John Milton - Paradise Lost

letteratura inglese

John Milton

Was born in 1608 in London; he studied Latin, Greek and Italian. We can divide his literary career into 3 periods: during the first (1625-1640) he wrote in Latin and in English and published the poems: l'Allegro and il Pensieroso. The second period (1640-1645) was the period of political pamphlet in which he expressed his political ideas. In 434f58e the last period (1660-1674) he wrote his major works: Paradise Lost. It was composed probably between 1658 and 1664. Milton also wrote 23 sonnets.

Paradise Lost

Is a religious epic poem. The epic is a very ancient form of poetry, originating in an age before writing, like Odyssey, Iliad and Bewulf. Paradise lost takes place in the universe: in Heaven, Hell and Eden, the caracthers are God, Satan, Christ, Man and the angels. Although Milton was familiar with the Copernican cosmology he based his universe on the more traditional Ptolemaic system. In fact he believed that this conception of the universe was fixed in the minds of the people. In Milton's Heaven, God sits on his throne surrounded by the 9 orders of angels; the tenth, those who revolted under Satan, has been hurled into a Hell. Out of the Hell God created the Earth, fixed in the centre of the universe.

Satan has many of the characteristics of the epic hero: leadership, initiative, courage. Milton put a great deal of his own soul into this character.

The style of this poem is elevated and magnificent; the poet use the blank verse and is rich of Latin expression. The diction is very far from common speech.

Summary

He want to tell the story of man's fall, then he begins the story of the rebel angels, hurled into hell, as a consequence of their defeat in the war in heaven. In book II they meet in council to decide what is to be done. In book III the scene switches to Heaven, where god delivres a homily on man's freedom to choose between good and evil. At the end the Son offers himself as the ransom for mankind and God accepts his sacrifice. in book IV Satan observe the happiness of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. In book V god sends Raphael to alert Adam to the situation. Book VI deals with the war in the Heaven. Books VII and VIII provide a narration of the creation of the Earth and the universe. In book IX Satan succeeds in persuading Eve to taste the forbidden fruit, and Adam eats it too. In book X the son comes down to Eden to pronounce God's sentence of expulsion. Satan returns to Hell in triumph; all his followers have become serpents. In the two concluding books Adam and Eve abandon Paradise.

Satan's speech

Is a monologue of Satan about hell, and he describes it. Satan fell himself powerfull as god because is the head of a reign. Satan was a rebel angel who had been throught out from paradise. There are alliteration, repetition to underline the conceits. Milton put a great part of his own soul in Satan. In fact the poet himself was arrable against the political authority of the king and the religious authority of the England. They both are presented as the king of darkness. Milton's Hell is not divided into different places as is Dante's Inferno, where the damned soul live in different gironi according to the sins they committed during their earthly life.

-the eternity of tortures, Faustus, while in Milton the horrors emphasyse the darkness and happiness.