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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
It's part of the "canon." It's certainly a poetic achievement (and Satan is the best character). It's also the source of a lot of bad cultural imagery of Satan, overemphasis of gendered sin patterns, etc.
But I think it is also Milton's honest wrestling with existence.
Why would God allow the whole of humankind to be born in sin and misery after Adam & Eve's fall Why not just allow the curse of death to work immediately and start fresh? Isn't that the height of cruelty?
He gives a clue to his proposed answer near the end of the poem, put in Adam's mouth after having sent Michael to reveal God's future purposes:
"Merciful over all His works, with good
Still overcoming evil, and by small
Accomplishing great things. By things deem'd weak
Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise
By simply meek; That suffering for truth’s sake
Is fortitude to highest victory,
And, to the faithful, death the gate of life;
Taught this, by His example whom I now
Acknowledge my redeemer ever blessed."
To which Michael responds:
"This, having learned, hast attained the sum
Of wisdom: hope no higher, though all the stars
Thou knewest by name, all the ethereal powers,
All secrets of the Deep, All Nature's works
Or works of God in Heaven, Air, Earth, or Sea,"
In other words, the cross, the great inversion of power (which is threaded throughout Scripture) is the point of existence, not the patch.
An intellectually satisfying answer? Not fully. But it is perhaps "the sum of wisdom." Maybe hoping higher is not good for our soul, even as we long for Christ to make all things new.
But I think it is also Milton's honest wrestling with existence.
Why would God allow the whole of humankind to be born in sin and misery after Adam & Eve's fall Why not just allow the curse of death to work immediately and start fresh? Isn't that the height of cruelty?
He gives a clue to his proposed answer near the end of the poem, put in Adam's mouth after having sent Michael to reveal God's future purposes:
"Merciful over all His works, with good
Still overcoming evil, and by small
Accomplishing great things. By things deem'd weak
Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise
By simply meek; That suffering for truth’s sake
Is fortitude to highest victory,
And, to the faithful, death the gate of life;
Taught this, by His example whom I now
Acknowledge my redeemer ever blessed."
To which Michael responds:
"This, having learned, hast attained the sum
Of wisdom: hope no higher, though all the stars
Thou knewest by name, all the ethereal powers,
All secrets of the Deep, All Nature's works
Or works of God in Heaven, Air, Earth, or Sea,"
In other words, the cross, the great inversion of power (which is threaded throughout Scripture) is the point of existence, not the patch.
An intellectually satisfying answer? Not fully. But it is perhaps "the sum of wisdom." Maybe hoping higher is not good for our soul, even as we long for Christ to make all things new.
Poetry is not my forte but I'm pretty sure Milton was an incel. The way he writes women with such disdain and low respect for the gender it makes the bible seem like feminist literature.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Yes, it’s hard to read (tho footnotes help a lot and the summaries on cliffnotes.com are really really good). Yes, some of it is weird and outdated (tho often in interesting ways). But there’s a reason it’s considered the greatest epic of the English language. Besides the wonderful turns of phrase in the marching rhythm of iambic pentameter, the elaborations of the cosmic story of creation (whether literal, hypothetical, metaphorical, or otherwise) are simply brilliant, and while some of it has likely influenced Western theology I was surprised how much of it was not at all familiar to me. While some of the physical action was unexpectedly intense (the rebel angels invent cannons in their war against heaven!), I most admired the remarkable dialogues, exploring all sorts of fascinating character nuances and motivations.
From the clever demonic council debates in Book II, to Satan’s introspective reflections and witty verbal exchanges with angels in Book IV, to his diabolical deception of Eve in Book IX (he says the tree gave him the power of speech!), to Adam and Eve’s bitter argument and then their mega-depression and suicidal despair in Book X (they consider not bearing children since they will be cursed and might hate them for it), to the trippy vision of the future Michael gives Adam at the end, and much much more, I was continually amazed by how fitting the characters emotions and reactions were and yet how simultaneously original these forgotten five hundred year old ideas felt. So timeless and brilliant. It’s definitely worth the bit of struggle.
From the clever demonic council debates in Book II, to Satan’s introspective reflections and witty verbal exchanges with angels in Book IV, to his diabolical deception of Eve in Book IX (he says the tree gave him the power of speech!), to Adam and Eve’s bitter argument and then their mega-depression and suicidal despair in Book X (they consider not bearing children since they will be cursed and might hate them for it), to the trippy vision of the future Michael gives Adam at the end, and much much more, I was continually amazed by how fitting the characters emotions and reactions were and yet how simultaneously original these forgotten five hundred year old ideas felt. So timeless and brilliant. It’s definitely worth the bit of struggle.
That Milton guy had a way with words, and it's truly epic. Unfortunately, the story of the fall of man just kinda sucks, especially when you shoehorn Jesus and "God's plan" into it. God's plan is not very nice and involves allowing Satan to create suffering for countless generations before God eventually makes everything perfect again, the way it was originally.
Satan invents guns during his war with heaven though, which I found amusing.
Satan invents guns during his war with heaven though, which I found amusing.
I wasn't yet a feminist when I read this in high school, but I still recall being principally annoyed by Milton's sexism in placing so much responsibility on Eve. It also prompted me to wonder how much of my religious education came from the cultural impact of this work, rather than from the Bible itself.
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
God v Satan! All out war in heaven! Satan and his legions cast into the fiery lake. A search through the dimensionless void for God's newest creation humankind, to find Adam and Eve in Paradise and corrupt them out of pure malice and for revenge against God. It doesn't get more epic than this!