Paradise Lost

“Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heav’n” (Paradise Lost Line 263). This quote is from Milton’s famous epic poem, “Paradise Lost”. The zeitgeist during this time was the fear of kings disobeying the Magna Carta and starting a war with The Church of England and countries. As a religious and political dissenter, Milton is a supporter of the Commonwealth government of Oliver Cromwell (Enotes). He wrote several political tracts opposing the former monarchy. The English Civil War in England…

In Paradise Lost, John Milton writes an epic that tells the ever captivating tale of good versus evil from where he believes is the beginning, the Garden of Eden. To do this however, Milton first lays out what had transpired before God’s creation of the Earth or of Adam and Eve to the fall of Satan and the angles who chose to follow him. In this Milton presents the idea that evil had been present before the creation of the world in Satan and by his fallen followers. The parallel of the evil in…

Paradise Lost by John Milton makes God appear unjust from Satan’s viewpoint. Satan’s grand speeches in books I & II give the reader a sense that Milton is attempting to make Satan the hero. However, Milton later reveals Satan’s exaggerative and untruthful ways indicating he is actually the enemy. Thus, through the character development of Satan and the manner of a true Promethean / Romantic hero, Adam is the true hero of Paradise Lost. Since the reader doesn’t know of Satan’s deceptive ways in…

It would seem that man is naturally drawn towards the topic of epistemology and obtaining knowledge, but during the 1700s it has given a negative While there is a rather negative view on human nature, which is exemplified through John Milton’s Paradise Lost,…

villains that hide who they really are typically make for some of the most captivating stories and some of the greatest lessons for life. One of the oldest known villains in the history of writings is Satan and he is no different in John Milton’s “Paradise Lost: Book 9”. Satan is most known for being a deceiver, leading people astray, and causing sin in the lives of others. Baring a similar attitude towards authority and the want for power, Goneril in William Shakespeare’s King Lear is a unique…

and even result in his or her death. This principle, however, is often forgotten with the presence of strong religious beliefs and rising emotions following violent crimes. Directors, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, in the documentary film Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996) takes an insider look surrounding the trials of three teens who were accused of brutally murdering and sexually assaulting three eight year old boys in the Bible Belt town of West Memphis, Arkansas…

through a painful physical experience to have children? Why would he make them live under their husbands, having to feel of less worth than them? Milton explains that all is lost as soon as Eve partakes of the fruit, saying, “Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat sighing through all her works gave signs of woe that all was lost” (IX 780-784). Perhaps God decided to create the patriarchy in more drastic terms because of Eve’s disobedience. Maybe God had the patriarchy system all lined…

of the most popular and accomplished poets of their time periods and ours. Both are known, not exclusively, for their work dealing with the idea and the depiction of the divine world and the journey to salvation. The Divine Comedy by Dante and Paradise lost by Milton both depict worlds that articulate a goal of eternal salvation for men and the devotion to God. The similarities and differences between these two famous works come from the specific political and religious beliefs of Milton and…

In both Paradise Lost and Macbeth, characters are forced to face temptation. The temptation comes from some of the least expected circumstances leading the characters to give in, only to eventually regret their choice. Temptation is something that people face everyday in some form, making it something that will not go away anytime soon. While characters from both Paradise Lost and Macbeth are tempted to do exactly what they know they are not supposed to do, the characters are both affected…

someone does not believe in the bible, they still know about these two individuals. In the beginning Adam and Eve coexist harmoniously in Eden, almost as one flesh and spirit, but they become more distinct from each other throughout the course of Paradise Lost. Eve was created for Adam from his own rib. While she is beautiful, wise, and fully capable, she was only superior to Adam when it came to her beauty. Milton's Eve is Adam's counterpart and other half but she was not Adam's equal. Her…