Paradise Lost Comparative
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Palmer 1
Taylor Palmer
Joseph Couch
ENGL 310
5/8/23
Human Suffering and John Milton: Comparative Essay on Paradise Lost John Milton’s Paradise Lost was based and built upon the Bible, specifically Genesis’ tale of Adam and Eve. His utilization of the Bible as his main source allowed Milton to expand on the relationship between God and man. Though the similarities are strong between both pieces of literature, Paradise Lost gives more life and context to characters such as Adam, Eve, and Satan. John Milton’s elaboration of Adam and Eve’s tale of falling from grace has given readers a greater understanding of God’s control and human suffrage while on Earth.
John Milton was born in 1608. During his lifetime Milton spent his life dedicated to religion, politics, and his career as a writer of prose and poetry. His existence held influence during three major eras of England; the Civil War, Protectorate, and Restoration. His literary works reflected his religious and political standings which were manifested in both traditional and innovative forms. John Milton was baptized Protestant in the Church of England and he continued to practice his faith his whole life. His education began in his family home where he was tutored by Thomas Young who later became a chaplain to English merchants. Milton went on to attend St. Paul’s School close to his home where Dr. John Donne taught his sermons. At the age of 16, John Milton prepared to enter ministry at Christ’s College in Cambridge where he earned a Master of Arts degree in 1632. With John Milton’s history and upbringing, one can see the obvious religious impact in his writing. Paradise Lost (1667) is no exception with the evident
influence and basis of the biblical tale in Genesis.
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Even if one does not know the Book of Genesis from the Bible, one would be hard-
pressed to find someone who has not heard of the opening line. “
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(“Bible Gateway Passage”)
The Book of Genesis can be read as an epic story with an almost tragic saga of a world that cannot get right regardless of its creator’s intentions. In Genesis 2 the focus is turned to Adam and Eve. The first of his kind, human, Adam
is placed in the Garden of Eden. “Now the
Lord
God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden;
and there he put the man he had formed.” (“Bible Gateway Passage”)
In the center of the luscious garden resided an untouchable tree. This tree is known as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam is told by the Lord that he can eat from any tree in the garden but must refrain from eating the Tree of Knowledge for it would be followed by certain death. (“Bible Gateway Passage”)
Though Adam was surrounded by plants and animals, he still found himself lonely and without help to maintain the garden. Upon understanding this, God took one of Adam’s ribs and created Eve, thus bringing a woman to man. Moving into The Fall, or Genesis 3, the tale of Adam and Eve begins to spiral when the serpent enters the Garden of Eden. The serpent is known to be craftier than other animals the Lord made and questions his rules. The serpent asked Eve “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (“Bible Gateway Passage”)
Which she replied that per Gods word, they may eat any fruit in the garden aside from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. In continuing the verbal exchange the serpent tells
Eve that she would not meet certain death from consuming the fruit yet she would be privy to God’s knowledge of good and evil. Eve then took the fruit and ate it and then turned to her husband, Adam, to give him some of the fruit to eat. Upon consumption their eyes opened granting them the emotion of humility. In doing this they decided to cover their nakedness. When the Lord visited the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve’s first instinct was to hide from him
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and was soon followed by the revelation that the humans had ingested the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Upon questioning Adam and Eve, Eve expressed the serpent’s deceit. The Lord was very unhappy cursing them, the land, and the livestock. Eve would then suffer severely during childbirth and would be ruled by her husband Adam who was banished from the Garden of Eden.
The Lord then placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth guarding the way to the tree of
life for no man shall take from it and eat its fruit being granted eternal life.
Paradise Lost, written in 1667 by John Milton focuses on the fall of mankind, or Genesis 3. Though the soul of his story is based upon The Fall of Adam and Eve, Milton takes his time to
give a full story and explanation of who and why. With the opening set at the Lake of Fire in Hell, we are introduced to Satan and his fellow rebels. With their escape from chains, the rebels use minerals that they discovered and construct Pandemonium. Within the walls of Pandemonium, the fallen angels, or devils, conversate on beginning another war with God. Beelzebub suggests to corrupt God’s newest creation mankind, Satan quickly agrees and volunteers for the task. Satan is accompanied by his children Sin and Death. In Heaven, God brings together the angels to gather a plan to rebuke the evildoers’ intentions. The Son, whom can be described as the manifestation of God in action, volunteers as tribute to make the sacrifice
for humankind. To gain entrance into Paradise, Satan disguises himself as a cherub with the intention to praise God’s glorious creation. Looking upon the magnificence of Paradise, Satan reaffirms his choice to destroy Gods good and creations. Satan’s first interaction with Eve takes place in the form of a toad. Satan goes to Eve in her sleep and whispers to her about eating the forbidden fruit. The second interaction with Eve, Satan is in the form of a serpent. He speaks to Eve of her beauty and godliness. Surprised that an animal can speak, the serpent reveals to Eve that it is because he at from the Tree of Knowledge and that God actually wants her and Adam to
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eat from the tree. Satan convinces Eve that Gods forbiddance is merely a test of courage. Initially
she is hesitant but in the end she plucks fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and devours it. After this act Eve becomes frightened of her action and searches for Adam. She finds Adam making her a wreath of flowers, which he drops when he is stunned by the information of Eves actions. Adam did not want Eve to fall on her own, so he choose to eat the forbidden fruit with her turning them both to lust. God punishes the humans by having the angels transform Earth. Humankind must suffer from hot and cold seasons. On Earth, Adam and Eve become angry and blameful of their disobedience on one another. Eve takes blame for their fall and ponders suicide. Adam accepts her apology and forbids her from taking her own life. In order to take revenge on Satan, the humans pray to God and repent for their sins. God sends the angel Michael to Earth to tell the humans they must leave Paradise. Michael puts Eve into a deep sleep and takes Adam on top of the highest hill to show him the vision of the future. Adam observes the sins of all mankind to come caused by lust, greed, envy and pride. He also witnesses all of the stories within the bible unfold. When Eve awakes she tell Adam of an educating dream she had then they are led out of Paradise by Michael into a new world. The two tales of the fall of mankind follow the same theme, good versus evil. Both take place in the Garden of Eden and follow Adam and Eve. Eve is enticed to eat the fruit by a serpent which represents evil. Eve betrays God first and brings the forbidden fruit to Adam who then follows suit. In the end of both telling’s humankind is removed from Paradise as punishment from God for the epic betrayal. Paradise Lost omits the Tree of Life and the flaming sword that is used to protect it from intruders. Though it does not take much to describe the similarities between the Book of Genesis and Paradise Lost, they outweigh the differences in circumstance of meaning.
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Paradise Lost gives in depth information regarding the who and why of this tale. Though Genesis gives background as to where Adam and Eve come from, Paradise Lost gives background knowledge that influence actions taken by the characters. The struggle of Heaven and Hell, good and evil, and the freedom of choice is shown in Paradise Lost that is absent in the Book of Genesis. We learn that the serpent, who is actually Satan in a different form, was also in the form of a toad and cherub. Satan took these forms to sneak into Paradise and influence Eve’s decision to eat the fruit not once but twice. Milton gives background of characters such as Satan which answers questions posed as to why the serpent did what it did. The effect that Milton’s changes gave to readers was the understanding of why. Why did Satan seek to destroy Paradise and humankind? Why did the serpent do what he did? Why did Eve eat the forbidden fruit? Why did Adam follow Eve’s lead? Now as a reader we know that Satan, a fallen angel, wanted to wreak havoc throughout all that was good to challenge God. Satan took form of a serpent to trick humankind into doing evil. Eve was tricked into believing that eating the forbidden fruit was a test of her courage due to her naivety. Adam wanted to stay with his wife, for he could not watch her fall alone. This question and more were answered thanks to John Milton’s Paradise Lost. This is what his changes and adaptations gave to us as readers, he gave answers. Given John Milton’s background, it is understandable that his writing would be influenced by religion. His goal in writhing Paradise Lost was to make understanding of God’s ways to humankind. How would one understand the actions of an omnipotent being without understanding the story from the beginning. The Fall is the first-time humans betrayed God and thus why humankind does not live in Paradise today. Why do humans suffer on Earth? From the beginning we went against God’s word and ate the forbidden fruit. With this tale, Milton was
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able to create an epic poem that justified human suffering put in place by the Lord. During the time that Paradise Lost was released, religious fighting was occurring. With his tale of The Fall, he was able to show that war, famine, and other problems occurring within the world were brough on by the humans themselves. John Milton’s adaptation and expansion of Genesis 3 carries many similarities to the original tale of Adam and Eve. Given his religious background and studies, Milton was able to grant understanding to readers. He gave reason to Gods punishment of humankind and why Paradise no longer existed for them. To prove Gods power and justifying his actions, Genesis 3 was the quintessential source for John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
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References
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Foundation, Poetry. “John Milton.” Poetry Foundation
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Lewalski, Barbara Kiefer. “Milton: Political Beliefs and Polemical Methods, 1659–60.” PMLA
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