John Milton, Paradise Lost

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John Milton, Paradise Lost
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Paradise Lost Themes

• Justice
• Freedom
• Obedience
• Knowledge and Ignorance
• Choices and Consequences
• The Human Condition

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Study Questions The Verse

• What is blank verse?
• Why does Milton state as his reason for choosing
  to write in blank verse?

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• 3. What other poets does Milton invoke when
  citing his reasons for writing in blank verse?
  What is the effect of this invocation?
• The measure is English heroic verse without
  rhyme, as that of Homer in Greek and of Virgil in
  Latin rhyme being no necessary adjunct or true
  ornament of poem or good verse, in longer works
  especially, but the invention of a barbarous age,
  to set off wretched matter and lame meter graced
  indeed since by the use of some famous modern
  poets, carried away by custom, but much to their
  own vexation, hindrance, and constraint to
  express many things otherwise, and for the most
  part worse than else they would have expressed
  them.

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Study Questions Book 1 (lines 1-270)

• What, according to Milton, is Paradise Lost
  primarily about?
• Believe it or not, the first 10 lines of the poem
  constitute a single thought. Paraphrase that
  thought below, in regular English, using
  conventional word order (subject, verb, object).

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• Who is the muse that Milton invokes in line 6?
• What does the poet boast he will do in line 16?
• What, in lines 24-6, does the poet propose to do
  in his poem?
• Why has Satan been cast out of Heaven?

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1. Who is Beelzebub?
2. What does Beelzebub say would be an ignominy and
   shame beneath this downfall?
3. Why do Satan and Beelzebub decide not to wage
   another war against God?
4. What do the devils eventually decide to do?

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Identify the Quotation

• Fall'n Cherub, to be weak is miserable Doing or
  Suffering but of this be sure, To do aught good
  never will be our task, But ever to do ill our
  sole delight,            As being the contrary
  to his high will Whom we resist.
• Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of
  that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought
  Death into the World, and all our woe With loss
  of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and
  regain the blissful Seat,            Sing
  Heav'nly Muse

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Identify the Quotation

• To reign is worth ambition though in Hell
• Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heavn.
• The mind is its own place, and in itself
• Can make a Heavn of Hell, a Hell of Heavn.

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Study Questions Book I (lines 271-521)

• How does Milton characterize Satan and his devils
  in these lines? How does this affect our reading
  of this part of the poem? (Hint Look closely at
  his word choice. What nouns does he use to
  describe them?)

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Important Moments Book I (lines 271-521)

• 337 Yet to their generals voice they soon
  obeyed Innumerable.
• 356 Forthwith from every Squadron and each Band
  The Heads and Leaders thither haste where stood
  Their great Commander
• The long catalogue on lines 381-521.

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Book I overview

• We can break Book I down into the following
  sections
• Invocation and introduction of poem's theme
• An account of Satan's revolt and expulsion from
  Heaven
• Dialogue between Satan and Beelzebub
• The other devils' rallying around Satan - the
  demonic host listed
• Satan's speech to the legions (about the creation
  of man)
• The building of Pandemonium (inspired by Mammon)

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Study Questions Book I (lines 522-798)

• Look at lines 615-621 Satan tries to speak, but
  cantwhy not?
• How does this complicate our image of Satan?
• 636-642 What does Satan accuse God of here?
• How does this complicate our image of God?
• What rumor does Satan say he heard in Heaven
  (lines 650-654)?
• 690 Let none admire / That riches grow in Hell
  that soil may best / Deserve the precious bane.

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Study Questions Book I (lines 522-798)

• Where does Satan say they should go?
• 655 Thither, if perhaps but to pry, shall be
  perhaps / Our first eruption, thither or
  elsewhere
• What does Satan say they should do?
• 661 War then, war / Open or understood must be
  resolved.
• What do the devils build at the end of Book I?

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Books II - VIII

• summarize what happens in the part they dont
  read

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Book IX

• One thing youll have to do for the Paradise Lost
  test is parse some lines of Miltons.
• Parse to analyze (a sentence) in terms of
  grammatical constituents, identifying the parts
  of speech, syntactic relations, etc.
• lines 412-416
• For now, and since first break of dawn the
  Fiend,
• Mere serpent in appearance, forth was come,
• And on his quest, where likeliest he might find
• The only two of mankind, but in them
• The whole included race, his purposed prey.

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Study Questions Book IX (lines 412-612)

• 421-422 He sought them both, but wished his hap
  might find / Eve separate
• What does Milton mean when he metaphorically
  calls Eve the fairest unsupported flower, / From
  her best prop so far? What storm is nigh?
  (lines 433-434)
• What is Satans initial reaction to the sight of
  beautiful Eve? (463-472) (also continue reading
  to 479)
• Look closely at lines 532-549. How does Satan
  tempt Eve? What strategies does he use?

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1. What is Eves reaction to the serpents first
   words? (lines 553-566)
2. What is the serpents response to her reaction?
   (568-612)
3. What are some of the words Satan uses to address
   Eve? Why might he choose these particular words?

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• Now get out a clean sheet of notebook paper. In
  the remaining class time, I want you to parse
  lines 594-597
• Amid the tree now got, where plenty
  hung Tempting so nigh, to pluck and eat my
  fill I spared not, for such pleasure till this
  hour At feed or fountain I had never found.

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Study Questions Book IX (lines 613-841)

• Look at lines 651-654.
• What does Eve tell Satan in lines 659-663? Why
  might this be important?
• What does the serpent say to Eve in order to
  convince her that her fears about eating the
  forbidden fruit are unfounded? 684-732

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• What strategies does Satan use to tempt Eve here?
  735-738 758-772
• What happens to the Earth in lines 780-784, when
  Eve eats the forbidden fruit?
• After she has eaten the fruit, what is Eves
  state compared to? 791-794
• 804-6 824-825 830-833
• Turn in your study questions!

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• I want you to practice parsing rewrite lines
  735-738 on your own paper, and in your own words.
  Be sure to include every meaningful aspect of the
  sentence and to not change the meaning of the
  sentence at all.
• Remember to find the subject and the verb
  first then work from there to put together the
  rest of the sentence.
• Fixed on the fruit she gazed, which to
  behold Might tempt alone and in her ears the
  sound Yet rung of his persuasive words,
  impregned With reason, to her seeming, and with
  truth.
• (Youll want to read the lines as they are in
  your book, since theres a helpful textual note
  there.)

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Important Terms

• Blank verse, epic, English Civil War, the
  characters in Paradise Lost, pandemonium

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General Questions

• The poem as an epichow does it fit the
  characteristics of an epic? How does it not?
• If PL is an epic, then Satan is an epic hero.
  Analyze this statement. Is Milton sympathetic to
  Satan? Why might this be? Whats the effect of
  his characterization of Satan?
• What do you think is the true sin in Paradise
  Lost? Why? What details in the epic support that
  view?
• Is Miltons characterization of Eve sexist at
  all? Does she represent universal human frailties
  or failings characteristic of women specifically?