Analysis of Paradise Lost by John Milton

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John Milton seeks to simply “justify the ways of God to men” with his timeless tale of the war between Heaven and Hell, leading to Lucifer being exiled from Heaven to deceiving God’s creation of man in Paradise Lost. I believe Milton is attempting to demonstrate the beginning of the root of all evil by exploring the fall of Lucifer and subsequently Eve’s fall in response. He begins with describing God creating another universe with divine justice, in order to redeem Himself. The pristine creation God named Earth, required a redeemer, thus the emergence of Jesus Christ who offers to sacrifice himself for the sins Adam and Eve were thought to make. Milton makes use of Christian doctrine but still allows himself enough room for poetic license to create this celestial battle.

Paradise Lost reflects Adam and Eve’s true purity and innocence on Earth, as well as God’s ultimate test by placing the Forbidden Fruit in reach allowing Satan to manipulate the scene. One issue Milton’s epic poem provokes is whether or not Adam and Eve were so innocent that they had no real concept of death or punishment, thus slightly justifying falling into temptation. I, however, believe that original innocence translates directly to ignorance. God gave Adam and Eve the option to fall into the temptation Satan offered them in order to give them free will, to test their faith and know that they had true intentions and faith in His word to not have to know what would happen if they took the fruit. They had a relationship with God and knew Him, not just of Him, yet they turn their back on His instruction and go against his teachings for Satan, the first opportunity they get. “So will fall He and his faithless progeny. Whose fault? Whose but his own? Ingrate! He...

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...ce and having one’s virtues tested. Milton uses this epic poem to classically represent original sin that resulted in God sending his Son to sacrifice himself for man’s sins to rectify the damage Satan caused to man’s faith. Overall I was extremely intrigued by John Milton’s work and found myself learning new things about my faith as well as gaining insight into the beginning of mankind.

Works Cited

Bryson, Michael. "“That Far Be from Thee”: Divine Evil and Justification in Paradise Lost." Rev. of Paradise Lost. n.d.: n. pag. Web.

Jokinen, Anniina. "John Milton." John Milton (1608-1674). Luminarium, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. .

Milton, John, and Merritt Y. Hughes. Paradise Lost. New York: Odyssey, 1935. Print.

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Paradise Lost.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2003. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

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