Comparing the Fall of Man in Eve Speaks and Milton's Paradise Lost

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The Fall of Man in Eve Speaks and Paradise Lost

Over the course of time, there have been many interpretations of man's fall from grace, as told by the Bible. Among the literary interpretations are those of John Milton's Paradise Lost and the American poet Louis Untermeyer's "Eve Speaks." John Milton's epic poem deals with the entire story of man's fall from grace, including background for Satan's motives.

Louis Untermeyer's "Eve Speaks" was written about Eve's thoughts, many years after she was forced to leave Eden. While both poems are derived from the same biblical root, they offer

different interpretations of man's fall through Eve's motives, her attitude toward Adam,

and her attitude toward her sin. In Paradise Lost, Eve was tricked by Satan, who assumed

the form of a serpent, into eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Satan had whispered into

her ear when she was asleep, and when he spoke to her later, he used his cunning to mislead

her:

He ended, and his words replete with guile

Into her heart too easy entrance won.

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;

(Paradise Lost, 733-739).

Louis Untermeyer's interpretation of Eve's motives in "Eve Speaks", were very different in

their implications. He suggests that Eve was not tricked by Satan, but instead she made a

conscious decision to eat the forbidden fruit. Eve thought that man was created for more

than living in Paradise; She was seeking for a greater world: The thought that there was

something more than joy, Beyond perfection, greater than singing peace And tranquil

happiness, vexed all my hours. ("Eve Speaks" 31-34)

Eve reached these conclusions through the traits that she perceived in Adam. He was strong

and had a brain designed to "dream and mould". According to Eve, he was designed for

"fiercer things and lustier worlds".

Another glaring dissimilarity between the two poems was the in which Eve perceived Adam.

Milton's Eve felt inferior to Adam; When Eve was trying to decide whether or not to share

the apple with Adam, one of her reasons for not sharing was so that she could be his

equal, if not his superior. After she gave the apple to Adam, her demeanor turned even

more submissive. This was in agreement with the traditional 17th century view of women.

Louis Untermeyer gave Eve a more domineering position; In "Eve Speaks", Eve acts for the

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