John Milton

To obey or not to obey Living in the 17th century England, a period when new capitalism and imperialism was first introduced, weakening the position of religion, especially that of Christianity, John Milton was concerned about people losing their faith and free will to exercise their religious believes. Free will, according to the dictionary, is the ability to make choices that are not controlled by fate or God. Milton’s epic poems, Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes, argue that God gave human…

of their civilizations. However, both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and John Milton’s Paradise Lost discuss the dangers of knowledge. In Paradise Lost, fruit from the Tree of Knowledge causes the fall of man and introduces humanity to sin. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s thirst for knowledge leads to the creation of a monster and causes great despair for him and his entire family. However, even though both Shelley and Milton present their audiences with the dangers of knowledge, they do…

Gothic literature is really all about intense emotion and the confusion between good and evil. Powerful emotion is clearly evident in Paradise Lost as there is a constant grasping or pushing and pulling with good and evil, God and Satan. The way John Milton wrote the text it would seem as though his intent is to confuse the audience as far as who is the hero and the villain. Throughout the novel, we get various passages that would seem to be indicative of Satan’s jealousy. The first instance…

man, and all of the beneficial consequences that subsequently arose from this knowledge. Frankenstein draws from Prometheus to develop the topic of god-like knowledge, and even originally titling itself as The Modern Prometheus. On the other hand, Milton designs fire in Paradise Lost as the incarnation of wrath and pain. However, even though the fire of Frankenstein remains heavily symbolic, Promethean in nature and seemingly unlike the fire of Paradise Lost, it possesses similarities that lack…

are different or unknown. And what is one emotion that caused the most fear? Love. Love makes us do some crazy things. Strangely, love feeds into fear which consequently feeds into revenge and anger (From Hate to love). Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and T.S Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock are outstanding examples of both love and revenge. Revenge is the most prominent theme in Shelley’s Frankenstein. This is one of the main emotions shared by both Victor…

performing his misdeeds beseeches his 'God ' that "I ought to be thy Adam" but instead he is the "fallen angel" who is cast away for not adhering to the rules of society and rebelling against his creator. This reminds one of the 17th century poem by John Milton where Lucifer who was created by God is banished from heaven because he disobeys God and refuse to bow down to his commands. Lucifer as well as the wretch are a culmination of their creator 's imagination. God created Lucifer and…

Perhaps one of the most infamous quotes regarding John Milton’s Paradise Lost is that given by William Blake stating that Milton was of the devil’s party without knowing it. To specify, Satan’s character in Paradise Lost does indeed present itself as a persona with whom the reader is able to sympathise almost immediately from the beginning of the poem. Especially in Books I and II, as we are introduced to an ambitious character who overcomes his own weaknesses in order to accomplish his purposes…

When an angel opposes the power and might of God, the almighty deity inevitably banishes him from the realm of Heaven and leaves him to rule over nothing more than a wasteland. In John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, such is the case of Satan, a former subject of the Lord fallen from his grace. God banishes the angel to Hell, where Satan, left to ponder the quality of his newfound life, slowly accepts his fate and addresses the presumed advantage of being free from the clutches of God, whose…

Accepting Criticism: An Act of Enclosing Poetry In her poem "Exclosure" Amanda Jernigan articulates how poetry is a passionate, yet terrifying form of expression. Through the writing process, a poem will take on a life of its own as every time that it is read, new ideas and interpretations are developed. This to a writer can be an alarming concept to grasp. Out of fear an author keeps their work to themselves since they lack the certainty of how it will be received by the world. Jernigans 's…

blame the women and let the men be. Things use to be that men were the reason behind bad outcomes. The roles have switched without any evidence of why. Two works that portray this thought really well are Othello by Shakespeare and Paradise Lost by John Milton. Both works have women who are blamed for the outcomes that happen. Whether they are rightly or wrongly accused they are still accused. This happens a lot in society today. It’s like men can’t do any wrong and that things will always be…