John Milton and Paradise Lost
Widely considered among the five greatest poets in the English language, John Milton was born and educated in London, the son of a musical composer. His early schooling took place at the St. Paul's School. From this prestigious beginning, Milton made his way to Cambridge, where he studied at Christ's College from which he took a BA in 1629 and an MA in 1632. While his studies were those of a future clergyman, Milton began early to read and write poetry in Latin, Italian, and English. Upon his graduation, Milton returned to the home of his father where for several years he studied widely focusing on languages (Greek, Latin, and Italian) and theology, especially the early church fathers. From 1637 until 1639 he traveled in Europe, mostly in Italy. Upon his return, his attentions were consumed first by his employment as a tutor and later by the political turmoil of the English Civil War. In 1641 he began publishing pamphlets against the Episcopal Church and what he perceived as the unfinished English Reformation. Areopagitica, his famous defense of a free press, appeared in 1644. During this period in which Milton's influence was growing, another force worked against him. During the mid-1640s, he began
Again, as Adam eats from the fruit, he knowingly defies God by obeying Eve and his inner instinct instead of God and his reason. As the poem's antagonist, Satan is the originator of sin-the first to be ungrateful for God the Father's blessings. Thirst for revenge led him to cause man's downfall by turning into a serpent and tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. This decay continued until he was completely blind in 1651. Paradise Lost begins just after the revolt of Satan against God. In essence, Paradise Lost presents two moral paths that one can take after disobedience: the downward spiral of increasing sin and degradation, represented by Satan, and the road to redemption, represented by Adam and Eve. First, it represents his love for her and his attraction to her. He flies to the sun, where he tricks an angel, Uriel, into showing him the way to man's home. Satan refuses to honor the Son as his superior, thereby questioning God's hierarchy. SymbolsThe two significant symbols in Paradise Lost are The Scales in the Sky and Adam's Wreath. He died of gout in 1674 and was buried next to his father in St. His success of this epic is indicated by the esteem in which the poem is held today. This display of love and compassion, given through the Son, is a gift to humankind. In shame and despair, they become hostile to each other. Satan gains entrance into the Garden of Eden, where he finds Adam and Eve and becomes jealous of them.
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