PRIMARY SOURCE:
Paradise Lost (pub. 1667 [10 book], 1674 [12 book])
Context
- Publication: Milton finished Paradise Lost at least two years before Samuel Simmons published it asa quarto in 1667. There are at least three political explanations: the Anglo-Dutch war caused a paper shortage in 1665 England. Milton had a reputation for controversy since Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce and his work in the Protectorate government. The Great Fire of 1666 disrupted the normal process of commerce in London. Simmons had several advantages: his presses seem to have been undamaged by the fire; his shop was close to Milton's house; he had a reputation for printing seditious literature. Milton tried to license his poem, and the Archbishop of Canterbury and licenser Thomas Tompkins objected on the basis of Milton's reputation and anti-monarchical themes. Nevertheless, Tompkins ultimately licensed the poem. Milton sold his poem (the license? perpetual rights?) to Simmons for ten pounds. 1667 EEBO link.
After the 1667 edition, Milton and Simmons added more material with minimal changes to the 1667 typesetting. First, they experimented with varied title pages. In 1668, Milton added an argument for each book to the beginning of the volume. Simmons added a letter to the reader. By 1669, Milton fulfilled his contract for 1300 copies sold. In 1674, Simmons set an octavo edition with significant copy-corrections but no line numbers. In this edition, Milton divided the seventh and tenth books into two each, making the poem a twelve-book demi-epic. Simmons moved the arguments to their respective books, and added a portrait of the poet. 1674 EEBO link.
- Scholarship: In brief, critics are interested in the following attributes of Milton's poem: its nature as a Protestant English epic; Milton's conception of God; Milton's definition of marriage; Milton's description of the Son; Milton's theory of knowledge; and Milton's cosmology.
- Why I'm reading it: The Canon, history of religion, the history of science, formalism.
Content
- Form: Blank verse. 10 or 12 books.
- Genre: Epic.
- Conceit:
- The speaker invokes the muses to sing of man's first disobedience, the fruit, exile from Eden, and redemption through Christ. The action begins in the infernal pit, in darkness visible. Satan addresses Beelzebub and describes how Beelzebub looks different than in Heaven. Then Satan recalls the rebellion against God, and Beelzebub admits that he's worried about their current state. Satan commits to only doing evil from now on, and moves to the burning plain to assemble the fallen. The fallen assemble into squadrons, represented by their leaders: Moloch, Chemos, Baalim, Ashtaroth, Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmnon, Isis, Osiris, Orus, and Belial. Many of the fallen angels are the false gods worshiped by the ancients. Satan proposes that the angels corrupt God's newly created world. The angels build Pandemonium and assemble for a great debate.
- Moloch proposes open war with God. Belial argues that hell is better than outright destruction, and that God may show leniency. Mammon counters that leniency is an unacceptable form of slavery, but Hell can still prove profitable. Beelzebub observes that they survive in Hell only on God's leniency, so peace is impossible. Instead, he says the angels should corrupt the newly created Earth. The angels approve, but Beelzebub can't find a volunteer to go first. Satan volunteers to go through the "unessential Night." The angels pursue their natural tendencies in Hell once Satan is gone. Satan makes it past Sin and Death, though learning that Sin is his daughter, and Death is their incestuous son. Sin is always consumed by her incestuous hell-hound offspring, fathered by Death. Sin opens the gates to Chaos. Satan passes by Chaos, and sees the world hanging from Heaven by a golden chain.
- Milton invokes the celestial light. God looks down on Adam and Eve, and also Satan, and explains that everyone has free will. He has made himself known to all creation, and all are capable of Grace. The Son volunteers to be sacrificed for man's sin. God makes the Son ruler of the universe, and explains his plan for the Last Judgment. Just as God made the universe through the Son, and defeated the rebel angels through the Son, God will send the Son to judge all the dead before closing the gates of Hell forever. Angels boogie in Heaven. Satan checks out the gates of Heaven, the Sun, and chats with Uriel, who relays the location of Paradise.
- The narrator laments Man's ignorance. Satan acts surly around the Sun, Paradise, the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge. He despairs, "Which way I fly is Hell; my self am Hell" and vows "Evil be thou my Good." Nevertheless, Paradise is really nice. Satan spies on the perfect relationship of the first couple, who cannot be tempted for lack of curiosity. The sun sets, Gabriel begins the search for Satan, and once Eve is in bed, Satan becomes a toad and poisons her dreams. Gabriel faces off against Satan, and Satan splits.
- Eve tells Adam of her dream: a bite of the fruit takes her up to Heaven. Adam reassures her, and they set to work in the Garden. God sends Raphael to warn Adam. They lunch, and Raphael explains the cosmology. Importantly, Raphael warns against disobedience. Raphael explains that Satan rebelled to avoid subservience to the Son. Abdiel refuses.
- The battle begins. God sends Michael and Gabriel to fight Satan's legions. Abdiel scorns and fights Satan. The battle is super huge. On the first night, Satan claims that the stalemate is proof of God's fallibility. The next day, God's angels whoop the rebels.On the third day, God sends his Son to drive the rebels to the Deep. The Son scares the rebels into fleeing Heaven. They fall nine days to Hell. The angels praise Jesus. Satan remarks that Raphael's lesson is instruction in Disobedience.
- The speaker invokes Urania, the pre-pagan muse. Adam asks Raphael about the creation of the world. Raphael explains, with reservation, that God will have one man give birth to the human race. The Son divided the world (the universe) from Chaos with the golden compass, diving light from dark. God creates the firmament to divide the waters of the earth and heaven. God creates the vegetation on the third day. God creates the heavenly bodies on the fourth day. On the fifth day, he creates the creepy-crawly vertebrates. On the sixth day, he creates the beasts of the Earth, then Adam & Eve.
- Adam asks Raphael about cosmology. Raphael gives a couple options, then tells Adam not to worry about it. Adam tells Raphael about his own creation, his first minutes in the Garden, and the creation of Eve. God warns Adam not to be over-awed by Eve. Adam asks Raphael about angelic sex. Raphael explains how awesome it is, reminds Adam not to disobey God, and splits.
- The speaker changes his notes to tragic. Satan returns to the Garden through the river Tigris, then enters the serpent. Eve convinces Adam to divide their labor--so that they don't flirt all day--by saying that temptation is important for testing virtue. Satan moves in on Eve, but he's stunned by her beauty. When he does speak, he convinces the surprised Eve that a serpent can speak thanks to the Tree of Knowledge. In a couple of appeals, he convinces her that the Tree will make her like God. Eve stuffs her face and Nature shudders. Eve realizes that God will give Adam a replacement Eve once she dies, so she explains the situation to him. Adam decides to die with Eve, and stuffs his face, too. The earth is fallen. They have the first bad sex, and realize they're naked. They spend the rest of the day blaming each other.
- The angels give God the bad news, but God explains the master plan. The Son descends to Paradise and questions Adam. Adam is guilty of submitting to his wife. Eve is guilty for the first sin. The earth, birth, and the serpent are cursed. Sin and Death realize that Satan has succeeded, and they start building a bridge to Earth. Satan laughs it up with them, then sneaks into Hell before announcing his victory. All the rebel angels turn into serpents, and the torture increases. Adam realizes the consequences of his actions, and the justice of God's judgment. Adam and Eve reconcile and pray to God.
- God sends Michael to banish the humans, but to tell them about the future. The humans observe that the beasts eat each other. Michael gives Adam the eviction notice, and Eve cries. Then Michael promises that God will remain on earth, and introduces him to Biblical history: Cain & Abel, sickness and death, the ascension of prophets, Noah, and the God's promise to never destroy the world again until the final fire.
- Michael gives Adam a breather, then covers the Tower of Babel, Abraham and the Israelites, Moses, the Commandments, the Promised Land, David, Babylonian Captivity, Roman rule, and Jesus. Adam rejoices in the Son's triumph over Satan. Michael explains future persecutions, and Adam takes away the moral of obedience. Adam wakes Eve from Michael's pleasant dreams, and the humans leave the Garden.
- Other notes: Where to begin?
(NB: written with notes.)
Moe, Alison G., and Thomas H. Luxon. "Publication History of Paradise Lost." Milton Reading Room. Dartmouth, 1 Mar. 2008. Web. 4 Feb. 2013. <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/intro/index.shtml>.
