John Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost,” which explores the story of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, makes this idea obvious. As Milton describes in the poem’s opening lines, Adam and Eve were close to God when they lived in the Garden of Eden. He applies the Bible’s book of Genesis story to illustrate various ideas about the human condition. The poem also explains how Satan was created because of deceiving Adam and Eve. The author makes excellent use of a range of literary elements, including imagery, symbolism, genre, location, and tone, to adequately express the characters and ideas presented in the poem. Milton uses literary techniques to communicate his intended message to the poem’s audience. The poem itself has been hailed as the greatest epic, and the Christian church has profited from its message since its adherents have regarded it as crucial to the growth of their religion. This essay gives a general review of John Milton’s poem “Paradise Lost” and thoroughly analyzes it, focusing on language use, invocation, and Satan’s role. Milton’s literary abilities have greatly influenced how literature has been perceived in the past since he developed a method that was quicker and easier to understand than that of his contemporaries, who at the time utilized complex terminology for the typical reader. For instance, Paradise Lost is a fantastic literary work that has benefited Christians all over the world by assisting them in comprehending the Bible’s original message, which in this case, is the fall of humanity as described in the book of Genesis. The poem “Paradise Lost” by John Milton is regarded by many as among the most significant literature ever written in the English language. Readers constantly indicate that the poem’s meaning is clear and easy to understand, despite general agreement that the English used in the poem is of poor quality. Due to the poem’s perception as containing complex language reserved for a select few, many people have been interested in past literature. However, Milton’s writings have made it simpler to understand poems and other types of literature. Milton, who was multilingual and spoke numerous languages well, used this versatility when penning the poem. The identification of voice and spoken words are inverted throughout the poem to include the voice of God.
Milton uses ambiguous language with a strong sense of deception, which gives the poem’s lexicon a dark, sinister atmosphere. In the Bible’s narrative of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve’s language reveals a logical connection between the things they name and the words they employ to describe them (Milton et al.). People can only envision how the relationship between Adam, Eve, and God was—one that was more akin to gemmates, where God’s ranking was far above that of humanity—as Milton’s exposition of the entire event makes it vivid. Milton also uses fallen language to accurately portray the roles of Adam and Eve. Christians may just read the Bible’s account of the fall of man. Still, without Milton’s interpretation, it would be easy for someone to miss the amount of harm Satan inflicted when he forced Adam and Eve out of what they had come to think of as their paradise—a place of solace. The poem successfully expresses the desired message, even though the reader may perceive the language used to be confusing due to the employment of multiple languages.
Given that Christianity is a religion practiced by many people around the world with diverse beliefs, cultural origins, and linguistic abilities, the author’s use of a wide variety of languages is itself a strategy to appeal to a wide audience. Milton had to take language considerations into account because he understood his poem was written with a broad audience in mind. His primary motivation may have been the worry that the intended meaning would be distorted if translations were made using the original text.
The idea of invocation is heavily emphasized in the first 26 lines of Paradise Lost. Early poets did not frequently use the idea of invocation since they had not perfected the method, and Milton may be regarded as one of the individuals who made invocation a crucial literary device in literature. One of the key elements of an epic poem is an invocation like Milton’s. The invocation is largely based on Christian and classical epics and has several allusions to each of these literary genres. Milton is a Christian author who appreciates other poets’ work but thinks the pagan Muse is less talented. It is common for a group of individuals to think of themselves as better than the rest in any other civilization. Because everyone has a responsibility to make sure they are proud of their work, Milton is acting just like any other author or person would. He gave writers of today the confidence to take pride in whatever practice they engage in without fear of being mocked by those on the other side of the divide because of the way he conducted himself and the works he produced. When we read his remarks (1–5), which highlight transgression, the loss of Eden, and the consequent restoration of the celestial seat, we are reminded of the argument made in the Aeneid (Milton et al.). At this moment, many classical poets started to think that Milton’s epic was superior to theirs. Milton asks his muse to carry him over the Aeonian Mountain. The first 26 lines describe how Christians and Hebrews dealt with their issues by defending God’s methods to the rest of humanity. Both religions had this as their fundamental focus. He also has the good sense to pay homage to well-known biblical figures via the lens of his lyrical brilliance. He declares that Jesus Christ is God and that the only thing that can bring him back to life is the water from Siloa’s Brook. He defines the Sacred Spirit as being all-knowing and placing a higher value on those who are straight and pure in their souls than any holy spot while making an appeal to that entity. It is impossible to compare Milton’s invocation, which appears throughout Paradise Lost, to any other poet’s poetic tale. Everyone agrees that Satan is one of the most complex and active figures. He is a figure in Milton’s poem who, despite having a strong desire for revenge and destruction, is yet a very appealing character. Milton is only alerting Christians of the risks involved with the seen worldly pleasant things by making Satan in his writings a likable persona. Satan must present himself as the loveliest phrases and nicest things that everyone else would want because he is infamous for corrupting other souls to win them to his side. Milton is merely cautioning Christians, his intended audience for this poem, to be mindful of the good things that might come their way in what can be called foreshadowing by some. Today, there is a desire for many people to amass wealth and live decent lifestyles. Many people find it challenging to respond to the question of whether Milton was on the side of God or Satan. Despite this, Satan is a wicked entity since he seduces people with flattery to take advantage. Milton claimed that Satan actively participated in the activities that took place in the Garden of Eden. Satan deceives himself into believing that he and the Son are interchangeable when all of the angels are aligned by God so that his anointed son may be revealed and rule over them. He urges the other angels to resist submission, refusing to give up his independence and asserting that the Son’s authority was an illegitimate one (1.108) He continued by calling God’s dominion “the tyranny of Heaven” (1.122–124). (Milton et al.). Due to his ingenuity, Satan was the first loser who had an impact on the rest of humanity.
Like Christians, Milton recognizes God as the supreme entity, and the trinity is made up of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Satan undoubtedly sought to be on the same level as God and had to be expelled from the first paradise, heaven, according to the doctrine of the Trinity. God is one yet manifested in three different ways. Christians can use Milton’s explanation of how humankind was tricked into losing their paradise today because it will make them more conscious of any tricks that might be employed against them to prevent them from receiving the paradise that they had been promised after their earthly lives are through.
Work Cited
Milton, John, et al. Paradise Lost: A Poem Written in Ten Books. Duquesne University Press, 2007. Open WorldCat, http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0721/2007025652.html.
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