About a Classic Poem Paradise Lost Written by John Milton

Paradise lost is a classic poem written by John Milton. In his work, Milton major theme was clearly indicated in the beginning statements and related to disobedience of man and justification of the ways of God. Paradise lost is a story about how Adam and Eve were created and how they lost their place in the garden of Eden. It is possible to defend the notion that Satan is the real hero of paradise lost. He appears as the main character with strange attributes that makes him achieve catastrophic status. In his work, Milton made Satan character appealing beyond his theological limits. During that period, individuals were encouraged and inspired by Milton writings to look for freedom from the kings as well as the Roman church with the intention of improving their conditions and making their lives pleasant (Milton, John & Helen 9). Satan can well explain this rebelled against God, which portrays him as a hero. Blake brought this into the limelight by postulating that Milton was for the Satan party without his knowledge. In the poem, Satan has been portrayed as a character with grand attributes that are worth admiration. In the poem, the character Satan has been featured with a lot of energy and magnificence. According to Hazlitt, the poem portrays Satan as the most heroic subject that has ever been chosen for any poem. According to the verse, Satan is presented with specific characteristics that are possessed by epic heroes portraying him as a sympathetic and catastrophic character. From the poem, the size of the equipment's carried by Satan as well as his physical dimensions makes him a hero. According to the poem, he has long limbs and a massive bulk like a titan (Milton, John & Helen 89). The poem describes Satan as a character that that materializes hope looking forward to the acquisition of land. On top this attributes, Satan is the first creature to be thrown to hell for trying to be equal to God. Anytime Satan figure is introduced in the poem, it comes with striking and appropriate images such as gigantic, portentous and proud. This implies that Satan has been given a lot of attention in the poem making him a true hero of the poem. In paradise lost, Milton talked about man disobedience to God. According to him, rebellion is what made Adam and Eve to be chased out of the garden of Aden. They disobeyed, and this annoyed Him, which resulted in the expulsion from the paradise. Milton gives more weight to obedience as opposed to authority. Satan was thrown to hell after disobeying, and hence Milton adores obedience. Charles 1 was the first monarch to face trial for disloyalty, which resulted in his execution. Milton supported execution of Charles 1 who was labeled as a traitor and a murderer (Power, Ben & Milton 46). Charles 1 had acted in contrary to the authority and thus he was subjected to trial. For Milton, obedience comes before power. However, hindering obedience interferes with power. The fact that Charles 1 was accused of murder implies that he had disobeyed God. God orders individuals to obey his commandments, and one of the commandments is not to kill. It means that the authority putting Charles 1 in the trial was justified since he had already contravened God's commandment and thus disobeying him. In obedience, power comes automatically and hence Milton is justified to glorify work that supports compliance as opposed to authority. Charles 1 used his bad design of erecting and keeping himself in unlimited as well as tyrannical jurisdiction to rule in his will. He overthrew the rights as well as liberties of the people (Edwards, Mike & Milton, 90). This implies that he had already disobeyed God. From Milton point of view, obedience is the mother of good deeds, and thus with compliance, authority is exercised reasonably. If God was capable of expelling Adam and Even from the paradise due to their disobedience, then any individual who portrays defiance must be executed. It implies that violation cuts across all people regardless of their status. Execution of Charles 1 was justified since his actions represented disobedience (Power, Ben & Milton 46). Milton can justify a work that glorifies obedience to authority since, with compliance, those in authority act in a just and human character. Disobedience is the root of evil, and it is what made Adam and Eve to be expelled from the paradise and Satan to be thrown to hell. This implies that disobedience must be punished and hence Milton was justified to support the execution of Charles 1. The paradise lost tells about the fall of man from heaven as well as God's punishment on human brings. In his first sentence, Milton promised to give justification of the ways of God to men. In the achievement of this, he addressed the issue of the paradox of the human being free will and Gods introduction of evil to human beings. This provides a logical explanation in regards to why each was designed as the plans of God. His use of God as a character is of great importance since it gives the real picture of paradise situation (Edwards, Mike & Milton, 90). Before Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were living and interacting freely with God. However, after their disobedience, they discovered that they were naked and begun fearing God. The use of God as character shows how close Adam and Eve were with God and that they used to live and interact freely. This implies that once you obey God, you will communicate openly with him. Additionally, Milton used God as a character to show how powerful he is since he was able to punish and destroy Satan. It implies that God is active and those who disobey him are meant to face his wrath. If God was not a character, the work would not bring a clear picture since we would not have a clear understanding of how close God can be with human beings. Seeing God interact freely with Adam and Eve before their disobedience helps in understanding the kind of a relationship that God has with his people (Power, Ben & Milton 46). In the absence of God as a character, Satan would be portrayed as active, but since God is present, Satan is defeated and thrown in hell. It implies that the presence of God as a character plays a critical role in revealing the powers of a god and showing how he works. In conclusion, Paradise lost is a poem based on a biblical creation that provides support and illustration of Milton religious beliefs. In the absence of God, we have a different creation story and Milton emphasis on obedience since disobedience made Adam and Eve to be thrown out of paradise. In his work, he gave a lot of concentration on Satan, which provides a room with of defending that Satan is the real hero in his poem. Works cited Edwards, Mike. John Milton: Paradise Lost. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Internet resource. Milton, John, and Helen Schmill. Paradise Lost 2011: A Reading Play for the Churches and the Schools. , 2011. Print. Power, Ben, and John Milton. Paradise Lost. , 2016. Internet resource.

Cite this page