Lucía Domínguez Alemán. 2º Estudios Ingleses. Textos Poéticos Británicos e Irlandeses.

John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”

John Milton (Dec. 9, 1608 - Nov. 8, 1674) was an English poet, pamphleteer, and
historian from London who is considered to be the most significant figure for English
literature after William Shakespeare. He is best known for his work “Paradise Lost”, an epic
poem about the fall from grace of Adam and Eve which many scholars consider to be one of
the greatest poems in the English language. This poem was written entirely through dictation
as Milton had gone blind by the time it was written. Aside from his verse works, which
include poems like “Paradise Regained” and “Samson Agonistes”, John Milton advocated for
the abolition of the Church of England and the execution of Charles the I through his prose
works.
The poem “Paradise Lost” was originally divided into ten books in 1667, and was
then published in a second edition in twelve books, due to books seven and ten being split
into two parts each. The entire poem is over 10.000 lines long and it is written in blank verse,
which are lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter.
It is a religious work, most specifically Christian, as it narrates the biblical story of
Adam and Eve through the use of the epic question, the technique of beginning in medias res,
or in the middle of the story and with God, Lucifer (Satan), Adam and Eve as the main
characters of the story, Concerning the characters, much has been written about Milton’s
approach to the characterization of Satan, with poets such as William Blake and Percy
Bysshe Shelley applauding Lucifer’s rebellion against heaven and seeing him as the real hero
of the poem.
In concern to the plot of the poem, it has two narrative arcs, one about Lucifer and the
other about Adam and Eve, and as was previously stated, “Paradise Lost” starts in medias res,
meaning that it begins in the middle of the story and accounts for the past events as the story
progresses through flashbacks. It begins right after Satan’s defeat and banishment to hell,
followed by him volunteering to corrupt the newly created Earth and mankind, above all. He
then proceeds to leave hell and enters this new world and the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve
are presented as a couple without sin, that is until Eve is corrupted by Satan disguised as a
serpent and eats from the tree, causing Adam to do the same thing as according to him they
are bound to one another and must suffer the same fate. God is also an important figure
throughout the poem, as he is the creator of the world as well as humankind.
 Some common themes throughout the poem include marriage, through Adam and
Eve’s relationship to one another; criticism of idolatry and of monarchy through Lucifer’s
character, as he rebels against God, the highest power and ruler of the universe; moral
ambiguity, again embodied in the character of Lucifer and Milton’s characterization of him;
the importance of obedience to God and the consequences of disobedience; the hierarchical
nature of the universe; and the fall from grace as a partially fortunate event, as Adam and Eve
were set “free” from God’s expectations after they committed the original sin.