Dialectics in Paradise Lost

Paper Name: The renaissance literature 

Name: Baraiya Bhavna P.

Semester: 1

Topic: Dialectics in Paradise Lost

Submitted To: Dr. Dilip Barad.

                       Department of English,

                       Bhavnagar University. 

                

              Dialectics in Paradise lost

                 

                          Milton’s subject in Paradise lost was the failure of humankind to live according to divine order and its slow but providential deliverance from the consequences of the fall. The myth with which he choose to deal, and in which he believed literally, was like many other parallel myths and folk tales, and exploration of the moral consequences of disobedience. The discovery of the knowledge of good and evil is neither accidental nor happy. The central character Adam has no heroic destiny. Through his and Eve’s corruption all humankind is corrupted. And as both are finally obliged to understand, the spiritual struggle to regain paradisal equity and equability extends through each generation of their descendants. In a profound sense Adam and Eve Fall from the ideal in to the human condition. The great theme of the poem is obedience to the behets implicit in a creative order of an omnipotent God. The will of God is imprinted in the harmony of nature, and disaster of the fall is as much ecological as it is moral. Despite the temptation presented by the poem itself to see the rebellion of Satan as a heroic gesture of liberation. And the fall of Adam as a species of gallantry towards his wife, Paradise lost insistently attempts to assert to a reader the ultimate justness of a loving God’s ‘Eternal providence’.

Dialectics:

                Book 9 talks about first disobedience, which is its theme.

It is like this…

                            “Of man’s first disobedience,

                            And the fruit / of that forbidden

                           Tree, whose mortal taste/

                            Brought death in to the world,

                  And all our woe / with loss of Eden.”

      

   Satan enter to in Eden to night to take revenge.

                   “Satan involved in rising mist, then

                     Sought / where to lie hid…

                     Considered every creature, which

                    Of all / Most opportune might

                     Sever his wiles, and found /

                    The serpent subtlest beast

                     Of all the field… Fit vessel,

                     Fittest imp of fraud, in whom /

                       To enter, and his dark suggestion

                         Hide / from sharpest sight: for

                        In the wily snake / whatever sleights

                        None would suspicious mark, / as

                        From his wit and native subtlety.

         Satan enter in form of mist. He had a secret plan, so hide. Satan enter Eden in the form of mist and choose a serpents’s body to hide himself, this choice was because the snake is believe to be treacherous. And a snake is safe place to hide.

                      “The more I see / pleasures about me,

                      So much more I feel / Torment

                           Within me… / all good to me

                       Becomes / Bane… / For only in

                            Destroying I find ease.”

         Satan is very happy to see beauty of Eve but he torment because he has no place there, therefor he become jealous of men – Eve and Adam.

                      “But what will not ambition and

               Revenge / Descend to ? who aspires must

                         down as low / As high he soared,

        

     The motto of Satan’s living is to destroy creation of God.

              

            Argument between Adam and Eve about the devision of level and devision of world.

                    “thou where choice / Leads thee, or where

                  Most needs / while I / In yonder

                      Spring of Roses intermixt

                  With Myrtle, find what to redress

                         Till Noon:”

                 

             Adam insist that Eve should work together. Where as Eve wants to live an independently, without Adam’s supervision. She wants to part  from him for couple of hours. Eve influence by Satan that is why she wants to work alone.

    Eve says that…

                       “if so near / Looks intervene and

                      Smiles / How we might best fulfill

                           The work which here / God hath

                     assign’d us / For nothing lovelier can

                           be found / In woman, then to

                       studie household good. /And good

                    works in her Husband to promot”

        

      Eve furthers her argument saying that their presence is barrier to their work and they would not be able accomplish the duties assigned by God. At that time Adam reply that a woman is suppose to perform a domestic duties and she has to encourage and promot her husband to work better.

                     “However I with thee have fix my Lot /

                          Certain to undergo like doom,

                     If Death resolved / consort with

                        Thee, Death is to mee as life;

         Later on they quarrel they blame each other for the sin committed. Eve specially scold Adam that he didn’t prevent her from going he should have used his might. Poor Adam listen to her and weeped saying

                     “Flesh of Flesh / Bone of my Bone

                        Thou art, and from thy state /

              The lony section of poem comes to an end with assence of regret and transgression they continue to quarrel and blame each other without any solution.

  Conclusion:

                     The poem is an exallent example of the use of dialectic Milton diplois arguments in convenienceing manner and make the reader happy with his linguistic capacity. He coins new words and make popular.