John Milton's Paradise Lost Book 9 (A Critical Analysis by Qaisar Iqbal Janjua)

PARADISE LOST BOOK IX

John Milton (1608-1674)

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By Qaisar Iqbal Janjua Contact: (92) 300 8494678, [email protected]

LIFE AND WORKS OF JOHN MILTON John Milton was born on December 9, 1608, in London. Milton's father's family disowned his father when he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, but he went on to become a prosperous scrivener (a kind of low-level lawyer). Milton excelled in school and continued studying privately in his twenties and thirties. In 1638, he made a trip to Italy, studying in Florence, Siena, and Rome, but felt obliged to return home in 1639 upon the outbreak of civil war in England. When Milton returned from Italy, he began planning an epic poem, the first epic poem to be written in English. These plans were delayed by his marriage to Mary Powell and her subsequent desertion of him. In reaction to these events, Milton wrote a series of pamphlets calling for more leniencies in the church's position on divorce. His argument brought him both publicity and angry criticism from the religious establishment in England. The Second Civil War ended in 1649 after King Charles was dethroned and executed. Milton welcomed the new parliament and wrote pamphlets in its support. After serving for a few years in a civil position, he retired briefly to his house in Westminster because his eyesight was failing. By 1652, he was completely blind. Despite his disability, Milton re-entered civil service under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, the military general who ruled the British Isles from 1653 to 1658. Two years after Cromwell’s death, Milton's worst fears were realized—the Restoration brought Charles II to the throne, and the poet had to go into hiding to escape execution. Milton had already begun work on the great English epic that he had planned years before: Paradise Lost. His exile brought him the opportunity to work on the epic in earnest, dictating the poetry to his daughter. Paradise Lost was published in 1667, a year after the Great Fire of London. Critics immediately recognized the importance of Milton’s epic, and the admiring comments of the respected poets John Dryden and Andrew Marvell helped restore Milton to favour. Milton spent the ensuing years writing prolifically at his residence in Bunhill. He died at home on November 8, 1674. Thanks to his father’s wealth, young Milton got the best education money could buy. He had a private tutor as a young boy. As a teenager, he attended the prestigious St. Paul's Cathedral School. After excelling at St. Paul's he entered Christ's College at Cambridge University. There he made a name for himself with his prodigious writing, publishing several essays and poems to high acclaim. After graduating with his master's degree in 1632, Milton 2


moved home and his father supported him. Milton was allowed to take over the family's estate near Windsor and pursue a quiet life of study. He spent 1632 to 1638—his mid to late twenties—reading the classics in Greek and Latin, and learning new theories in mathematics and music. Milton became fluent in many foreign and classical languages, including Italian, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, AngloSaxon, and some Dutch. His knowledge of most of these languages was immense and precocious. He wrote sonnets in Italian as a teenager. While a second-year student at Cambridge, he was invited to address the first-year students in a speech written entirely in Latin. By the age of thirty, Milton had made himself one of the most brilliant minds of England, and one of its most ambitious poets. EARLY WORKS In his twenties, Milton wrote five masterful long poems, each of them influential and important in its own way. These poems are “On the Morning of Christ's Nativity,” “Comes,” “Lucida,” “Il Ponderosa,” and “L’Allegro.” In these poems Milton honed his skills at writing narrative, dramatic, elegiac, philosophical, and lyrical poetry. He had built a firm poetic foundation through his intense study of languages, philosophy, and politics, and he infused it with his uncanny sense of tone and diction. Even in these early poems, Milton's literary output was guided by his faith in God. Milton believed that all poetry serves a social, philosophical, and religious purpose. He thought that poetry should glorify God, enlighten readers, and help people to become better Christians. Aside from his poetic successes, Milton was also a prolific writer of essays and pamphlets. These prose writings did not bring Milton public acclaim. In fact, since his essays and pamphlets argued against the established views of most of England, the pamphlets made Milton the object of threats. Nevertheless, he continued to express his political and theological beliefs in essays and pamphlets. POLITICS Milton expressed his political ideals in the many pamphlets he wrote. He believed that power corrupts human beings and distrusted anyone who could claim power over anyone else. Milton believed that rulers should have to prove their right to lead other people. Milton was an activist in his middle years, fighting for human rights and against the rule of England's leaders, whom he believed were inept. Knowing he was not a physical fighter, he fought by writing lengthy, 3 By Qaisar Iqbal Janjua Contact: (92) 300 8494678, [email protected]

rhetorical pamphlets that thoroughly and rigorously argued his point of view. Although he championed liberty and fought against authority throughout his career, Milton believed in the strict social and political hierarchy in which people, in theory, would obey their leaders and the leaders would serve their people. He knew this system would work only if the leaders were actually better and fit to rule than their subjects. He objected to the hierarchy that actually existed in his day because he thought its leaders extremely corrupt. He directly challenged the rule of Charles I, the king of England during much of his lifetime. Milton argued that Charles was not fit to lead his subjects because he did not possess superior faculties or virtues. RELIGION Milton took public stances on a great number of issues, but perhaps most important to the reading of Paradise Lost are his positions on religion. In Milton's time, the Anglican Church, or Church of England, had split into three sects: the high Anglican, moderate Anglican, and Puritan or Presbyterian sects. Milton was a Presbyterian. Presbyterians called for the abolishment of bishops. Milton, however, took this anti-bishop stance farther, ultimately calling for the removal of all priests, whom he referred to as “hirelings.” Milton despised the corruption he saw in the Catholic Church, repeatedly attacking it in his poetry and prose. In “Lucida,” he likens Catholics to hungry wolves leaping into a sheep’s pen, an image similar to his depiction of Satan leaping over the wall of Paradise in Paradise Lost, Book IV. He thought the division of Protestants into more and smaller denominations was a sign of healthy self-examination, and believed that each individual Christian should be his own church, unencumbered by an establishment. These beliefs, expressed in a great number of pamphlets, prompted his break with the Presbyterians. From that point on, Milton advocated the complete abolishment of all church establishments, and he kept his own private religion that was close to the Calvinism practised by Presbyterians but different in some ways. Milton’s individual view of Christianity makes Paradise Lost simultaneously personal and universal. It comes from his personal ethos, but it speaks to all the Christians. In his later years, Milton came to view all the organized Christian churches, whether Anglican, Catholic or Presbyterian, as obstacles to true faith. He felt that the conscience of the individual was a more powerful tool than the church in interpreting the Word of God. The importance of remaining strong in one’s personal religious convictions, particularly in the face of widespread condemnation, is a major theme in the later Books of 4


Paradise Lost, as Michael shows Adam the vision of Enoch and Noah, two men who risk death to stand up for God. Paradise Lost takes a number of Protestant stances: the union of the Old and New Testaments, the unworthiness of humankind, and the importance of Christ's love to man's salvation. Nonetheless, the poem does not present a unified, cohesive Christian theology, nor does it attempt to identify disbelievers, redefine Christianity, or replace the Bible. Instead, Milton's epic stands as a remarkable presentation of biblical stories meant to engage the Christian readers and help them be better Christians. WOMEN AND MARRIAGE Much of Milton’s social commentary in Paradise Lost focuses on the role of women. In Book IV he suggests that men are superior to women, alluding to biblical passages that identify man as the head of woman. Milton’s depiction of women in Paradise Lost may seem misogynistic by today’s standards, but it is almost progressive by the standards of Milton’s day. He never suggests, as many did at the time, that women are utterly inferior or evil. He presents Eve’s wifely role as important and her presence as crucial to Adam’s character. Adam voices a harsh view of womankind only after the fall, when Satan has poisoned the naturally idyllic relationship between men and women. Milton’s views on marriage were considered shocking and heretical. He fought for the right to divorce in an age when nearly all denominations prohibited divorce except in some cases of adultery. But in his Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, Milton expresses his belief that any sort of incompatibility, be it sexual, mental, or spiritual, justifies divorce. In the same essay, he argues that the main purpose of marriage is not necessarily procreation, as most people thought at that time, but the joining of two people into one unified being. He felt that conversation and mental companionship were supremely important in a marriage and seems to blame mental incompatibility for his own failed marriage. Milton believed that the partners in a marriage must complement each other, as Adam and Eve do, compensating for faults and enhancing strengths.

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A SHORT SUMMARY OF PARADISE LOST Milton’s epic poem opens on the fiery lake of hell, where Satan and his army of fallen angels find themselves chained. Satan and his lieutenant Beelzebub get up from the lake and yell to the others to rise and join them. Music plays and banners fly as the army of rebel angels comes to attention, tormented and defeated but faithful to their general. They create a great and terrible temple, perched on a volcano top, and Satan calls a council there to decide on their course of action. The fallen angels give various suggestions. Finally, Beelzebub suggests that they take the battle to a new battlefield, a place called earth where, it is rumoured, God has created a new being called man. Man is not as powerful as the angels, but he is God's chosen favourite among his creations. Beelzebub suggests that they seek revenge against God by seducing man to their corrupted side. Satan volunteers to explore this new place himself and finds out more about man so that he may corrupt him. His fallen army unanimously agrees by banging on their swords. Satan takes off to the gates of hell, guarded by his daughter, Sin, and their horrible son, Death. Sin agrees to open the gates for her creator (and rapist), knowing that she will follow him and reign with him in whatever kingdom he conquers. Satan then travels through chaos, and finally arrives at earth, connected to heaven by a golden chain. God witnesses all of this and points out Satan’s journey to his Son. God tells his Son that, indeed, Satan will corrupt God’s favourite creation, man. His Son offers to die a mortal death to bring man back into the grace and light of God. God agrees and tells how his Son will be born to a virgin. God then makes his Son the king of man, son of both man and God. Meanwhile, Satan disguises himself as a handsome cherub in order to get by the angel Uriel who is guarding earth. Uriel is impressed that an angel would come all the way from heaven to witness God's creation, and points the Garden of Eden out to Satan. Satan makes his way into the Garden and is in awe at the beauty of Eden and of the handsome couple of Adam and Eve. For a moment, he deeply regrets his fall from grace. This feeling soon turns, however, to hatred. Uriel, however, has realized that he has been fooled by Satan and tells the angel Gabriel as much. Gabriel finds Satan in the Garden and sends him away. God, seeing how things are going, sends Raphael to warn Adam and Eve about Satan. Raphael goes down to the Garden and is invited for dinner by Adam and Eve. While there, he narrates how Satan came to fall and the subsequent battle that was held in heaven. Satan first sin 6


was pride, when he took issue with the fact that he had to bow down to the Son. Satan was one of the top angels in heaven and did not understand why he should bow. Satan called a council and convinced many of the angels who were beneath him to join in fighting God. A tremendous, cosmic threeday battle ensued between Satan's forces and God’s forces. On the first day, Satan’s forces were beaten back by the army led by the archangels Michael and Gabriel. On the second day, Satan seemed to gain ground by constructing artillery, literally cannons, and turning them against the good forces. On the third day, however, the Son faced Satan’s army alone and they quickly retreat, falling through a hole in heaven’s fabric and cascading down to hell. This is the reason, Raphael explains, and that God created man: to replace the empty space that the fallen angels have left in heaven. Raphael then tells of how God created man and the entire universe in seven days. Adam himself remembers the moment he was created and, as well, how he came to ask God for a companion, Eve. Raphael leaves. The next morning, Eve insists on working separately from Adam. Satan, in the form of serpent, finds her working alone and starts to flatter her. Eve asks where he learned to speak, and Satan shows her the Tree of Knowledge. Although Eve knows that this was the one tree God had forbidden that they eat from, she is told by Satan that this is only because God knows she will become a goddess herself. Eve eats the fruit and then decides to share it with Adam. Adam, clearly, is upset that Eve disobeyed God, but he cannot imagine a life without her so he eats the apple as well. They both, then, satiate their newborn lust in the bushes and wake up ashamed, knowing now the difference from good and evil (and, therefore, being able to choose evil). They spend the afternoon blaming each other for their fall. God sends the Son down to judge the two disobedient creatures. The Son condemns Eve, and all of womankind, to painful childbirths and submission to her husband. He condemns Adam to a life of a painful battle with nature and hard work at getting food from the ground. He condemns the serpent to always crawl on the ground on its belly, always at the heel of Eve's sons. Satan, in the meantime, returns to hell victorious. On the way, he meets Sin and Death, who have built a bridge from hell to earth, to mankind, whom they will now reign over. When Satan arrives in hell, however, he finds his fallen compatriots not cheering as he had wished, but hissing. The reason behind the horrible hissing soon becomes clear: all of the fallen angels are being transformed 7


into ugly monsters and terrible reptiles. Even Satan finds himself turning into a horrible snake. Adam and Eve, after bitterly blaming each other, finally decide to turn to God and ask for forgiveness. God hears them and agrees with his Son that he will not lose mankind completely to Sin, Death and Satan. Instead, he will send his son as a man to earth to sacrifice himself and, in so doing, conquer the evil trinity. Michael is sent by God to escort Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Before he does, however, he tells Adam what will become of mankind until the Son comes down to earth. The history of mankind (actually the history of the Jewish people as narrated in the Hebrew Bible) will be a series of falls from grace and acceptance back by God, from Noah and the Flood to the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. Adam is thankful that the Son will come down and right what he and Eve have done wrong. He holds Eve’s hand as they are escorted out of the Garden.

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A CRITIQUE OF PARADISE LOST The narrator begins Paradise Lost by stating that his subject will be Adam and Eve’s disobedience and fall from grace. He calls on a heavenly muse and asks for help in relating his ambitious story. The narrator begins his story with Satan and his fellow rebel angels, now devils, who wake to find themselves chained to a lake of fire in Hell. They free themselves and fly to Hell’s land, where they discover minerals and construct Pandemonium, which will be their meeting place. Inside Pandemonium, the rebel angels hold a meeting to debate a plan of action. Beelzebub suggests that they attempt to corrupt humankind, God’s beloved new creation. Satan agrees and volunteers to go himself. As he prepares to leave Hell, his children, Sin and Death, meet him at the gates and follow him, building a bridge between Hell and Earth. In Heaven, God orders the angels together for a council of their own. He tells them of Satan’s intentions, and the Son volunteers to sacrifice himself for humankind. Meanwhile, Satan travels through Night and Chaos and finds Earth. He disguises himself as a cherub to get past the Archangel Uriel, who stands guard at the Sun. He tells Uriel that he wishes to see and praise God’s glorious creation, and Uriel grants his request. Satan then lands on Earth and looks around. Seeing the splendour of Paradise pains him. He reaffirms his decision to do evil and commit crimes against the God. Satan leaps over Paradise’s wall, taking the form of a cormorant (a large bird) and perches atop the Tree of Life. Looking down at Satan from his post, Uriel notices the volatile emotions reflected in the face of this so-called cherub and warns the other angels that an impostor is in their midst. The other angels agree to search the Garden for intruders. Meanwhile, Adam and Eve tend the Garden, carefully obeying God's order to refrain from eating from the Tree of Knowledge. After a long day of work, they return to their bower, pray, and make love. After Adam and Eve fall asleep, Satan takes the form of a toad and whispers into Eve’s ear. Gabriel, the angel set to guard Paradise, finds Satan in the bower and orders him to leave. Satan prepares to battle Gabriel, but God makes the golden scales of justice appear in the sky as a sign, and Satan scurries away. Eve awakes and tells Adam about a dream she had in which an angel tempted her to eat from the forbidden tree. Worried about the safety of the humans he created, God sends Raphael down to Earth to teach Adam and Eve of the danger Satan poses. 9


Raphael arrives on Earth and eats a meal with Adam and Eve. After the meal, Eve goes inside, and Raphael and Adam speak alone. Raphael tells Adam the story of Satan’s downfall. Satan grew envious after God appointed his Son as second-in-command. Satan gathered together other angels who were also angry at the favour shown to the Son, and together they plotted a war against God. Abdiel decided not to join Satan’s army and returned to God. The angels began to fight. Michael and Gabriel served as co-leaders of Heaven’s army. The battle ended after two days when God commanded the Son to end the war and send Satan and his rebel angels to Hell. Raphael warns Adam about Satan’s evil plan to corrupt Adam and Eve. Adam asks Raphael to tell him the story of creation. Raphael tells Adam that God sent the Son into Chaos to create the universe. He created the earth and stars and other planets. Curious, Adam asks Raphael about the movement of the stars and planets. Raphael bridles at Adam's seemingly unquenchable search for knowledge, telling him he will learn all he needs to know, and any other knowledge is not meant for humans to comprehend. Adam tells Raphael about his first memories, of waking up and wondering who he was, what he was, and where he was. Adam says that God spoke to him and told him many things, among them an order not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam confesses to Raphael his intense physical attraction to Eve. Raphael tells Adam that he must love Eve more purely and spiritually. After this final bit of advice, Raphael leaves Earth and returns to Heaven. Eight days after his banishment, Satan returns to Paradise. After closely studying the animals there, he chooses to take the form of the serpent. Eve suggests to Adam that they work separately for a while, so they can get more work done. Adam hesitates but eventually assents. Satan searches for Eve and to his delight find her alone. Still in serpent form, he talks to Eve and praises her beauty and godliness. The serpent’s words amaze Eve and she asks how he learned to speak. He tells her eating from the Tree of Knowledge gave him the power of speech. Satan says that God knows the fruit will give Adam and Eve godlike powers, and he banned it because he wanted to keep them in ignorance. Eve hesitates but then reaches for a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and eats. She determines that Adam should share her fate, and goes to find him. Adam has been busy making a wreath of flowers for Eve. He is horrified to find that Eve has eaten from the forbidden tree. Knowing that she has fallen, he decides he would rather fall with her than remain pure and lose her. He eats from the fruit. Adam looks at Eve in a new way, and they have sex lustfully. 10


God immediately knows of their disobedience. Without rancour, out of a sense of justice, he tells the angels in Heaven that Adam and Eve must be punished. He sends the Son to punish them. The Son first punishes the serpent whose body Satan took, condemning it to slither on its belly forever. Then the Son tells Adam and Eve they must suffer pain and death because of their sin. Women and men will lose their idyllic partnership and work in separate spheres. Eve and all women will endure the pain of childbirth and submit to their husbands, and Adam and all men will hunt and grow their own food on a depleted Earth. Satan returns to Hell where cheers greet him. He speaks to the devils in Pandemonium, and everyone believes that he has beaten God. Sin and Death travel the bridge they built on their way to Earth. Despite the devils’ confidence in their own victory, soon they find themselves turning into snakes. They try to reach fruit from imaginary trees, but find that it turns to ashes in their mouths. God tells the angels to transform Earth. Humankind must now suffer hot and cold seasons instead of the consistent temperatures they enjoyed before sinning. On Earth, Adam and Eve fear their approaching doom. They blame each other for their disobedience and become increasingly angry. In a fit of rage, Adam wonders why God ever created Eve. Eve begs Adam not to abandon her. She says they can survive by loving each other. She accepts blame, for it was she who disobeyed both God and Adam. She ponders suicide. Adam, moved by her speech, forbids her from taking her own life. He remembers their punishment and believes that they can enact revenge on Satan by remaining obedient to God. Together they pray to God and repent. God hears their prayers, and sends Michael down to Earth. Michael tells them that they must leave Paradise. Before they leave, Michael puts Eve to sleep and takes Adam up to the highest hill, where he shows him a vision of humankind’s future. Adam sees the sins of his children, and his children’s children, and his first vision of death. Horrified, he asks Michael if there is any alternative to death. He sees generations of humans sinning by lust, greed, envy, and pride. They kill each other selfishly and live only for pleasure. Then Michael shows him Enoch, who is saved by God as his warring peers attempt to kill him. Adam also sees Noah and his family, whose virtue makes God choose them to survive the flood that kills all other humans. Next is the vision of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. This story explains the perversion of pure language into the many languages that are spoken on Earth today. Adam sees the triumph of Moses and the Israelites and then glimpses the Son sacrificing his life to save humankind. After this vision, Adam and Eve must leave Paradise. Eve awakes and tells Adam that 11 By Qaisar Iqbal Janjua Contact: (92) 300 8494678, [email protected]

she had a very interesting and educating dream. Led by Michael, Adam and Eve woefully leave Paradise, going hand in hand into a new world. MAJOR CHARACTERS SATAN Called Lucifer in heaven before his disobedience, Satan is one of God’s favourite angels until his pride gets in the way and he turns away from God. Satan brings many of heaven’s angels with him, however, and reigns as king in hell. He continues an eternal battle with God and goodness for the souls of human beings. Satan, at first, is an angel with a single fault, pride, but throughout the story he becomes physically and morally more and more corrupt. GOD The Absolute, ruler of heaven, creator of earth and all of creation, God is all seeing, though he seems to pay less attention to things further away from his light. He is surrounded by angels who praise him and whom he loves, but when Satan falls and brings many of heaven’s population with him, he decides to create a new creature, human, and to create for him a beautiful universe in the hopes that someday humans will join him in heaven. God has a sense of humour, and laughs at the follies of Satan and seems to be a firm and just ruler. SON OF GOD God’s begotten Son, later to become fully human in the form of Jesus, the Christ. God’s Son will continually beat down Satan, first in the three-day battle in heaven, then, as Jesus, when he sacrifices himself for the salvation of man. The Son of God is more sympathetic to the plight of mankind and often advocates on behalf of him in front of God. HOLY SPIRIT Third of the God/Son/Trinity, although the Holy Spirit does not play a large part in the narrative (leading some critics to think that Milton did not even believe in the Trinity), he is continually referred to as Milton’s inspirational “muse” in the writing of the epic. The Holy Spirit is, in fact, the creature through whom the Old and New Testament were written according to Christians; therefore he is the best vehicle from which Milton can draw the truth.

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SIN Daughter of Satan born when Satan first disobeyed God, Satan later rapes Sin and they have Death. The three form the unholy trinity in contrast to God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Sin is sent to hell with Satan and stands guard at hell's gates. She is a horrible looking thing, half serpent, half woman, with hellhounds circling her. She will invade earth and mankind after Satan causes Adam and Eve to fall. DEATH Spawn of Satan and Satan's daughter Sin. He is a dark, gigantic form who guards the gates of hell with Sin. He, too, will reign on earth after Satan causes the Fall. Death, however, will plague not only men and women, but all living creatures on earth down to the smallest plant. Death, as a terminal end, will be defeated when God sends his Son Jesus Christ to earth. ADAM First created man, father of all mankind, Adam is created a just and ordered creature, living in joy, praising God. Lonely, Adam will ask for a companion and will thereafter feel deep and uncontrollable, though ordered, love for her, named Eve. This love will ultimately get Adam in trouble, as he decides to disobey God rather than leave her. Adam has free will and, by the end of the poem, also has the knowledge of good and evil. EVE First created woman, mother of all mankind, Eve is rather a fickle and vain woman, easily flattered by Adam and Satan. Her weakness becomes her downfall, as her vanity drives her to disobey God. She loves Adam as well, though the implication is that she loves herself much more. RAPHAEL Gentle archangel sent to befriend and warn Adam of the dangers in the Garden. Raphael is traditionally seen as a friendly and sociable angel and, in fact, sits down to eat and gab with Adam for most of an afternoon. Raphael is a gentle guide and appears as a luminous, soft being. MICHAEL General in God’s army, In contrast to Raphael, Michael is a firm, military type of angel. He is more of an instructor and a punisher than he is a friend and a guide. He and Gabriel are sent to battle Satan’s forces in the heavenly war, and he is sent to evict Adam and Eve from Paradise.

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GABRIEL Another archangel who is a general in God’s army, Gabriel, too, was sent to lead God’s forces into battle against Satan and it is he who, with a squadron of angel soldiers, finds Satan in the Garden of Eden the first time. ABDIEL The only angel who stands up to Satan and his thousands of minions when Satan first suggests rebellion, Abdiel is praised as being more courageous than even those who fight in God's army because he stood up in the middle of evil and used words to battle it. BEELZEBUB Lord of the Flies, one of the Fallen Angels and Satan's second in command. Beelzebub is the name of one of the Syrian gods mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He is the first with whom Satan confers when contemplating rebellion and he is the first Satan sees when they are in hell. Beelzebub relies totally on Satan for what he thinks and does. Later, Satan uses Beelzebub as a plant to get hell's council of fallen angels to do what he wants them to do. MOLOCH Another fallen angel, one of the generals of Satan’s army, Moloch is an authoritarian military angel, who would rather fight and lose battles than be complacent and passive. Victory over God is less important to Moloch than revenge against him. BELIAL A complacent, passive fallen angel, Belial doesn’t want to fight. He represents a part of all the fallen angels that secretly wishes God would take them all back. MAMMON Another fallen angel Mammon thinks that the fallen angels should try to build their own kingdom and make their life as bearable as possible in hell. He is the ultimate compromiser, and, though his compromise is illogical and will not work, the crowd loves him.

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SUMMARY OF PRADISE LOST BOOK IX WITH CRITICAL COMMENTS SUMMARY Twilight falls on the Garden of Eden, then darkness. Satan slips into the garden in the form of mist. He then hides himself in the snake. While going though Eden, Satan again laments his loss of heaven when he sees how beautiful a creation paradise is. “Revenge, at first though sweet, bitter ere long back on itself recoils.” Morning comes and Adam and Eve go out to tend the Garden of Eden. Eve suggests they split up and divide the work to get more of it done. Adam doesn’t think this is a good idea, but relents when Eve implies that he doesn’t trust her. Satan, of course, finds Eve alone and, for a moment overcome by her beauty, finds himself “stupidly good.” In the form of a serpent, then, Satan flatters her, telling her how beautiful she is. Eve is amazed that the serpent knows how to speak and asks how this is possible. Satan replies that it is because he ate from a tree in the garden. He brings her to the Tree of Knowledge to show her. Eve, at first, says she cannot eat from the tree, but Satan tells her that God doesn’t want her to eat because knowledge of good and evil will make her equal to a god. Eve takes an apple and devours it. She then decides, because of her love, to involve Adam. They meet in front of the tree. Adam is upset, but decides he cannot live without Eve, so he takes the apple as well. When he eats the apple, the two are seized with lust, and Adam leads Eve back to the bank where they first lay together. They sleep and arise, “destitute and bare of all their virtue.” They realize for the first time that they are naked. Adam sews together fig leaves to cover themselves. Adam blames Eve for their torment. Eve blames Adam for letting her work in the garden alone. Adam blames Eve for being angry about that, and they spend the afternoon blaming on another. CRITICAL ANALYSIS 15


Milton is writing at the cusp of the Renaissance. The emerging sciences, arts, and literature point to a different sense of the individual than that of the dark ages. Milton was straddling the heavy hand of the church and religion of the middle Ages and the humanism and individualism of the future, both in his personal philosophy and in his historical context. Milton was, in many ways, a humanist and believed in the value of human life as well as the rights and freedoms that are inherent in that life. However, Milton continually balanced this with the idea that true freedom can only be had if it is in line with the ordered, rational will of God. Adam loves Eve and so, by joining her in eating the apple, sacrifices his own happiness for love. This, in itself is good act, motivated by love. A true humanist would say that Adam is acting freely and he has done a good thing. Milton, however, shows that even good acts are evil and corrupt if not done in line with God's will. Adam is disobeying God and no matter what he does outside of obedience, it will be bad. William Blake said that “Milton was of the devil’s party without knowing it.” He was referring to what we have described before, namely, the rather sympathetic nature in which Milton seems to treat Satan. Indeed, Satan’s rebelling against the all seeing tyranny of God would appear to be right in line with Milton’s own political views that tyranny was wrong. However, just as with Adam in good works done in disobedience, Satan is wrong because he is acting outside the will of God, no matter his courage, bravery, or justification in rebelling against tyranny. Despite his humanism, therefore, Milton believes that no acts can be considered good if they are against God's law. It is quite clear in this book that right after Adam took a bite of the apple, Adam and Eve had lustful, passionate sex. Referring back to Book IV, where it is inferred that they were having sex all along, one can see the difference in sex in pre-fall uncorrupted mankind and post-Fall irrational man. Pre-Fall Adam and Eve were guided by reason and order and so therefore all acts, even acts of love, brought him closer to God. Post-Fall Adam and Eve are using his animal appetites that brought him closer to animals than God. One can see in the language where post-Fall Adam grabs Eve's hand and pulls her to their bed, where before it was Eve who gently took Adam’s hand. Continuing on Milton’s use of numerology, we go a little deeper this time with the interesting fact that the pause before nature itself shudders in revulsion from Adam eating the apple occurs exactly on line 999 of Chapter 16


IX. Line 10000 actually begins the storm. Although we may be unsure what Milton had in mind by these numbers matched with events, we can be sure that it was not incidental (and probably has something to do with numerology of ancient Mesopotamian religions). Once again, Milton is showing the physical, macro results of an internal, micro moral decision. The earth, i.e., nature itself, shutters when Adam takes a bite of the apple. In this chapter and the next, the natural elements of earth will crumble and become corrupted in the sense in the sense that natural disasters, and violence between species, will become the norm. Earth will then become a mixture of the types of nature seen in both heaven and hell. It will, at times, be spectacularly beautiful, full of light and blooming in colours. It will also, however, have its dark times, be engulfed in floods and flames, and look more like an unordered hell. The physical descriptions of Adam and Eve have changed as well. They no longer glow with joy, they are less angelic in their nature, and, within hours of eating the apple, they are prone to new, irrational emotions ranging from anger to deep depression. As well, they see each other differently as well. Specifically, they are more interested, and worried, about their genetalia than ever before. The reproductive organs suddenly take on a value (they are evil in that they lead to lust), which was hereto unheard of when Adam and Eve lacked knowledge. For Milton, the interior state of the soul is displayed visibly in the physical. Sin is always visible.

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MOST EXPECTED QUESTIONS Q: HOW ADAM AND EVE ARE LIKE AND UNLIKE HUMAN BEINGS? Q: LIKE OF A RELIGIOUS BOOK, ‘MAN’ IS THE CENTRAL THEME OF “PARADISE LOST”, DISCUSS. Q: DO WE FIND HUMAN NATURE AS THE CENTRAL ISSUE OF “PARADISE LOST”? Ans: “Paradise Lost” is a poem about the nature of man. The Biblical story of the fall and its consequences serve as a framework to get the desired aim. The exposure of human nature is made through the characters of Adam and Eve. Both are like and unlike human beings. Prior to Satan’s entry into the Garden of Eden, they are unlike human beings. The degree of innocence, simplicity, credulity, nobility, gentleness, obedience, submission and purity, which the reader finds in them, is hard to be found in human beings. They are more angels-like and less like us. However, after Eve’s debate with Adam over the separation of their labours till repentance that they become attractive and representatives of universal human nature. It is first of all Eve who attracts our attention. She argues with Adam over the division of work. Her dissatisfaction, doubts and complaints are familiar thinking processes of human psychic make up. The complaining wife tries to convince her contended husband that their work to maintain the Garden of Eden is beyond their capacity that all their efforts to keep the garden well trimmed have failed, hence, there is pressing desirability to divide their labours. The important thing to note is the presence of germs of evil in Eve’s mind, which is another, proof of her being a real human being. She, on the one hand, calls God unjust by complaining of excessive work while on the other hand, finds faults with Divine Plan, which enjoins them to work together. In short, her complaints and suggestions are natural to human mind. Adam’s disagreement corresponds to the thinking of the typical God fearing human being. His arguments are sensible and logical but they are thoroughly coloured with religious sentiments like a gentle husband, he advises Eve not to criticize Divine Scheme because it is not binding on them to keep on working and to do nothing else. He further expresses his apprehension like a true Christian. He thinks that the ‘crafty importer’ would prefer to seduce one of them instead of seducing both. It is worth noting that 18


Adam is too gentle to attract reader’s attention. Unlike Eve, he loves to live a life of obedience and submission. At the same time, Adam has a noble disposition, but neither he is authoritative nor assertive. The reader gets some dim glimpses of his Uxuriousness. Eve exposes typical female psychology by insisting upon her original plan. She wrongly interprets Adam by saying that if they confine themselves within a small area and remain all the time in a state of fear; their life cannot be called happy. Like a kind-hearted man, Adam reassures her that he does not doubt Eve’s virtuosity. What he means to say is that union is strength; when together they would administer to withstand any trial easily. He idealizes Eve that it is in her presence, he feels stronger and more courageous. Eve reveals obstinacy in her behaviour. She once again gives clear indication of the presence of germs of evil in her mind. She advances a novel argument that God has not made them so imperfectly that they should be incapable of meeting danger or temptation individually. The implication of Eve’s argument is that if she fails to resist the temptation singly. It would mean that God made her imperfect. She becomes representative of universal human nature by showing her inclination towards evil. There is blend of both good and evil in Eve, though good dominates. Eve becomes more attractive human being than Adam as she behaves, talks and thinks, like an average human being. Adam is more reasonable and convincing than Eve in his arguments. He rightly feels there is danger inherent in the fact that man may loose control over his own faculties or the devil might drag him into fraud and deception through something that seems too good and fair and that freewill requires to be exercised under the constant control of reason. Thus instead of endorsing Eve’s desire for independence and liberty he advises her to remain within the limits of divine rules and regulations. He knows that whosoever violates the human limits will be punished by God. His apprehensions are that of a true Christian. He also becomes a spokesman of human nature. By now it becomes clear that exposure of human nature is central to “Paradise Lost”. Both Adam and Eve are the proto-types of universal human nature. Hence, both are like human beings therefore attract our attention and appreciation.

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Q: DESCRIBE THE DRAMA OF FALL OF ADAM AND EVE. Q: “MILTON’S EPIC IS UNIVERSAL, IT IS NOT ONLY AN EPIC RATHER IT HAS A COMPLELE STRUCTURE OF A TRAGEDY”, ELABORATE. Ans: The climax of “Paradise Lost” is the fall of Adam and Eve. They become the victim of forbidden fruit, on the temptation of Satan. In the guise of serpent he secretly entered the Garden of Eden in order to frustrate God’s plan about the new creation. The whole of this episode is described in a dramatic and epic style. Exchange of dialogue, interaction of characters, suspense and the interplay of the feelings of frustration, independence, warning, partition, flattery, praise, benefits, tough reasoning, silent thinking taste, effect of fruit, pride, superiority, pathos, love, relish companionship with Eve, nakedness, lustfulness and quarrel are the sources of dramatic element in Book IX of “Paradise Lost”. But the major source is the internal and external conflict of characters. It is important to note here that the element of epic grandeur is never lost. The first dramatic situation is the scene when Eve advances her suggestion that she and Adam would accomplish more if they were to divide their labour. She also criticizes on the ground that the work, which they do in Paradise, is somewhat more than their capacities permit. Her dissatisfaction with the order of things is a pointer towards her tragic and ominous fall. Adam in his turn dismisses Eve’s suggestion in a gentle way. He says that they are stronger when united. He also expresses his doubts about the wisdom of Eve’s plan; she may be found by “the malicious foe”. Hence, Adam insists that “the attempt itself” should be abided. Eve agrees about the existence of such an enemy but she is hurt at Adam’s opinion that she could be shaken or reduced. The argument with Adam ends when he allows her to work independently whenever she likes. Adam is embarrassed where Eve is happy at her newfound independence. This newfound emancipation is the concept of liberty, which has been a point of discussion for critics. As far as Milton is concerned, he does not approve of this kind of liberty. The event of the fall would not have taken place if Adam and Eve have remained together. Moreover, separation of Adam and Eve is directly against God’s plan that had devised an interdependent life programme for them. Violation of interdependent relationship becomes a tragic flaw. We compare this concept of liberty with the concept of liberty enunciated by Satan in Book 1, there is 20


a clear-cut difference. Satan rebels against God on account of injured merit. He thinks that God was rewarding him in view of his qualities and merits. Satan’s rebellion germinates from his intense hatred for God. He prefers to reign in hell than serve in Heaven, Satan’s concept of liberty is, in short a, direct challenge to God’s authority. On the other hand, the concept of liberty expressed in Book IX and enacted through the character of Eve is a matter of difference of opinion with God’s way of doing things. If we take these two concepts of liberty together, one thing at least is sure that God does not approve any of these. The next scene portrays Satan and Eve. Here the drama is at its height. If the scene with Adam is exposition, the scene with Satan is the development of action. Finding Eve alone at the early hours of the day, Satan becomes happy and makes his way towards her. Milton writes about Satan’s advancements in descriptive. This descriptive passage serves the purpose of pause in action and enhances the effect of suspense because it prepares us for the great events that are to follow. Reaching Eve, Satan flatters her in the manner of a court poet. Satan tells her that she is a “Goddess among gods”. Eve is flattered by her praise but at the same moment she is surprised at he serpent’s capacity for speech. She becomes curious and desires to know more about the reptile’s power of speech. This gives Satan an opportunity to continue his dialogue with her. He gives an account how he came to eat the fruit of “A godly Tree”. He describes the physical as well as intellectual pleasures, which he got from the fruit of that tree. Eve is compelled by her inquisitive nature and she asks him to show her the tree. On seeing the tree Eve bends her head because it was the forbidden tree. Eve tells the serpent that she has been forbidden to taste its fruit. Here the serpent shows a great psychological understanding of the character of Eve. He delivers a powerful rhetorical speech. He turns his attention away from Eve to the tree, itself. He addresses the tree in the following words: “O sacred, wise and wisdom-giving plant. Mother of Science…” In this way he withdraws his pressure from Eve for a moment, but at once catches her and starts with his usual manner of flattery. He calls her “Queen of this universe” and informs her that there is no need to believe in the threats of death. The serpent traps her in his arguments in such a way that there is no way out left for her. He asks her if the tree offers knowledge of good how can it be just of God to refuse such 21 By Qaisar Iqbal Janjua Contact: (92) 300 8494678, [email protected]

knowledge. And if it offers knowledge of evil, why they should be effused since one Evil is known, it may be “easier to shun”. He further tells her that God would praise their courage for eating the fruit of this tree. Eve is completely nonplussed at the argument of the famous temptation speech. But before committing the fatal sin, she pauses and thinks. Her thinking at that moment is a kind of soliloquy. What she reasons out is much more effective than the temptation speech of Satan. She argues that the prohibition is unreasonable since it prevents her from judging the very problem, which it raises. Ignorance of evil keeps her away from the full importance of goodness. But the irony is that her conclusion is based on Satan’s lie that he had tasted the forbidden fruit. She unmindful of all things plucks the fruit and greedily eats it. The immediate effect of eating the fruit is that there is an upheaval of Nature, which sighs through all his works. Nevertheless, it is Satan’s encounter with Eve that Milton has exposed some of the prominent facets of human nature namely internal and external conflict between opposing forces, curiosity, vanity, love of flattery, self projection, self interest, failure to distinguish between the appearance and reality, greed etc. Since most of these aspects of human nature, we find in Eve’s personality, she appears more attractive than Adam. She is closer to normal, average and common human beings. Q: DESCRIBE IN YOUR OWN WORDS THE TEMPTATION SCENE AND ITS IMPLICATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EPIC. Ans: Satan is a con artist of a very high order. He adopts the right channel to seduce Eve. He flatters her in the persuasive manner. That Eve is trapped to Satan and it does not seem unnatural. His attack is well planned and well executed. Eve’s failure to see beyond false appearance is the predicament of almost each and every human being. Satan hypnotizes Eve and succeeds in bringing her reason under his control by yelling fibs that his comprehension got sound and his vision broadened after he tasted the forbidden fruit. Accordingly, her curiosity inflated to the maximum. Like Faustus, she surrenders and gladly submits to Satan’s guidance. Her response or reaction is not surprising though it is shocking and painful. It is an open secret that in the course of their life the human beings get strayed and run after false, illusive and hollow ideals. “Paradise Lost” is fundamentally a poem about the nature of man. 22


The last act of the drama of fall also depicts several shades of human nature. It is once again Eve who becomes Milton’s mouthpiece. After tasting the forbidden fruit on the one hand, she develops a sense of superiority while on the other hand exposes typical female jealously. She is worried that if death comes and claims her life. Adam might marry another Eve. On catching sight of Eve with a branch of tree of knowledge in her hand, Adam’s temptation is different from that of Eve. In Adam’s case his passions overrule his reason. He tastes the forbidden fruit out of sheer love for Eve. His act of disobedience confirms him a real human being of flesh and blood. Afterwards, their last sexual act bickering, realization, shedding of tears, feeling of remorse and repentance are typical to human beings.

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John Milton's Paradise Lost Book 9 (A Critical Analysis by Qaisar Iqbal Janjua)

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