Hello and welcome to the Discourse.
In Book 5, Milton stressed more on Free Will of Man as if he is trying to explain that the fall of Adam was not fate but his own conscious decision. On the other hand, in Book 4, Milton expressed that Lucifer was made by God in such a manner that Lucifer had no choice but to fall because of his Pride, that was his nature. In the previous part, we learned how Satan targeted Eve for his plan of corrupting humankind.
Summary of Book 5
As Adam and Eve wake up the next morning, Adam finds that Eve is a little perturbed. He realizes that Eve had a restless night. He asks her and Eve tells him about the strange dream she saw in her sleep. She says that she heard a commanding voice in her dream that told her to come near the Tree of Knowledge. When she reached there, she saw a strange creature that appeared like an Angel. That creature in her dream took a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and tasted it. The creature appreciated the fine taste of that fruit and extolled the benefits of eating the fruit of Tree of Knowledge. The creature told to Eve that she may also taste the fruit of that tree and that will turn her divine as the other Angels are. Eve was impressed by that creature but before she could taste that fruit, the creature disappeared and after that, she had a restless night.
Adam gets worried after hearing the dream of Eve. He knows that the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge are forbidden and he wonders why an angel will appear in Eve’s dream and try to convince her to taste the forbidden fruit? Adam assures Eve that her dream doesn't need to ever come true because anyways, she has to use her rational faculty and reason suggests that the fruit of Tree of Knowledge is forbidden. He says that Eve is too pure to do any such evil. Eve accepts Adam’s argument and both get engaged in their daily routine happily. As they begin their duties, they sing praises of God.
Meanwhile, God meets Raphael and talks about Satan and his evil plan. God says that he pities Man because he knows that Adam and Eve will yield to temptation. God doesn’t want Adam and Eve to claim that the devil took them by surprise and hence, he tells Raphael to go and visit Adam so that he may be warned. God tells Raphael to inform Adam about the plan of Satan and tell him that he has his free will. Adam may use reason to avoid temptation or he may succumb to it.
Raphael agrees and decides to visit Paradise. When Adam sees Raphael, he and Eve welcome him. Adam tells Eve to prepare some food for their guest. The three eat together and Raphael praises the food prepared by Eve. After supper, Eve leaves Adam and Raphael to let them have a conversation on serious matter while she goes to enjoy the nature of the Garden.
Raphael begins the conversation by explaining the hierarchy on Earth. He says that God offered different attributes to all creatures of Earth. He offered spirit and free will to humankind. Thus, Adam can think and understand the reason and take his own decision. Below humans are animals with live flesh but they do not possess spirit and hence lack rational faculty. Animals are followed by plants and then comes other inanimate things. Raphael says that being a spiritual entity and having the God-given power to reason, human is the highest being on Earth. Raphael warns him always follow God and remain obedient to him.
Adam informs Raphael about the dream of Eve. Raphael hints at him about Satan, the leader of Fallen Angels, and how desperate he is to corrupt the creation of God. Raphael says that eventually, he and Eve can be purer, like angels but they must never disobey God. Adam wonders if he can ever be disobedient to God? Raphael reminds him that though he and Eve are creations of God, God offered Man the power of free will. Thus, Adam’s obedience to God is up to him and he can decide to disobey God anytime if he wishes to. Adam is confident that he will never go against God. However, he is curious about certain things. Adam asks Raphael to tell him more about the rebellious angels who decided to disobey God.
Raphael tells him the story of the great war of Heaven. He tells him that Satan (then known as Lucifer) was the principal Archangel, closest to God. He was glorious, miraculous, powerful and sympathetic. He was loved by God and he was next to no one but to God. But the, the Son of God appeared, and that left Satan a little discouraged. When God declared His Son as the King of Heaven, His successor, second only to Him and demanded all other angels to submit and bow to the Son of God, Satan didn’t like it at all. He didn’t raise his voice against God at that time but he went away rather than accepting the order of God. Later on, Satan gathered many angels and discussed his reservations about Son of God to them. Almost all companions of Satan were determined that they will not bow to the Son of God. One of them was Abdiel.
Satan and his commander then led all those Angels to the North and raised a temple just like that of God. At night, Satan addressed all his supporters and said that he will never bow to the Son of God, and to reclaim his position as second to none, he is willing to test the power of God and to fight against Him. Satan asked if anyone has to say anything, but all remained silent in his support. Then Abdiel raised his voice and opposed Satan. Abdiel was a supporter and admirer of Satan but he was obedient to God. He strongly opposed Satan and said that he will never go to war against God. He tried to convince Satan and his followers to listen to God as God is just and he will never do any injustice against them. Satan tried to persuade Abdiel to support him against God but Abdiel said that Satan’s pride will cause his downfall. When Satan understood that Abdiel will not accompany him, he told him to gracefully leave his temple and go back to God. He told Abdiel to inform God that he and his supporters are now independent, they will rule themselves and they are ready to test the power of God.
Abdiel left Satan’s temple not because Satan ordered him, but because he was faithful to God. He was the only admirer of Satan who decided to leave him and remained loyal to God.
Analysis of Book 5
When Eve tells Adam about her dream, Adam says that it can never be true as they will never disobey God. However, God is omniscient, he knows that Adam and Eve will betray His order in the future. The readers of Paradise Lost also know what will happen in future course of Paradise Lost. Thus, Milton puts the readers in the same position as God. Both God and readers know what will happen next and both of them can not stop it from happening. Yet, while readers cannot warn Adam, God can and he does so through Raphael.
Milton further stresses on heirarchy and explains God’s hierarchy on earth that keeps humankind at the highest order on Earth. Furthermore, Milton shows that even in humankind, Man is closed to God than his counterpart. Raphael enjoys the food prepared by Eve and the three enjoy their food together. However, Raphael doesn’t discuss his reason to visit earth and other serious matters in front of Eve. When Adam asks Eve to let him have some time with Raphael, then only Raphael warns him about Satan. This again confirms that in Miltonian Universe, Adam is superior and close to God.
While describing the events that took place in heaven before man came into existence, Raphael informs Adam how the pride of Lucifer turned him to Satan. Here again, Milton actually offers a side of Satan that puts him as a tragic hero. He was the principal archangel most loved by God and respected by all. Satan bowed to no one else except God, he unfailingly completed all orders of God and helped God in all activities of creation. But because of his pride, he was unable to accept the Son of God as superior to him.
Here, Milton describes God’s kingdom as a monarchy and God as a tyrant. No one is allowed to oppose God in His kingdom and thus, Satan decides to leave with his supporters. However, when Milton describes Satan’s temple and his meeting with supporters, he describes it as a democracy where though Satan is the leader, everyone is free to offer their opinions. Satan asks everyone to offer their inputs and when Abdiel raises his voice in opposition, Satan and others listen to him peacefully. They argue and try to convince each other but when Satan realizes that Abdiel will never agree, he asks Abdiel to gracefully leave them and go back to God. He doesn’t try to force Abdiel in any manner. However, soon it will be revealed that though Satan’s rebellion appears democratic against monarchial rule of God, the democracy suggested by Satan is marred with lies, deception, whims, irrationality, corruption, and feelings of hatred and revenge. While all other angels are deceived by the lies of Satan, Abdiel decides to oppose him. Thus, the real hero of Book 5 is Abdiel.
What Milton is suggesting here is that even the right actions (democracy, free will), led irrationally (disobedience to God) doesn’t count as right. That is, means are not as important as the intentions. Satan’s intentions were wrong, though his means appear right. To achieve his desired intentions, he will then use corruption, lies, deceptions, and conspiracies to maintain the democratic support of other fallen angels. Milton places Earth as the centerstage where archangels, angels, and devils continue to visit to intervene or interrupt the matters of earth and creation. Earth and mankind hold a special position to God and Satan.
So this is it about Book 5. We will continue to discuss other parts of Paradise Lost. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
No comments:
Post a Comment