Picture Credits: Wikimedia Commons
“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven”
We’re said to be living in Kali Yuga (the age of darkness), where people are self-driven, uncaring and bereft of moral callings. But it wasn’t always this way. There were times of Gods and Heaven and all that is considered holy and righteous. How did it come to this? And is being the way we are today as questionable as we think?
Introduction
Book’s Name - Paradise Lost
Author’s Name - John Milton
Genre - Poetry, Epic
Language - English
Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is a poem that depicts God’s triumph over all evil. It revolves around Satan - dejected by the fact that God did not choose him - trying to corrupt Earth and humankind with his evil thoughts, under the advice of Beelzebub, after having lost the battle with God and his Army.
He manages to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and Adam follows suit. God the Son then curses Eve to experience pain during childbirth and submit to her husband, and Adam to labor for his food. In a way, he cursed mankind in its entirety to never escape the abyss of suffering.
About the Author
John Milton (9 December 1608 - 8 November 1674) was born in London and worked as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He was an English poet, most widely known for Paradise Lost, a Christian epic poem written in blank verse.
In addition to writing in Latin as well as English, he was also a flag bearer of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. His renowned Areopagitica (1644) was written as a reproach to pre-publication censorship.
About the Book
The first version of Paradise Lost, including ten books having over ten thousand lines of verse was published in 1667. In 1674, a second edition followed suit, having been arranged into twelve books.
In the fourth edition in 1688, illustrations were added to the text with an engraving on each book cover, mostly by Sir John Baptist Medina. Salvador Dali, in 1974, also painted a set of ten colour engravings influenced by Paradise Lost.
Psychological Analysis
Satan is the antagonist of the poem, while God is the protagonist. However, readers might not feel the same way while they turn the pages. For most of the poem, it feels as if Satan is the protagonist of the story. There are various reasons why this happens.
We could never relate to a perfect character like God the Father or God the Son - never making mistakes, always making the right choice, being truly selfless, never thinking of our own benefit, so on and so forth. Every human in their everyday monotony comes across situations of utter dejection and the feeling that they’ve been wronged.
Another reason why Satan seems to be the protagonist of the story is the manner in which John Milton has written the character. There are long passages of Satan’s viewpoint throughout the poem, but God’s viewpoint comes to us only in bits and pieces.
This is probably because God’s side is so direct and simplistic that it can be predicted by every reader without actually reading it as opposed to Satan’s complexity of thought and passion (even for what may not be morally right).
Famous Quotes
“All is not lost - the unconquerable will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:
And what is else not to be overcome?
That glory never shall his wrath or might
Extort from me. To bow and sue for grace
With suppliant knee, and deify his power
Who from the terror of his arm so late
Doubted his empire…” (Book I, lines 106-114)
“Fall’n Cherub, to be weak is miserable,
Doing or suffering: but of this be sure,
To do aught good never will be our task,
But ever to do i'll our sole delight,
As being contrary to his high will
Whom we resist.” (Book I, lines 157-162)
The Bottom Line
Satan, detached from Heaven long enough to forget its unparalleled grandeur, is completely deranged, coming to believe in his own vanity and now, fake sense of pride.
He is the personification of vast intellectual ability bereft of a moral calling. Blinded by God’s grace, he shall forever remain a fallen angel trying in vain to reconcile his past and spending eternity coming to terms with his punishment.
My Ratings for the book - 3 on 5
You can buy a copy from Amazon - Paradise Lost
Written By - Kristi Mazumdar
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