Oe cea os Paradise Lost by John Milton In the Bible, the figure of Satan stands for Evil while God stands for Good. Since then, in literature and art, Satan hhas been depicted in mary different ways. in groups, think of a book, a painting, or a film in which Satan is one (of the characters and answer the following questions. 1. What does he look tke? 4 Does he have any special powers and if so, what are 2 What kind of place does he live in? they? 3 Does he have any followers and/or enemies and if $s the impression that is given of Satan positive, $0, who are they? negative or neutral? INTRODUCTION @ When he sat down to write Paradise Lost, John Milton was inspired by religious fer- vour and helped by a mastesful command of the language. It took him five years to complete what has since been recognised as the greatest epic poem in English literature. His picture-in-words of Hell is so vivid that the reader feels he can almost walk into the page and find himself surrounded by the fires of damnation (> Visual Link D4) Tue story Paradise Lost isa retelling ofthe Bible story of Man's expulsion ftom Paradise i twelve books. In Books Ian I, Satan has just been defeated in battle by God and banished to Hell, from where he plans with the other fallen angels to get revenge. In Book Il and IV he fles to Earth, sees Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and resolves to tempt them to ds ‘obey God. Jn Books V-VIl the archangel Raphael tells Adam and Eve about Satan’s rebel: ion an ther own creation, and warns them not to eat the fruit fom the ree of knowledge Jn Book IX Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit and are expelled fom Paradise in Books X and XI, while Satan celebrate his victory. The last book (Book Xl) isan account by the archangel Michael of what will happen aftr the fall of Man up to the coming of the Messiah, dadressing his followers soon after their arrival in Hell, but instead of crying ‘een lost he gives an inspiring and defiant speech. Atepresing darkness 7. Beit so: let us accept this‘Who now is sovran* can dispose and bid? ‘What shall be right: farthest from him is best, ‘Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme Above his equals!®, Farewell, happy fields", Where joy for ever dwells!*! Hail, horrors! hail, Infernal World! and thou, profoundest Hel, 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 Ibe 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’’; Paradise Lost - John Milton happy feds: heaven {allusion tothe Hiysian feds of Greek mythology) 12.dwells: ives 13.Hal: welcome 14.What matter. greater: It doesnot fatter where !am because Tam sil the same a | was before Tam almost as good 1s {God who beat me inbatte 10 bull this place for us land not for himself {not for his envy), Here we may reign secure, and in my choice’, 2 Base intention of To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell!”: oe Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. eae ae aeeal 8. he...sovram: he who rules 10-farthest equals: tis ‘ne ieand he only wor (Goa) better tobe as faraway as power because is 9. dispose and bid: do and possible from God. mies were stonger than command Tam as intelligent as tuine COMPREHENSION — —_—— 1 Where is Satan? 2 is he happy to be far from God? Why? 3 According to Satan, how did God defeat him - by ‘power of reason? Did this represent a true victory for God, in his opinion? ANALYSIS 11 The extract contains contrasting descriptions of Heaven and Hell. Underline them in the text. What. images of the two places are conveyed? 2 God is never mentioned explicitly in the text. Underline words and expressions that refer to him. How is God described by Satan? Choose from the adjectives below. m Ambitious Must“ BLoving Competitive WEvi ‘mi Devious 3 Choose three adjectives from the list below to describe Satan, Justify your choices by referring to the text. ‘= Courageous im Fearless mi Ambitious ss Humble Proud evi Selfish “4 Does Satan accept that God is his superior? '5 Will his new surroundings change the way Satan thinks? 6 List the reasons why Satan feels that Hell is preferable to Heaven. 4 Atthough Milton wrote Paradise Lost to praise God, some critics feel that Satan is the true hero of the poem. Does Satan have any heroic qualities in ‘your opinion? '5 Consider lines 2-4. They are examples of run-on. Tine* (enjambement*). Find other examples of run-on lines in the text. What js the effect of this device? Itmakes Satan's speech fm more poetic but more artificial. Im flow more naturally._ eae 6 @ Porosise Lost written in lank verse, 1/05 this jie | gt, | this | he soi | ej etme, esau Ce Sere 1 ita] thn je At | AFoh | a] | Ui he | at | ie, S28 8 ALF Oe Te ‘The metre is not regular throughout. Sometimes Milton varies the number of syables or the unstressed: stressed syflable patter. Listen again to the recording (of the folowing four lines and analyse them as above. Receive thy new possessor ~ one Who brings A mand not to be changes by place or time, ‘Dae mina i ts own place, and in tselt ‘Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. Blank verse is generally regarded as the poetic metre that most closely resembles the rhythm of natural speech in English. Would you agree that Satan speech sounds natural? Do you think that it could successfully be performed as a theatrical monologue? 7 Milton was heavily influenced by his classical studies. in his poetry he often used words of Latin ‘origin. Link the words in column A below to the Latinate equivalent that Mitton uses (in column 8). [ A 8 place celestial | deepest possessor heavenly region hellish internat owner profoundest Style long sentence structures. below), speech more informal Who now is sovian ean Above his equals. Fasewell, ‘where Joy for ever dlls! slispose and bid ‘What shall be right: farthest from him is best, ‘Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme Hail horrors! hail, ‘Infernal World! and thou profoundest Hel (.) Leam your version of the speech by heart and Style refers to the way a writer says what he wants to say. It is usually analysed in terms of the diction (Le. the choice of words), the sentence structure or syntax, the density and types of imagery, the rhythm and sounds. Many adjectives are used to classify types of style including formal, oratorical, ornate, sober, simple, elaborate, conversational. Styles are also classified according to literary periods or traditions, for example, meta- physical style and Restoration prose style, or according to an important work, for exam- ple Biblical style. Style may also be described by making reference to its greatest expo- nent, for example, Shakespearean style, Miltonic style and Byronic style. Milton's style is very distinctive and is often referred to as grand style. The features are: ~ the choice of words of Latin origin; ~ allusions to the classical world; Find examples of each feature in the extract you have read. Experiment with styl, Rewrite the frst ten lines of Satan's speech in a more informal style. STEP ONE ~ Substitute the underlined words with other words or expressions (see list STEP TWO ~ Make sentences shorter and use any device that you think might make the sad darkness the bright lights of heaven _No problem king say and do whatever he ites ‘bye-bye heaven where everyone is always happy Hi there, you deepest 1s tis the segon, this the sol, the lime,” Said then the lost Archangel, this the seat ‘That we must change for Heaven, this mournful gloom For that celestial light? Be tsa, since he Stort like this: \s this the place that we ‘must exchange for Heaven? {guess we're going to have to get used toWs Sonnet XVHIT ~ John Milton ‘aan anys that, even though he has been defeated, he will build a new empire in Hell and never accept Go Milton has unintentionally made Satan Into a hero who fights bravely against | supremacy, linast seems th aevenity | Thy te think of examples af people, or groups of people, who fight or have fought against adverse circumstances | wher knight have heen easier ta give up, The following areas where people can become heroes in the face of ‘versity should help you get some ideas sport | tovaly ie | polities soil war 04 development ‘aural santers ives ‘a engraving by Gustave Dore for Paradise best (160),ITAN AGE - Poetry @ MEME Sonnet XVIII: On the Late Massacre in Piemont |The Waldensians, of Valdest, are a Protestant community that has lived for centuries in | a mumber of vaiteys that connect Italy to France, Milton, who was a devout Protestant and vieulently anti-Catholic, wrote this poem when he heard about a massacte of Waldenslans by Catholic troops in 1655, ‘Avenge!, O Lord, thy slaughter saints, whose bones ie scatter‘? on the Alpine mountains cold, Ev'n them who kept thy truth s0 pure of old, When all ou fathers worshipp’d stocks and stones Forget not: in thy book® record their groans? s Who were thy sheep* and in their ancient fold? ~ Slain”? by the bloody Piemontese that roll’d Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans ‘The vales redoubi’d to the hills, and they ‘To Heav’n'*, Their martyr’d blood and ashes sow 0 fer all th’ Italian fields where still doth sway ‘The triple tyrant"; that from these may grow A hundred-fold, who having learnt thy way Early may fly the Babylonian woe"? GLossany 4 sheep: tolowers Chastan wate 9. anclent fold old charch ‘eral’ famous phen eae Toit the group of people Thelood of he atys 1. Avenge get ste for Yyou belong to snd tate ‘sth ved ofthe Church 2 steughter 4 ruéered the same elisa) fate pao te 3. scatter‘ thrown over a 10,Stain: killed Snes wie area 11h socm ciara) Genoa een 4. Be ld those who ‘heir cero pain moans) Flom Ree eds preserved the toe, pre Intensied (edoubl das = ee ‘eign i alr tes theyre (tom tbevaleys TY MAIER Th 5. stocks and stones: ‘othehilsandthen upto Seng Ga Inanimate things Weaver Wiese Sa 6 thy book: the book that 42-The marty’ blood ‘unihed by God ‘Gad ill const on tyrant theiood ot ce aylontan woe). The Jxigement day, when be ‘anys ke secs sa fncien ety of Babylon ‘decks who wil gow Hell al over Raly where the ‘wasconsidere a cy of fr Heaven Qevelations ope the inp tyrant Perdition and was 012) stale doth say A ‘ena by Protestants 7. groans hes of pain fefetence ro the Latin ‘wth Rome. “COMPREHENSION 11 Vito are the ‘staughter'd saints’ mentioned inline 17 Did the Piemontese spare the women and 2 Where did the massacre take place? ‘children? 3 What does the poet admire about the Waldensian’s ‘5 Who still rules italy, according to the poet? faith? © What does he hope will happen in the future?ANAKYSIS| 7 Underine any words or expressions inthe text that 4 How would you describe the sty of the poem? {efer to the Waldensians. Which of the following mElevated WW Colloquial == Relaxed Characteristics do you think are emphasised? Formal © BSombre @ Other: 1m Their saintiness im Their courage ‘One of the elements that contributes to creating the The sil in Fighting Syl is allsions* to other great works of erature. | 1m Their hatred of Catholics Uke the notes inthe glossary to identity allusions to = Their purity the Bible and other works of Iterature. 2 That Fong sang A 5 The poem is written in the form of a sonnet’ Justify your answer by referring to the text. Identity the rhyme scheme and then say whether the eerrhe images of the massacre are quite striking, Find poems divided into an octave and a sestet 2 Troe hat has a strong sual appeal and one that (Petrarchan sonnet) or three quarans and couplet ‘appeals to your sense of hearing. (Shakespearean sonnet). 33 Find examples of run-on-lines*(enjambement’ in the poem. Do you feel that this device makes the entences long and complicated or gives a more natural flow to the language? | Sunde mereeaola Didactic Poetry, plays, novels and stories whose primary purpose is to guide, nsiri® At teach Iiterature: come under the heading of didactic literature, They are disting ished from purely {maginative works (sometimes called ‘mimetic’ works) whose goal is purely to interest and appeal to the seader, Didactic literature was particularly popular in seventeen th century England, Much of the poetry ofthe period was watten to educate the readers on subjects as diverse as morality, religion, philosophy, gardening and beer-making Propagandist literature isa particular type of didactic literature Which tres vo convines the sender to take a position or direct action on a contemporary moral or political issue, Niiton’s Paradise Lost may be considered to be didactic literature, while his sonnet Om the ‘Late Massacre in Plemont falls into the category of propagandist literature, EERE ZSIIREE Work in groups Discuss how effective tons On Weta ‘Massacre in Piemont is as ropagendlst iterature. In the course of your discussion answer these questions, a age as your reaction tothe poem when you fist read it? Were you surprised by the vehemence of Milton’s attack? bb De you think that Milton is objective in how he depicts the historical facts? Oe You think thatthe poetic form allows Milton to be more subjective? if he had walten oo ay oF a newspaper article, would the reader have demanded greater historical authenticity and more analysis? 4. Do you think that poetry an appropriate vehicle for politcal messages or do you think they ae better conveyed through journalism? What, if any, are the advantages of ‘expressing your political message in a poem? HEXEN Think of a poem, novel film or song that you would onset didactic or propagandist. “mates the message contained in the work. Explain to your clas eo rock examples such as Animal Farm by George Orwel, songs ike Sunday, Bloody ‘Sunday by U2 and films like Schindler’ List. ical themes? If you do, find Do you know any other songs that have polit ‘Do some research on your classmates and listen to the song together. ‘on what the song is about.