At the Tree of Knowledge, in a last impassioned speech designed (successfully to convince Eve to taste the fruit, Satan (in the guise of the serpent) extols the virtues of the fruit in high apostrophe: "O Sacred, Wise, and Wisdom-giving Plant, / Mother of Science" (Paradise Lost 9 679-80). This is a clear indication of what the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge represented, both to Eve in Milton's tale and to the seventeenth century readers of Milton's telling. That is, Milton quite purposefully equated knowledge with science, and not just the moral knowledge of good and evil that is explicitly referenced in the Bible, and later on in Milton's own version of the tale. Paradise Lost is not meant to simply be a modern retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, the casting out of Satan and the other fallen angels, and other portions of the Christian mythology. Instead, it is a direct commentary on Milton's times, and the dangers that the seductions of science could lead to.
Eve's plea for forgiveness following their banishment from the Garden of Eden and their subjection to labor, pain, and death can be seen as symbolic of Milton's hope for society, or perhaps a final admonition of the progression of science and the eventual sorrowful state of society. The idea that she is society and Adam is the Church makes an interpretation...
Eve begins with scientific-sounding words of measurement, saying "I know / How little weight my words with thee can finde," but quickly progresses to language of religious devotion: "nevertheless, / Restor'd by thee, vile as I am, to place / Of new acceptance, hopeful to regaine / Thy Love, the sole contentment of my heart (Paradise Lost 10 967-8; 970-3). Milton predicts that the world of science, which "society" has turned to at this point in his tale, will come pleading back to the Church in its destitution. This could be taken as an amazingly prescient view, as many would claim that humanity does indeed place too much faith in science, at the cost of losing a deeper connection with the spiritual world -- be it explicitly Christian or otherwise.
All literature necessarily comments on its time, but John Milton did this almost explicitly -- though symbolically -- in paradise Lost. Casting the character of Eve as a veiled symbol for society, he demonstrates how the seduction of knowledge and science will lead humanity from the path of righteousness and the enjoyment of Paradise -- or at least a better world than the one to come. This is, of course, only one interpretation of this complex work, but it is one that holds great value for modern…
This is obviously an escape in her dream from the societal norms and from the strict rules that are imposed in the garden and that govern her existence, as well as her role in this environment. Being able to escape them, even with help from Satan, is possible in Eve's dream. Eve's road towards independence grows with each book in "Paradise Lost," some pointing out to the way her autonomy becomes
Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" with Milton's "Paradise Lost" Comparison of the two works: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Milton's Paradise Lost are two examples of great works that seemingly have little in common. The differences in subject, approach, language and style contrast greatly but these works also share many common themes. Although Twelfth Night is a romantic comedic work and Paradise Lost is an epic poem that deals with a much heavier subject
English Civil War as a Background for Milton's Paradise Lost Political Foundations in Milton's Paradise Lost: Ties to the English Civil War Paradise Lost is an epic tale of defeat and the consequences which come from breaking with the proper form of divine rule. In his work, John Milton pits Satan and his army against God in Heaven, illustrating the notorious Christian battle within particularly political contexts. The English Civil War did
John Milton and William Blake John Milton wrote work of poetry during the late 17th century. William Blake wourld write at the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the following century. One lived during the tail end of the Restoration period and the other lived in the time of the Romantic poets. At a first glance, it would seem that the two poets John Milton and William
Thy anger had overshadowed me, and I knew it not. I was become deaf by the rattling of the chins of my mortality, the punishment for my soul's pride; and I wandered farther from Thee, and Thou didst "suffer" me; and I was tossed to and fro, and wasted Augustine's reflections in this passage brought into fore the fact that rebellion against the divine authority was, for him, through the
philosophy of education through a historical and then through an explicitly Christian lens, with a focus on the political role of education, and the Christian philosophy of John Milton. Milton's 1644 works Areopagitica and Of Education are invoked to justify the true Christian purpose of education as being exposure to the sort of free expression and free exchange of ideas that are guaranteed in America under the First Amendment. What