Prospectus
Annotated Bibliography
Below you will find a list of sections to read closely as you are making your way through Milton's great epic, Paradise Lost. Remember you are responsible for the entirety of each of the Books, including the "Argument" that precedes each Book. Still, I'd like you to pay particular attention to the following sections. Notice that, to be kinder and more fair, I've lessened the reading load to only bring us to Book II by the time we reconvene. Also, I have included bulleted-summaries (in parenthesis) of the marked sections; these should serve as an apt reference for you. Remember to annotate and take notes as you are reading!!!
Introduction
- xi-xiv - "Meditating Flight" (on Milton's Life, quick biography)
- xiv-xxviii - "This Subject for Heroic Song," "With Dangers Compassed Round," "This Great Argument," "My Adventurous Song" (an introduction and discussion of Milton's great epic)
- xli-xliv - "To Model Heaven and Calculate the Stars" (on Milton's hierarchy of the universe; i.e., the circles of the heavens, the planets, and the earth)
- xlvii-li - "Sense Variously Drawn Out" (on Milton's style of verse and use of language)
Book I
- 1-26 (Milton's 'thesis')
- 26-124 (How Satan's crew came to be chained to the floor of Hell)
- 241-270 (Satan speaks on their present "clime")
- 316-375 (Satan rallies his troops)
- 566-669 (begin from "He through the armed files")(Satan raises and reforms his army, stating their new mission in the battle again God)
- 670-798 (the fallen angels mine the surface of Hell and construct Pandaemonium in order to call and hold a council)
Book II
- 1-105 (Satan argues for "open war")
- 161-169 (Belial's argument)
- 274-283 (Mammon's argument)
- 344-378 (from "What if we find / [...] / Hatching vain empires.") (Beelzebub's argument to "seduce" the "puny inhabitants" of earth)
- 427-466 (Satan's resolution to perform the mission alone)
- 506-513 (a fine example of god-parody)
- 552-628 (the fallen angels cheer; a 'map' of the universe)
- 629-889 (Satan at the gate of Hell; his encounter with Sin and Death)
- 890-942 (Satan ventures into the "wild abyss" of Chaos)
- 1023-1055 (the 'highway' from Hell; the "golden chain" of the universe)
For journal #6 I'd like you to do the following: Pick a favorite passage and briefly discuss it's importance and significance to you and to the epic itself. This is due before class meets again on Wed. 4/7.
Of man’s first disobedience and the fruit
ReplyDeleteOf that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater man
Restore us and regain the blissful seat,
Sing heavenly muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed
In the beginning how the heavens and earth
Rose out of chaos; or if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God, I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above the Aonian mount while its pursues
Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme (PL.1.1-16)
I chose this passage because it brings the readers into the centerpiece of the epic. I think this passage demonstrates where the battle began between good and evil. This is my very first time reading Paradise Lost and heard nothing but great reviews. People kept on telling me I got to read the book before I finish school and there you have it. I never got a grip of what it’s about, just a battle between good and evil, God and Satan etc. Now I really understand so far since I have read only a few passages so far. It shows what Milton wanted to do with this. To Milton, this epic is an “argument”and“that Milton was aware of his poem as an extended proposition set forth and defended” (Scott Kastan, p. xxii). The start and basis of the epic is when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the “fruit.” Soon after, sin comes into the picture where it becomes present in the incoming passages. To Milton, Adam and Eve “brought death into the world and all our woe / with loss of Eden” (PL.1.2-3).
I was wondering if the narrator, the “I” in line 12, was referring to Milton. Another reason I chose this passage, barring that it was the first few lines of the text, but rather it shows the imagery and metaphors that Milton uses. It’s a great example of his poetic skills.
As Scott Kastan wrote in page xii, Milton “had imagined writing such a poem even as a young man.” Kastan wrote that in page xiii "Milton saw poetry as a calling from God, a true vocation, and he shaped his career with an unusual sense of purpose to clarify his ambitions. Milton does a great job in evoking that in his writing. The language is so intense and gratifying.
Indeed, David, the "I" of line 12 is the voice of Milton. He is calling upon the "oracle of God" to "Invoke [his] aid to my adventurous song" (1.12f). That is, without divine aid Milton's grand epic, his great argument (as you so honed in on) will not be able to "pursu[e] / Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme" (1.15f).
ReplyDeleteThis is a truly revolutionary statement! Ambitious, yes, and perhaps a bit pompous... yet to be the greatest poet and to have such aspirations Milton must have more than just the Muses of poesy on his side, he needs the divine light of God. Let us not forget the following vital passage (and a favorite of mine own):
What is in me dark
Illuminate, what is low raise and support,
That to the height of this great argument
I may assert eternal providence
And justify the ways of God to men. [1.22-26]
Does anyone care to contend with Milton's claim that he, more so than any other, is the 'one' who must "justify" God's ways? Cannot this be seen as extremely heretical? Could it not also be revered?
"Of man's first disobedience and the fruit/ Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste/ Brought death into the world and all our woe/ With loss of Eden, till one greater man/
ReplyDeleteRestore us and regain the blissful seat." (I.1-5)
Personally, I always find the first few lines of a story or poem to be very intriguing. Often times the author tries to engage the reader by introducing his main point in few dramatic words to engage and captivate the reader about the potential of the forthcoming story. In this particular case, I feel Milton is introducing us to man's fight of good and evil and makes us aware of the consequences of choosing evil. Although I have not read enough of the story to truly understand which direction he is heading in, this struggle is one that has lasted for generations, yet seemingly we have had no savior to this point.
To comment on Professors comment, I was puzzled about why Milton claims he must "justify" G-d's ways more so than any other. Not only does that appear heretical, it also seems downright arrogant.
Reminding me a bit of Dante now, in the sense that they were looking for the "light" especially in Canto I in these lines:
ReplyDeleteI found myself before aw little hill
and lifted up my eyes. Its shoulders glowed
already with the sweet rays of that planet
whose virtue leads men straight on every road,
and the shining strengthened me against the fright
whose agony had wracked the lake of my heart
through all the terrors of that piteous night. [Dante.1.15-21)
I knew it was Milton. I just wanted to make sure. I just find it awesome how he, like Dante, puts himself right into the epic to explain to readers what he wants to do and what their intentions are for writing this beautifully crafted piece.
To answer your question about Milton being the "one" to "justify" God's way, Prof. D., I think Milton as he was chosen to write it. David Scott Kastan wrote in page xxii of the introduction that "the thought of God's ways are indeed in need of justification...Milton rises to the challenge he has placed in Satan's mouth - but not until the weight of the implication is fully felt, as it must often have been felt by Milton himself in the years surrounding the Restoration." To sum up this long quotation, Kastan is saying that Milton felt as if it was his duty to "educate" people during the time period, which was the time of the Restoration.
Here at least
ReplyDeletewe shall be free. The almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence;
Here we may reign secure, and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition though in hell:
Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven.
But wherefore let we then our faithful friends,
The associates and copartners of our loss,
Lie thus astonished on the oblivious pool
And call them not to share with us their part
In this unhappy mansion, or once more
With rallied arms to try what may be yet
Regained in Heaven or what more lost in hell? (lines 258-270)
I found this passage particularly interesting because here it seems like Satan is a revolutionary leader who broke free from being enslaved in Heaven. Satan introduces this new place and promises security and tries to portray hell as a place that is better then heaven. This passage has a very famous line that says "Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven", with this line I kinda see Satan as being optimistic. He was dropped from Heaven into this horrible place and he sees it as a positive thing where he could be the ruler instead of being a servent. People usually identify with the rebels and here we can see that Satan is infact a rebel.
Say first, for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,
ReplyDeleteNor the deep tract of hell, say first what cause
Moved our grand parents in that happy state,
Favored of heaven so highly, to fall off
From their creator and transgress his will
For one restraint, lords of the world besides.
I really loved this passage. It reminded me of a quote from a Chuck Palahniuk novel, in which he asks whether eternal happiness in the Garden of Eden justified eating the apple. I think it did, but then again why question what we must find an answer for. In a strange way, Milton attempts to understand the whole course of history while writing this masterpiece. To write about Adam and Eve is to recreate the big bang, to travel the cosmos in search of that one objective irrefutable truth, origins. Nothing has ever fascinated me more than the God V. Satan fight which, in my opinion, many misinterpret. If we follow Abrahamic lore, we find that Satan was once an angel, dethroned by God for not bowing down to Adam, God’s greatest creation. The significance of this is vital, for the serpents tempting of Eve was Satan’s attempt to show God the weakness of “man,” and that he alone deserves God’s undying love.
Farewell happy fields
ReplyDeleteWhere joy forever dwells. Hail horrors, hail
Infernal world, and thou profoundest hell
Receive thy new possessor: one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The mind is its own place and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell and a hell of Heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same
And what I should be, all but less than he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free. The almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence;
I feel this passage is the most down to earth statement that was made in the book and the most non-convoluted passage of the first two books. Satan is accepting hell and claiming himself as the new ruler of it. The part of the passage that was most important to me was how one can make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven which is very true; they can either accept god's punishment as a punishment or make the best of it.. it is all relative.
If I may ask my fellow classmates,
Do you guys think this book is esoteric in the sense that the more religious people would be able to understand it? I'm not a religious person so reading through this book is quite hard because I'd have to break my concentration in order to look up certain things that are mentioned and just makes the book very uninteresting to read.
“Is this the region, this the soil, the clime,”
ReplyDeleteSaid then the lost archangel, “this the seat
That we must change for Heaven, this mournful gloom
For that celestial light? Be it so, since he
Who now is sovereign can dispose and bid
What shall be right. Farthest from him is best
Whom reason hath equaled, force hath made supreme
Above his equals. Farewell happy fields
Where joy forever dwells. Hail horrors, hail
Infernal world, and thou profoundest hell
Receive thy new possessor: one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The mind is its own place and in itself
Can make a Heaven of hell, and a hell of Heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same
And what I should be, all the less than he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free.
…Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven
I chose this quote initially for poetic reasons. Also because I found Satan’s response to the current clime to be very human like. This quality seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the rest of the epic that I have read so far but it was the first time I really noticed this in Satan’s reaction. He is saying if this is where he has to stay then so be it, because heaven and hell are places of the mind and it is better to be free then to serve in heaven. These sound like words spoken from a true leader, not the villain Satan that we initially imagine. It reminded me of a speech a leader would say to his men after a defeat to prepare them for battles ahead.
The idea that heaven and hell are all places of the mind is another aspect that I found interesting because the power of one’s mind is always something that astonishes me.
The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven/
ReplyDeleteWhat matter where, if I be still the same/And what I should be, all but less than he/Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least/We shall be free. The Almighty hath not built/Here for his envy, will not drive us hence/Here we may reign secure; and, in my choice/To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell/Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. (Book 1 254-263).
This quotation up above is one of my favorite passages as well as being very significant to the epic itself. It describes Heaven and Hell as states of the mind, which is quite interesting. For instance, an individual’s life and feelings are what he or she makes of them. A person has the capability of taking actions to create or destroy his/her own happiness within their mind. A person’s life is like a game of cards. Some people get a lucky hand and others a horrible hand; however, it is how they play the hand that determines the outcome. A person’s life can be described as a game of cards. A person is given a life just like being dealt with a hand of cards. In the game the individual may receive a good hand or a bad hand; the hand does not necessarily matter. If the individual is dealt a good hand they may become over confident and make a wrong move. Suddenly the individual’s confidence will start to shift to a whole new direction.
In this passage, Satan is lamenting his loss and beginning to realize that he will be in hell for a very long time. At this point in the narrative Satan is still licking his wounds and not seriously considering revenge. Instead, he is deciding how to make the best of the situation. Satan’s existential view of damnation does little to comfort him when faced with the reality of Hell. Even as he plots to corrupt creation he wrestles with the impossible dream of returning to heaven. He must feed his own hate with lies to make his loss more bearable. This is very significant to the epic itself because the quotation applies to everyday human life on earth. Kind of remind me of Mariah Carey or vise versa for instance; to the devil heaven is hell to him. Mariah is exhausted and needs a break and the so-called heaven she was living in was not such heaven for her, it is however all of the mind and how she views it. The fact of not getting any breaks and constantly not having time for just herself, the devil makes or puts a game out, making it cautiously, enabling him to win. If she is dealt a bad hand, the devil may play it smart. This is where the individual takes their good hand of cards and makes a bad play.
(1:254-255) "The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
ReplyDeleteThese two lines of book one really popped out to me. They show what really went through the mind of Satan. He believed that as long as you felt that Hell was a good place, than it could be said to be the right place for people to go and heaven the wrong.
It really shows how strong the mind can really be. You can make anything right as long as you believe in it. Another line that effected me was when Satan says “Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.” (1:263) Power is most important to him, whether it be part of evil or not. He'd rather be in Hell and be the leader, than be in Heaven, be good, and be a servant to god.
These lines are really the foreshadowing of a war that is to happen between the two worlds.
“Of man’s first disobedience and the fruit
ReplyDeleteOf that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater man
Restore us and regain the blissful seat,
Sing heavenly muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed
In the beginning how the heavens and earth
Rose out of chaos; or if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God, I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above the Aonian mount while its pursues
Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme” (I.1–26)
I felt this was an important line clearly because it lays the foundation for what Paradise Lost will be about. Though I also chose these lines because it shows us a glimpse of Milton. I found it shocking that he felt his poem will be better then all the great epic poems before his. I found it to be very arrogant on his end.
The mind is its own place and in itself
ReplyDeleteCan make a Heaven of hell, a hell of Heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same
And what I should be, all but less than he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free. The almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence;
Here we may reign secure, and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition though in hell:
Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven. (1.254-263)
This passage serves at least two purposes. First it is a vivid example of Satan’s eloquence; his logic is correct and words full of passion which later with the same skill in speech and seduction to successfully convince Eve to have the forbidden fruit. Secondly, Satan’s mindset is clearly shown here that his disobedience toward God and ambition to take over Heaven and be the lord himself is his primary cause of his fall; and he fools himself into thinking he is the lord in Hell, his own heaven, and no one is above him right now.
Awaiting what command their mighty chief
ReplyDeleteHad to impose. He through the armed files
Darts his experienced eye, and soon traverse
The whole battalion views, their order due,
Their visages and stature as of gods. (1.566-70)
This passage really stood out to me. It really made me feel as if Satan was the protagonist and God, the villanous adversary. The way Milton "draws" this picture is superb. There was a point where it actually made me feel proud for Satan; I was one of his mighty soilders anxious to follow him into battle. It reminded me of the film 300 with Satan assuming the role of Leonidas and rallying his spartans(fallen angels)
As being the contrary to his high will
ReplyDeleteWhom we resise. If then his providnece
Out of our evil seek to brign forth good,
Our labor must be to pervert that end
And out of good still to find means of evil,
Which oft times may succeed so as perhaps
Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb
His inmost counsels from their destined aim. (1.160-168)
I find this passage important because Satan is seeing that he is evil and will always be treated as evil. Even if he does a good deed that deed will be looked upon as if he is trying to gain something in return. He believes his evil ways will be seen as the new version of good.
Of man’s first disobedience and the fruit
ReplyDeleteOf that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater man
Restore us and regain the blissful seat,
Sing heavenly muse, that on the secret top
Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed(I 1-8)
I find the beginning of book one to be very interesting, especially the first two lines "of that forbidden tree, whose moral taste/ brought death into the world and all our woe" (I 1-2), it is very interesting how the author introduces reader to the consequence of the forbidden tree. The beginning lines also tell us that the poem will have to do with heaven and hell. Once the forbidden tree is mentioned we know that the story of Adam and Eve will come alive.
Where joy forever dwells. Hail Horrors, hail
ReplyDeleteInfernal world, and though profoundest hell
Receive thy new possessor: one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The mind is its own place and in itself
Can make a Heaven of hell, a hell of Heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same
And what I should be, all but less than he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free. The almighty hate not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence. (1.250-260)
Hell is a state of mind. It is stoic and idealistic. It is with our minds that we create our world and see things the way we see them. When it says we can make Heaven hell and hell Heaven it just further highlights the fact that we are the creators or our own worlds. I may see something as wonderful while someone right next me to staring at the same thing sees it as horrible. It is the nature of our minds to manipulate things into a state of being of which we are comfortable with. We foresee things in a way in which we wish, and with the aid of our minds these pictures come into light.
Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit
ReplyDeleteOf that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste
Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful
Seat, Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen
Seed, In the Beginning how the Heav’ns and Earth, Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill
Delight thee more, and Siloa’s Brook that flow’d, Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence
Invoke thy aid to my advent’rous Song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above th’ Aonian Mount, while it pursues
Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhyme. (l.1-16)
I picked this passage for two reasons; first is because he compares himself to Homer and Vergil, who were the original epic poets. He believes that he can be better than them with the help of his muse. This also brings us back to Dante whose inspiration was Vergil. It seems that all writers/poets of that time tried to better than the other. They all wanted to be recognized as the best. This specifically caught my eye because it is exactly what we see today. Everyone tries to prove that they are better than everyone else by comparing themselves to the people around them. The second reason I like this passage was because of how he explores Adam and Eve. He writes that his subjects will be the disobedience of Adam and Eve and all sins will hurt the world. This is the beginning of how Adam and Eve came to be and their holy place.
Me though just right and the fixed laws of Heaven / Did first create your leader, next, free choice / With what besides, in counsel or fight, / Hath been achieved of merit, yet this loss, / Thus far atleast recovered, hath much more / Established in a safe, unenvied throne / Yielded with full consent.(2.18-21)
ReplyDeletethis passage stood out to me since it is showing all the devils as stranded on a forgein place where they are in need of a leader and since all.of them have great power only satan seems to be the most suitable for the reasons he states . it shows how after the fall of the devils they are ready to rise again so we can say we are witnessing the rebirth of the fallen angles!!!
(1:254-255) "The mind is its own place, and in itself/Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
ReplyDeleteI see this line stood out for a lot of people including me. This is a very interesting line gets our attention, because you may start thinking about thinking about religion when reading this passage. The mind is such a powerful thing that if you happen to think your something powerful and your not after awhile you will start believing that you are. Now that Satan is sent to hell now he is going to take control and make it his paradise and make it seem that way to others to give into him, by making others sin.
The signal to ascend-sit lingering here Heavens fugitives and for their dwelling place accept this dark opprobrious den of shame the prison of his tyranny who reigns by our delay? No let us rather choose armen with hell flames to force resistless way turning out tortures into horrid arms against the torturer when to meet his noise….. Mixed with Tattarean sulphur and strange fire his own invented torments. But perhaps the way seems difficult and steep to scale (2: 56-72)
ReplyDeleteI picked this passage because it shows how there is a reversal of exactly who is bad and who is good. Milton is showing a different idea of the devil and God here than one would normally see. We are seeing the devil going to war here against god and yet we have some sort of compassion for him in doing this. I find this strange that this is how Milton had portrayed the devil and God.
Princes, potentates,
ReplyDeleteWarriors: the flower of Heaven once yours, now lost
If such astonishment as this can seize
Eternal spirits; or have ye chosen this place
After the toil of battle to repose
Your wearied virtue for the ease you find
To slumber here as in the vales of Heaven?
Or adore the conqueror, who now beholds
Cherub and seraph rolling in the flood
With scattered arms and ensigns, till anon
His swift pursuers fron Heaven gates discern
The advantage and, descending, tread us down
Thus drooping, or with linked thunderbolts
Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf?
Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen.
This passage is significant to the epic. Satan begins to comfort his army to get them to forget their fall and rise again. His encouragement shows that he will not give up this fight. The rally to the troop shows Satan's primary goal after their fall. He would rather rule Hell than serve Heaven. This way he can show his anger to God.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSay first, for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,
ReplyDeleteNor the deep tract of hell, say fist what cause
Moved our grand parents in that happy state,
Favored of Heaven so highly, to fall off
From their creator and tansgress his will
For one restraint, lords of the world besides.
Who first seduced them to the foul revolt?
I find this passage interesting because it talks about Adam and Eve being tricked by satan to revolt. This can be said to be the root of the problem of Satan and mankind. This passage indirectly tioes satan to the problems of this world, in my opinion.
"Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?
ReplyDeleteThe infernal serpent, he it was, whose guile, stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind, what time his pride
Had cast him out from heaven with all his host
Of rebel angels, by whose aid aspiring
To set himself glory above his peers,
He trusted to have equaled the most high,
If he opposed, and with ambitious aim
Against the throne and monarchy of God"
I chose this passage because it talks about Satan and his army of Fallen Angels. He basically convinced the angels to turn against god and tricked them into fighting for the sake of his own glory. But the way that he makes it sound is almost as if god is wrong and must be rebelled against because God has a "system of monarchy". This is pretty ironic for Satan to say, and the way he says it almost makes him sound innocent and justified for rebelling against god since throughout history monarchy was always considered a bad way to govern.
Yet I also find it interesting how Satan is being referred to as a serpent and not a devil, I believe it says a lot about the way Milton feels about Satan and his rebellion against God.
Like louisKourtros, and many other classmates, one of the quotes that stuck to me in Milton's Paradise Lost is line 236 it states "better to reign in hell, than serve in heav'n." This quote challenges the God fearing believer because it suggests that there is no afterlife and that all of his/her good deed are meaningless. It is an existential quote in this sense. Moreover, the ways of Satan are similar to some arguments about human nature in the evil sense. Due to the relativity of existence on earth, one can only do what he/she knows is right. One can appeal to authority or emotion, but ultimately, the decider makes the decision. The trick is to provide the decider with the right choices.
ReplyDelete"The mind is its own place and in itself
Can make a Heaven of hell, a hell of Heaven" (Milton 254-256).
This quote struck out to me because it relates to theories of mind control. The human mind can experience mind control by allowing its body and spirit to be in "Heaven", or/and, it can choose to take control by controlling other bodies and spirits.
Hurling defiance toward the vault of Heaven.There stood a hill not far whose grisly top Belched fire and smoke;the rest entire(696-671)
ReplyDeleteThese statements struck me as the angles themselves rushed from from Heaven to make sure that him men had the rices of heaven towards the mother earth.
What in me is dark
ReplyDeleteIluminate, what is low raise and support,
That to the height of this great argument
I may assert eternal providence
And justify the ways of God to men.
This passage is important to me because I was able to understand the author's emphasis of this poem. It's important to the epic itself because its the guide that will later reveal the punishments that the rebel angels go through because of the man's disobedience, as Milton states, "For those rebellious, here their prison ordained/In utter darkness and their portion set/As far removed from God and light of Heaven/As from the center thrice to the urtmost pole". Also, in other passages Satan expresses his greed for power, and his hate for God. I found very interesting that Satan's envy was so strong that was able to manage everyone to the way he wanted. In this passage the reader understands the ambition for power which is eventually a reason why God expulsed Satan to Hell. "Here we may reign secure, and in my choice/To reign is worth ambition though in hell:/Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven." This statement by Satan shows that he prefers to reign in the darkness of Hell than to serve in Heaven, therefore in his steps to overthrown Gods power but all was in vain as Milton also points out in the poem.