John Milton

Paradise Lost: Book I

Tim Clifford

John Milton
1608-1674

Born into bourgeois class

Strongly supported the Puritan Reformation

Wrote with strong independence and on a variety of topics

Proclaimed that he would write a great English Epic

Self-appointed prophetic bard

Studied independently for six years

Church government
Divorce
Republicanism

Suffered many tragedies

Wife and son died in 1652

Became blind the same year
New wife and daughter died in 1656
Went into hiding after the return of Charles II, briefly imprisoned
Dismayed by the failure of the Reformation

Heroic Epic

Characteristics

Conventions

Hero of great importance (Satan, Adam)

Set on a large scale
Great battles
Stated Argument
Begins in the midst of things
Catalogues of principle characters

Literary Epic rather than a Traditional Epic

New composition from Milton rather than from oral tradition
Information from http://www.cas.usf.edu/~lucas/3101/epic.pdf

Milton vs. Homer

Comparing Paradise Lost and The Odyssey
Milton:
Of mans 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
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,
Sing Heavnly 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 heavns and earth
Rose out of Chaos: or if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloas brook that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God: I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventrous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above thAonian mount while if pursues
Things unstamped yet in prose or rhyme.
(1-16)

Homer:
Tell me, Muse, about the man of many turns, who
many
Ways wandered when he had sacked Troys holy
citadel;
He saw the cities of many men, and he knew their
thought;
On the ocean he suffered many pains within his
heart,
Striving for his life and his companions return.
But he did not save his companions, though he
wanted to:
They lost their own lives because of their
recklessness.
The fools, they devoured the cattle of Hyperion,
The Sun, and he took away the day of their return.
Begin the tale somewhere for use also, goddess,
daughter of Zeus.

There are many similarities between Paradise Lost and the ancient Greek epics, including these invocation of the Muse,
and also the cataloging of characters. Both Milton and Homer start in the midst of things; Homer after the battle of Troy,
Milton after the battle between Satan and God. In his invocation, though, Milton blatantly attempts to surpass the ancient
Greek poets.

Passages
Sing Heavnly 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 heavns and earth
Rose out of Chaos: or if Sion hill
Delight thee more, and Siloas brook that
flowed
Fast by the oracle of God; I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventrous song,
That with no middle flight intends to soar
Above thAonian mount, while it pursues
Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.
(6-16)
Here at least
We shall be free; thAlmighty 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 Heavn.
(257-263)

To bow and sue for grace

With suppliant knee, and deify his power
Who from the terror of this arm so late
Doubted his empire, that were low indeed,
That were in ignominy and shame beneath
This downfall; since by fate the strength of gods
And the empyreal substance cannot fail,
Since through experience of this great event
In arms not worse, in foresight much advanced,
We may with more successful hope resolve
To wage by force or guile eternal war
Irreconcilable, to our grand foe,
Who now triumphs, and in thexcess of joy
Sole reigning holds the tyranny of Heavn.
(111-124)

Miltons Influence
Art, Literature, and Media influenced or inspired by
Paradise Lost1

Illustrations
And Other Artwork

William Blake:
The Downfall of
the Rebel Angels

All Artwork form http://www.stedwards.edu

Gustave Dore

Plate 3:
"They heard, and were abashed,
and up they sprung"
(I. 331)

Plate 1:
"Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from the
ethereal sky"
(I. 44, 45)
Plate 2:
"Forthwith upright he rears from
off the pool
His mighty stature"
(I. 221, 222)

John Medina

Edward Burney

John Martin

The Simarillion
J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkiens The Simarillion is the history of the elves in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. He opens with his version of
Genesis, where Iluvatar creates Middle-Earth through song, and his instruments, the Ainur.

But now Iluvatar sat and hearkened, and for a

great while it seemed good to him, for in the
music there were no flaws. But as the theme
progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to
interweave matters of his own imagining that
were not in accord with the theme of Iluvatar;
for he sought therein to increase the power
and glory of the part assigned to himself. To
Melkor among the Ainur had been given the
greatest gifts of power and knowledge, and he
had a share in a all the gifts of his brethren.
(p. 4)

Then Iluvatar spoke, and he said: Mighty are

the Ainur, and mightiest among them is Melkor;
but that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I
am Iluvatar, those things that ye have sung, I
will show them forth, that ye may see what ye
have done. And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no
theme may be played that hath not its uttermost
source in me, nor can any alter the music in my
despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove
but mine instrument in the devising of things
more wonderful, which he himself hath not
imagined.
(p.6)

Melkor certainly parallels Satan, but Miltons influence can be seen in the way Melkor is shown as the strongest
of the Ainur, and he has a hand in the actual creation of Middle-Earth. The quote from page 6 resembles
Beelzebubs speech on Book 1: But what if hehave left us this our spirit and strength entiredo him mightier
service as his thralls by right of war, whateer his business be here in the heart of Hell to work in fire, or do his
errands in the gloomy deeps (143-152).

Moby-Dick
Herman Melville
Ahab to his men: Aye, Starbuck; aye, my
Satan to Beelzebub: What though the field be
hearties all round; it was Moby Dick that
lost? All is not lost; the unconquerable will,
dismasted me; Moby Dick that brought me to
and study of revenge, immortal hate, and
this dead stump I stand on now. Aye, aye,
courage never to submit or yield: and what is
he shouted with a terrific, loud, animal sob,
else not to be overcome? That glory never
like that of a heart-stricken moose; Aye, aye!
shall his wrath or might extort form me. To
It was that accursed white whale that razeed
bow and sue for grave with suppliant knee,
me; made a poor pegging lubber out of me
and deify his power who from the terror of
for ever and a day! Then tossed both arms,
this arm so late doubted his empire, that
with measureless imprecations he shouted
were low indeed, that were an ignominy and
out: Aye, aye! And Ill chase him round
shame beneath this downfall; since by fate
Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round
the strength of gods and this empyreal
the Norway Maelstrom, and round perditions
substance cannot fail, since through
flames before I give him up. And this is what
experience of this great event in arms not
ye have shipped for, men! To chase that
worse, in foresight much advanced, we may
white whale on both sides of land, and over
with more successful hope resolve to wage
all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood
by force or guile eternal war irreconcilable, to
and rolls fin out. What say ye men, will ye
our grand foe
splice hands on it, now? I think ye do look
(105-122)
brave.
(p. 139)
Melville portrays Ahab (who many interpret to be a metaphor for Satan), very similar to Miltons Satan,
a powerful and influential speaker who has one goal. Both Satan and Ahab follow their path despite
what further damnation will occur to them and their men.

Devils Advocate
Warner Bros. (1997)

Satan: Let me give you a little

inside information about
God. God likes to watch.
He's a prankster. Think about
it. He gives man INSTINCTS!
He gives you this
extraordinary gift, and then
what does He do, I swear for
His own amusement, his
own private, cosmic gag reel,
He sets the rules in
opposition. It's the goof of all
time. Look but don't touch.
Touch, but don't taste! Taste,
don't swallow. Ahaha! And
when you're jumpin' from one
foot to the next, what is he
doing? He's laughin!... He's
a sadist! He's an absentee
landlord. Worship THAT?
NEVER!
http://www.allpacino.com/john.html

Al Pacino as John
Milton (Satan)

Sympathy for the Devil

The Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet

Photos from: http://www.mick-jagger.com

Please allow me to
introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and
taste
I've been around for a
long, long year
Stole many a man's soul
and faith
And I was 'round when
Jesus Christ
Had his moment of
doubt and pain
Made damn sure that
Pilate
Washed his hands and
sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you
http://www.musicsonglyrics.com
Hope
you guess my
name

Commentary
With the exception of the passage from The Odyssey, each text or piece
of art in this collage was selected to show the change in public opinion of Satan
since Miltons epic was first published. The passage from The Odyssey was
included to display how Paradise Lost compared to Homers poem as an epic.
Placing them side-by-side shows both how Miltons poem in an epic because he
invokes the Muse, but also attempts to surpass Homer.
The illustrations were included to show Satans development into a true
epic character. Whether or not the artists religious views were changed by Milton or
not, they at least saw Satan as a truly complex and powerful character, as is
conveyed in their detailed renderings of him.
The Silmarillion and Moby-Dick are included for the same reason. Both
Tolkien and Melville create characters, though definitely the villain in their respective
stories, that are both powerful and human, with strong characteristics of
vengefulness and pride which most readers can relate to.
The quotes from Devils Advocate and Sympathy for the Devil were
selected because they effectively show todays changing views on Satan. For many
people it is almost trendy to sympathize with Satan, because he works on
reasoning rather than faith. Reason certainly dominates todays culture much more
than blind faith.

Genealogical Bibliography
By Appearance

Paradise Lost
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. New York: Norton 2000
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Scott Elledge, ed. New York: Norton, 1975
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. 2nd ed. London: S. Simmons, 1674

The Odyssey
Homer. The Odyssey, a Norton Critical Edition. Albert Cook, ed. New York: Norton, 1993
.Homer. The Odyssey. Manuscript. British Library. London

The Illustrations of Gustave Dor

Klawitter, George. The Iconography of Paradise Lost. St. Edwards University. 11 Dec. 2003
http://www.stedwards.edu/hum/klawitter/milton/icon.htm
Lanzara, Joseph. Paradise Lost: The Novel. New York: New Arts Library, 1994
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Robert Vaughan, ed. New York: Cassell, 1966

The Silmarillion
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Silmarillion. Christopher Tolkien, ed. New York: Ballentine, 1977

Moby-Dick
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. Parker, Hayford, ed. New York: Norton, 2002
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick. Parker, Hayford, Tanselle, ed. New York: Northwestern, 1988
Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. Richard Bentley, ed. New York, London: Harper and Bros.,
1851

Devils Advocate
Devils Advocate. 11 Dec. 2003. http://velvet_peach.tripod.com/fpacdevilsadvocate.html
Devils Advocate. Dir. Taylor Hackford. Perf. Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves. Warner Bros. 1997

Sympathy for the Devil

Sympathy for the Devil. Beggars Banquet. The Rolling Stones. Virgin Records, 1968