Milton Paradise Lost Commentary

The Renaissance era represents a complete break with the Middle Ages on a political, philosophical, scientifical and theological scale. Indeed, the discovery of new territories and the expeditions of explorers such as Francis Drake, the resurgence of classic writtings, the new scientific outbreaks of Copernicus, Newton and Galilei as well as the Protestant reformation led by Luther and his 95 Theses, triggered a will for knowledge and a quest for truth, thus putting an end to the intellectual hegemony of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. Intellectuals of this era began to think on mankind, looking for answers outside of the Religious constraints. Written during this context of political and religious upheaval, Paradise Lost, an epic poem published in 1667 in ten books, reflects in a way the great changes of the Renaissance. This poem, written by John Milton (December 1608 – November 1674), an English poet, polemicist and civil servant, tell the Christian story of the creation of the Earth, the fall of Satan and the Fall of Man. As a puritan, Milton, who had already attacked the Church for its corruption in Lycidas (1637), give this classical Christian tale puritan traits (such as the protrayal of Eve as a dedicated worker). The passage under study is taken from Book 9 of Paradise lost. In this book, the narrator focuses on the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Satan returns to the Garden of Eden eight days after his banishment by Gabriel to avenge himself. Adam and Eve , preparing for their labors, decide to work separatly , even if Adam is anxious that eve would be an easy prey to Satan’s temptation . In this passage we can see the approach of the Satan , (the snake) and the begining of his temptation that will lead Eve to eat the prohibited fruit. We can clearly see that Milton here uses a mix of Classical and Judeo-christian mythology to tell this tale. We can thus wonder In which way he uses these influences, and why he uses them ?
In a first part we