inherent and it is just as essential to humans as it is to eat. It is difficult for Adam’s curiosity to be fulfilled because it is in his nature to always want to know more. This inherent need ultimately leads to the disobedience and fall of Adam and Eve because they go beyond the boundaries of human knowledge …show more content…
Raphael answers many of Adams questions because the story of the creation is not a secret and he can understand the details to a certain extent. Paradise Lost explains that there are things, “that are unknown and which humans knowledge cannot reach” (214). Raphael will explain all of the earthly parts of the creation story to Adam with no hesitation, but when he persists to ask about Heaven next, the archangel becomes more wary because much of this detail is beyond Adam’s comprehension. Milton writes that there are, “things above earthly thought which yet concerned our knowing” ( ). Meaning, humans should settle for trying to understand what there is to know on earth and not worry about what knowledge is to be gained by knowing about Heaven. It is both impossible and unnecessary to try and comprehend everything because then humans would be omniscient, or all knowing, and only God can