Paradise Lost by John Milton Book 5, Theme, Summary, Analysis

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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.

Paradise Lost by John Milton Book 4, Theme, Summary, Analysis

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John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost ultimately became a highly influential inspiration for many other artists and their work. Joseph Haydon’s oratorio The Creation (1798), and John Keats’s long poem Endymion (1818) was highly inspired by Paradise Lost. John Milton himself wrote Paradise Regained after the success of Paradise Lost in 1671. Moreover, John Keats tried to experiment with Miltonian verse or Blank Verse in his incomplete epic project titled Hyperion, though he found it pretty difficult to complete it in blank verse and let it remained unfinished.

Summary and Analysis of Book 4

Book 4 of Paradise Lost is pretty important because not only John Milton introduces the remaining two protagonists of the poem in this part, but he also shows how the antagonist Satan goes through his continual degradation. Milton introduced Satan as a great figure, taller than the tallest thing, stronger than the strongest opponents, next only to Almighty. Yet, as Lucifer continued his tryst with distrust and evil, he continued to suffer, degradation and diminution, and that is what is shown in Book 4. Furthermore, Milton also strengthens his plot of Hierarchy in God’s Universe in Book 4.

After knowing how to enter the new world from Uriel, Satan flies off and lands atop Mount Niphates from where he gazes at the green lush Earth and the Paradise, the garden of Eden. As the sun shines over the Garden of Eden, it reminds him of the grace and honor he used to enjoy in heaven. He stands still and thinks. He wonders whether he would have fallen or not if God had created him with a little less pride. He accepts that God created him in a way that led him to his fall. He understands God’s plan but this knowledge further fills his heart with a sense of revenge and hate against God. He concludes that his only recourse is evil, and from now on, all his efforts will be too, if not destroy, at least divide God's kingdom. He has seen the might of God and he fears it. But he concludes that he has no other choice. Satan says, "Farewell hope, And with hope farewell fear." Then he moves forward towards earth to corrupt mankind.

Meanwhile, Uriel was observing Satan who was in disguise as a Cherub. While Satan was going through his internal debate, Uriel observed the changes appearing on his face. Uriel was an experienced Archangel and he realized that he has been tricked. An innocent cherub cannot go through such a storm of emotions that can be visible on his face. He realizes that some Fallen Angel, enemy of God has tricked him and is now going to corrupt nor harm the new world.

As Satan approaches Eden, he sees that Paradise is surrounded by strong high walls, protecting it. Like a low-life wolf or a thief, Satan jumps and clings to the wall to go on the other side. He sees a beautiful world on the other side of the wall. He sees the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge, and a variety of animals, birds, and beautiful creatures. He disguises himself as a hunting bird cormorant and perches on the Tree of Life.

As he sits atop the Tree of Life, he sees Adam and Eve in the Garden. He gets mesmerized by the beauty and grace of this new species, a new race that God created after he and his cohorts rebelled and fell from Heaven. He realizes that these new creatures are worthy enough to be loved and cared for and this intensifies his internal pain. He likes the man and wishes good of him but he aims to corrupt him and tempt the man to his fall. Then he listens to the conversation between Adam and Eve. Adam says to Eve that they should not complain about their work and should perform their duties happily. Eve then tells him how she came into existence. She tells him that after gaining consciousness, she was wondering who was she and why she was alive. Her path led her to a pure lake with still water, as she gazed over the water, she saw herself and found herself very attractive. Soon a voice informed her that she was created out of Adam to serve him and be his companion. The voice told that with Adam, she will be the mother of the human race. As Satan listens, he finds a clue. He thinks that if there is a Godly order to be followed by Adam and Eve, his aim is to tempt them to disobey that order. He then leaves Adam and Eve alone for a while to know more about the new world.

Meanwhile, Uriel visits the Gate of Paradise and meets Archangel Gabriel, the guard of Eden. He informs him how some fallen angel tricked him and enquired about the path to earth. Gabriel says that nobody visited the gate till now and if someone has breached the Garden of Eden by climbing up the wall, then he will find the intruder by the morning. As the night falls, Adam and Eve finish their work and reach their leafy bower while praising God and each other for their wonderful life. Soon they embrace each other while making love.

Satan observes Adam and Eve as they fall asleep. He turns into a toad and goes near to Eve to whisper false knowledge and corrupt words in her ears. At the same time, Gabriel sends his soldiers to search for the intruder in the Garden of Eden. Soon, two soldiers catch Satan whispering in the ears of Eve They pull him up and bring him in front of Gabriel. Gabriel recognizes him as Satan the mighty fallen angel and asks him what he is doing in the Garden of Eden? Satan tries to avoid direct conflict and feigns innocence and says that he was curious about the new race of Man and came to watch them with no intentions of harm. Gabriel, a wise angel realizes the lies of Satan and warns him to go away or he will throw him back to hell. Instigated by this threat, Satan comes in his real being as a strong tall fierce fallen angel, though he is now not as tall and strong as he was when he found consciousness on the fiery lake. Gabriel also prepares himself to fight but before they could engage in war, a pair of golden scales appear on the sky with a roar. It was a sign from God to stop fighting. Satan realizes that Almighty will soon intervene and he is no match against his power. Thus, Satan decides to fly away and disappears.

Analysis of Book 4

In hell, Satan was suffering physical pain and punishment when he was chained to the fiery lake. Now his physical pain has diminished as he is free, yet, he is not free of hell as the physical pain has been converted to emotional, psychological pain. Satan has such an aim that he will do everything possible to achieve, yet, even after achieving his aim of tempting man to his fall, Lucifer realizes that he won’t be happy as he loves man and wishes good of him. His determination to accept his damnation is shown through the degradation that he goes through. At the beginning of Book 1, Satan was depicted as a glorious, tall, strong, impressive, yet fallen angel. But as he continued to side with evil, he was forced to disguise himself as a Cherub. A Cherub is pretty low in the hierarchy in comparison to an angel, especially Lucifer, who once used to be the closest and favorite of God. His degradation didn’t stop there. Milton depicts him like a low animal wolf, or a thief when he tried to climb on the wall of Eden to pursue his evil aim of corrupting mankind. He further declines and degrades himself appearing as a cormorant to get close to Adam with evil intentions. Later on, Satan, who once was the strongest and most glorious archangel, decides to become a toad so that he may reach near to sleeping Eve and whisper falsehood in her dreams to corrupt her.

Why did Satan Chose Eve as his Target to Corrupt Mankind?

The major theme of Book 4 of Paradise Lost is the Hierarchy of God’s universe. Man lies at the center of this hierarchy. Man is a creation of God that He made in His own image and offered him free will to decide and act. Man is close to God. When Man complained that he feels lonely and needs some companion to be with, God took out a rib of Adam and created Eve out of it. While explaining the nature of this new creation, the female Man Eve, God told Raphael that Eve is a little away from God because she was created to serve man and God. Thus, in the hierarchy of God, Eve is in a lower position than Adam. The lower side is that of Satan. Thus, Eve is a bit more on side of Satan than Adam and hence Satan thinks that he can easily influence Eve. In Satan’s hell, the hierarchy is just an opposite mirror image of God’s Universe. The lower position of hierarchy is further explained in Book 4 as Eve says, "God is thy law, thou mine." What Eve says is that for Adam God is supreme, but for Eve, Adam is supreme, as Adam is subservient to God, she is subservient to Adam, or in other words, Adam is the lord or God of Eve. Eve further says, "to know no more Is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise." In later episodes of Paradise Lost, we see that Archangels Raphael, Michael, and others continue to visit Paradise to consult and offer knowledge and sermons to Adam but they offer this knowledge to him only when Eve is away, busy in some other works. And Eve is happy about it. She takes the knowledge that Adam decides to offer her, and to know no more, is her happiest knowledge.

Satan decides to turn it down and prompts Eve to exercise her individuality and act as an independent individual and stop being a loyal subservient to God through his tricks of temptations. In the Miltonian world, Adam is superior to Eve and she must always follow him. The fall of Man is all about Adam acting equal or subservient to Eve, listening to her, accepting her whims, and doing her bids. This happens because Adam feels too much enamored by the beauty of Eve and he stresses more on his emotions than reason and thus falls.

In Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve are engaged in love-making much before Satan corrupts them. However, their sexual acts are to follow the command of God that suggested that Eve will be subservient to Adam and will give birth to his offspring, humankind. Their love-making has a sense of duty and absence of lust. Though it is also clear that they do enjoy the act and that’s how Adam gets trapped in Satan’s plan.

So this is it about Book 4. We will continue to discuss the remaining parts of Paradise Lost. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Paradise Lost by John Milton Book 3, Theme, Summary, Analysis

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John Milton began his epic Paradise Lost with a hymn, a prologue, an invocation of the Holy Spirit as his Muse for the creation of this Biblical epic. However, at the beginning of the third book, Milton felt the need for the blessings of another Muse to guide him proceed the story of his epic. This second Muse is the Holy Light. There can be two reasons for why Milton felt the need for invocation of another Muse?

The first reason being, in the first two books, Milton basically talked about and depicted the dark fiery part of the Universe where Satan was forced to dwell. He needed the support and courage that Holy Spirit could provide. But in Book 3, Milton planned to depict Heaven, the abode of Almighty and the Son of God, where the good angels and cherubs lived. This part of the universe is glorified with divinity and it is full of light. Thus, Milton prays and invokes the Holy Light to illuminate his own heart so that he may express the world of light and divinity to his readers in the most appropriate manner. Another thing is that by 1652, Milton completely lost his eyesight. Now when he planned to introduce the two major characters and protagonist of his epic, he begs the help of Holy Light to let him write despite him being blind.

Milton prays that the Holy Light shine inside him and illuminate his mind with divine knowledge so that he can share this knowledge with his readers.

Summary of Book 3

As Satan moves towards the Earth, God and the Son of God see him approaching the new world. Son of God is sitting on his right hand. God tells his son how Satan is going to tempt man and how man will fall. God says that though he made man in his own image with the ability to differentiate good and evil, he also offered him freedom of choice. So while being Omniscient, God knows that Adam and Eve will disobey him and fall, he says that, unlike Satan, Man will fall because he will be tempted, and thus man still will deserve God’s love and mercy. Satan, on the other hand, disobeyed him and chose evil without any temptations and thus, Satan doesn’t deserve forgiveness. "Ingrate," God says of man. "He had of me all he could have; I made him just and right, sufficient to have stood, though free to fall."

God can see past, present, and future and he shares with his son how man will falter and suffer the curse of Death. He asks the angels to volunteer and helps Man against the evil plan of Satan, nobody takes the call. In past, before the birth of the Son of God, Lucifer was the favorite angel of God. At that time, all were equal in heaven. Lucifer being the favorite of God enjoyed the perks. However, when the Son of God took birth, Lucifer realizes that his position is diminishing and equality is evaporating. As God established the hierarchy, declaring his Son as second to him and thus, every Angel should bow to him, Lucifer rebelled. Now when Satan has planned to lure Adam and Eve and the whole of mankind in the darkness of evil hell, the Son of God feels responsibility and will to help man. Son of God volunteers to leave heaven and go to earth, the mortal world and win over Death, take away the evil sin, and purify humankind, offering them the road to salvation. The Son says that he will suffer death but also overcome it and, through this sacrifice, redeem Man from Man's sin.

God is happy about it. He reveals that in the future, his son will take birth in the mortal world as the son of a virgin and die to save the souls of man, the favorite creation of God. Then God declares the Son of God as the king of man, he will be the son of both God and Man. Those who will have faith in the Son of God will be redeemed but those who will reject his grace will have to suffer the Hell whose lord is Satan.

Milton then changes the scenario of his story. He has introduced God and the Son of God and how God is in control of whatever is happening and will happen in the future. He again describes the exploration of Satan. As Satan flies up towards the new world, he reaches Limbo of Vanity and Paradise of Fools. These are the places where all such men and creatures go who have vain hopes that they can achieve heaven while being on earth by pursuing wealth, riches, or superstitions. Satan stops there and walks on the semi-solid ground of Limbo of Vanity, on earth. From there, Satan sees the great gate of heaven attached to earth with a golden chain. For a moment, he thinks about Heaven and how he enjoyed living there. But soon he shakes his head and moves up to have a better look at the earth. He sees the beautiful new world and the sun that shines it. Satan tries to find a way to enter Earth but he fails. He decides to go further upward to the sun and have a better look at the earth, the lush green miraculous land. As he reaches the sun, he sees an angel Uriel standing on a hill as if he is guarding the entry to the earth. Satan decides to ask the way to earth from Uriel. However, being a fallen angel, he cannot directly go to Uriel, who was at God’s side during the war of heaven. So Satan decides to disguise himself as a cheerful cherub. As a cherub, he goes and meets Uriel and tells him that he has listened a lot about God’s new creation, the new world and he is curious to know how beautiful it is. Uriel gets into the trap of Satan. He finds it amusing that an angel from heaven is so interested in the earth. Satan is so immaculate in his disguise that even a cautious angel Uriel couldn’t notice his subterfuge. He shows the path to the new world, where Adam lives. Satan pays him due respect and flies off towards earth with his dark intentions.

Analysis of Book 3

From lines 1 to 55, Milton offers a preparatory phrase of praise describing the nature of God and heaven. In the same verse, he invokes another Muse, the Holy Light. He then introduces God, and the Son of God while juxtaposing the trinity of God, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit against the triforce of Satan, Sin, and Death. God and the Son are watching all acts of Satan from heaven, and while the Son of God is unaware of the plan of God, God, being omniscient is aware of all past, present, and future. It seems as if God is preparing the Son of God for the inevitable future. In hell, there was a debate to decide the future action as everything was in confusion. However, in heaven, things are clearer and God lets reason play. In hell, the future actions were decided based on revenge, while in heaven, the future actions are planned based on reason, mercy, and goodness.

In hell, Satan asked for a volunteer who will go to earth and tempt Man to fall, none came forward. In heaven too, God asks anyone to volunteer and help man against the evil planning of Satan, but no one comes forward. Finally, the Son of God comes forward, and hence, he comes directly against Satan. Milton’s universe is further described in the third book. Heaven is above all and earth lies below it, attached with a golden chair or staircases. Below the earth lies hell soon to be attached with the earth with the bridge being made by Sin and Death. In between the earth and hell, lies the rule of chaos. There are some other circular globes around the earth such as Limbo of Vanity, Paradise of Fools, the earth still remains at the center. So Miltonian universe in Paradise Lost is earth-centric, even though Milton was inspired by Galileo and the new discoveries about heliocentric origins.

Milton describes Limbo of Vanity or Paradise of Fools while pointing out the vanity of man that he saw during his time. He criticizes the superstitious ill-practices of relics, beads, symbolism, pardons, and indulgence that were promoted by the Catholic church. He suggests that man cannot do anything to attain the happiness of heaven and no relic or bead will help him. In fact, Milton says that a man must completely rely on God for his salvation and entry to heaven.

So this is it about Book 3. We will continue to discuss the other parts of Paradise Lost. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Paradise Lost by John Milton Book 2, Theme, Summary, Analysis

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Milton used blank verse for his Biblical epic Paradise Lost. Before him, blank verse was used by Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, William Shakespeare, and other dramatists. Miltonian verses were the first use of this literary device in poetry. Along with that, Milton also employed alliteration to offer double discourse within the same verse. One such example is from the beginning lines of the 1st book of Paradise Lost, "Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree..." While these lines offer an aesthetic example of alliteration using the ‘F word, it also offers a second message which can be read as ‘First Fruits are Forbidden.”

Paradise Lost Book 2 Summary

Book 2 begins with the summit of all fallen angels in the recently made Pandemonium, the temple of Satan. Satan addresses his supporters and says that though they have lost the war against Almighty they are yet alive and they can rise again, gather their strength and defeat Heaven. He then invites his close associates to offer their insights. In Book 1, Milton introduced Beelzebub and Mammon who raised the Pandemonium. In Book 2, Milton offers centerstage to two more cohorts of Satan. These two daemons are Malloch, the pro-war fallen angel, and Belial, the coward who disguises his cowardice shrewdly in the garbs of reason.

As Satan ends his speech, Malloch stands up and says that nothing, even their destruction could be worse than Hell, that they are forced to suffer now. He is a pro-war daemon, he was the fiercest fighter in the war in Heaven. He says that now they have found the resources of Hell abundant with strong metals and ores, they can make new and stronger weapons and can defeat the force of Almighty. Belial, the worthless rises up and contradicts Malloch. He says that God hasn’t punished them as fiercely as he could. He says that the worse was when they all were chained to the fiery lake to suffer an unending fire. Now they are free by God’s grace and if they do nothing wrong to invoke God’s wrath, he may forgive them and allow them to re-enter Heaven as well. But peace and good are not what Belial desires. He rather wishes daemons to remain inactive and wait for the chance. He tries to persuade the others to be more discreet so that their unacceptable behavior is less conspicuous. He says that now we know the true powers of Almighty, he is everywhere and hence, can see and listen to whatever we do or say. Thus, hoping to defeat Almighty is impractical. He says that they should now remain inactive so that God may either relent on their punishment or with time, they will be accustomed to the hard life of hell. Milton expresses Belial’s speech as "words cloth'd in reason's garb."

Mammon, the Materialist stands up again and addresses the summit. He contradicts Belial and refuses to ever bow down to God again. Though he doesn’t support another war against Heaven too. He says that the fallen angels have got resources in Hell and with their endeavor they can make Hell a much better place. He says that daemons should now work to make their own kingdom in Hell. All the other daemons happily endorse his idea and greet him with applause.

Beelzebub is the mouthpiece of Satan who rises again and says that Mammon’s idea is also not workable. Beelzebub says that Almighty is present everywhere and no matter how much they despise him, he is ruling over them in Hell too. Since daemons cannot accept the rule of God, they are forced to remain in a passive war against Almighty till eternity. Beelzebub says, "War hath determined us,” to continue our struggle against the good of God is our fate.

Beelzebub then talks about the new creature that God has created. Beelzebub says that now when we have been thrown out of Heaven, this new race of Man is more dear and important for God. He says that Man is a weaker race, he is not as strong as angels, archangels, and cherubs. Yet, Man is the favorite of God. Since the goal of daemons is to create hurdles and worries for God, if the fallen angels succeed in seducing Man to follow their evil and corrupt path, it will anger God and it will be a victory for daemons.

This idea of Beelzebub allows the fallen angels to have a way to work for their improvements in Hell while they can also strive to take revenge against Heaven by seducing Man to their side. All the other fallen angels unanimously approve this decision and thus, with the help of Beelzebub, Satan succeeds in gathering all the forces of fallen angels to his own cause.

Satan again takes the lead and asks for a volunteer who may venture out of hell to find more about this new creature, Man. Nobody agrees to volunteer. Satan suggests his own name and everyone agrees.

As the summit ends, all the daemons break into smaller groups to create new structures in Hell. Meanwhile, Satan decides to find a way out of Hell so that he may go find the new world and observe Man. He sees that there are nine closed gates (three each of brass, iron, and adamantine) restricting him from leaving Hell. He observes that there are two strange guards and a pack of wolf-like dogs guarding those nine gates. One of them is a strange creature whose upper body is like that of a beautiful busty female while her lower part is like that of a stealthy serpent. The other guard appears like a phantom shadow. Satan cries against the dark shadow and orders him to open the gate otherwise he will kill him. As Satan readies to attack the dark shadow, the woman-beast cries out and stops them from attacking each other. She reveals that she is Sin, the daughter of Satan. She took birth out of Lucifer’s mind when he felt envy of the Son of God for the first time. The sin appeared as a strange creature with a very attractive upper body but a lower body of a serpent. Lucifer couldn’t control his lust and Sin accepted her father as her lover and their illicit relationship gave birth to Death, a phantom-like Dark Shadow. She further says that when their son saw her alone, he raped her. She then gave birth to these hounds who continue to torment her all the time.

Satan is now less violent and more friendly towards these two. He tells them that he is going to search Earth, the new world where a new creature named Man dwells. Satan says that if he finds Earth, the three, Satan, Sin, and Death can rule over this new world and Death will then have plenty to satiate his hunger. Sin holds the key to open the gates but she knows that once the gates are opened up, they cannot be closed again. She decides to let Satan come out and venture his search.

As Satan comes out, he faces a vast dark space with nowhere to go. Nonetheless, he decides to fly above, thinking, Man, being the favorite of God must dwell above Hell, near to God. As he flies away, he fails to continue upward motion and is forced downward until a fiery cloud catches him and carries him up. Again, Almighty intervened and let Satan pursue his search. As Satan moves up, he encounters a great tumult of noise. Satan decides to follow it. As he reaches near, he sees Chaos the ruler of the abyss, and his consort the dark Night. The keeps of Chaos are Rumor, Tumult, Chance, and Confusion. Satan asks him the way to the new world. He tells Chaos that if he succeeds in gaining control over Earth, he will allow chaos to spread more disorder. Chaos shows him the way to Earth. He says that Earth is chained to Heaven with a heavy golden chain. Sin and Death continue to follow Satan as he flies up towards earth, making a dark bridge to reach the earth so that evil daemons may reach the earth to tempt Man and bring him to Hell.

Analysis of Book 2

The debate in Pandemonium clarifies some deep philosophical points. Mammon clarifies that while there can not be an open war between Good and Evil as Good, will always remain more powerful than Evil, yet there is an eternal animosity that can never end. Evil will never end as fallen angels will never bow to god in any case and god will never accept the daemons back in heaven. Thus, while Evil cannot be vanquished, it will always remain weak against Good. Beelzebub shows the path and declares that the soul of Man will be the eternal battleground of good and evil as Satan and his forces will continue to tempt man to fall prey to their course.

Hell is depicted as an exact opposite mirror image of Heaven. The trinity of Heaven is God, Holy Spirit, and Son of God, the triforce of Hell are Satan, Sin, and Death, son of Satan. Milton personified Sin and Death to offer an image of an unholy trinity. This shows the influence of Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene on Paradise Lost.

Book 2 further elaborates the Universal hierarchical structure with Heaven above all. Below it lies the new world Earth attached to heaven with a golden chain. Man is God’s favorite and is in direct influence of God. Below the earth is the rule of Chaos, Night, Rumor, Chance, Tumult, and Confusion. While Chaos is neutral in the struggle of Satan against God, he loves disorder while God represents order. Below the rule of Chaos lies Hell, the new kingdom of Satan, Sin, and Death, farthest from the grace of God.

We will continue to discuss other books of Paradise Lost. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Paradise Lost by John Milton Book 1 Theme, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

Paradise Lost was the first epic poem that was written in Blank Verse. The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The book was first published in 1667 and it was revised and reprinted again in 1674. It was arranged in 12 parts in the manner of Virgil’s Aeneid and it contained more than 10,000 lines of verses. John Milton had gone completely blind in 1652 while he started writing Paradise Lost in 1658 with the help of amanuenses and scribes.

Paradise Lost is based on the biblical theory of Fall of Man and the central character of the story is Satan, formerly known as Lucifer in Heaven. Lucifer was an Angel closest to God. When Lucifer realized that he isn’t the second in the hierarchy and he will have to follow the commands of the Son of God (Christ), he revolted and many other Angels joined his rebellion.

On many accounts, Satan appears to be the tragic hero of the epic Paradise Lost because Milton has presented him in such a manner. The poem begins with the Fall of Lucifer from Heaven. There was no Hell before it. As he revolted, he was thrown out of heaven to a palace recently invented by the Almighty. To punish Lucifer, who is now Satan, this new place is ornamented with some dreadful and frightening aspects. Satan still has the angelic glow that makes him appear charismatic and attractive. However, he continues to disobey God and engages in evil activities which further pushes him away from God and he continuously becomes more unattractive, frightening, and disgusting.

Milton mentioned in the first lines of Paradise Lost that the main theme of the epic will be Man’s first disobedience, which resulted in his fall. Obedience to God is thus the central theme of the poem. Lucifer disobeys and revolts against the Almighty and he continues to follow the downward spiraling path of sin and degradation. Adam and Eve also disobey God, but they realize their fault and chose the path of redemption that leads to betterment.

Another major theme of Paradise Lost is the Hierarchy based on the proximity of God. Heaven is above the earth, and Hell is below it. Son of God is closest to God, a high position that Lucifer once enjoyed. Then comes Angels, Archangels, Cherubs, and others. Adam, Eve and other Earth-dwelling animals come next, and then comes Satan and other fallen angels. To obey God is to accept and follow this hierarchy. Eve comes next to Adam in this hierarchy. The Fall of Man also depicts the breach of this hierarchy. Raphael suggests to Adam that Eve is a little away from God as she was created to serve both Adam and God. Thus, Adam is superior and Eve is naturally his subservient. However, Adam gets trapped in his passion for Eve and heeds to her whims while ignoring God and reason. That leads Adam to eat the Apple and cause his fall. As Adam breaches the hierarchy and allows Eve to lead him while she should have been his subservient, it results in the disobedience of God.

Another important theme of Paradise Lost is the Design of God that always brings good. As Satan falls, he creates Sin and Death. As Adam and Eve Fall, they suffer the terror of death. But this also offers God a way to show his temperance and mercy. The Son of God appears as a gift to humankind who leads humankind to its prior pure state. While the man is forced to suffer pain and death, he also becomes able to feel the salvation, mercy, and grace of God. Thus, sin and death can lead to the good of humankind.

Summary of Paradise Lost Book 1

Book 1 contains 722 lines of verse of Milton’s magnum opus. The opening 16 lines of Paradise Lost are comprised of a Single Sentence.

Milton was influenced by Ancient Greek and Roman poets and he took inspiration from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene too. Just like in Lycidas, Milton again offers a prologue (Lines 1-26) before beginning his epic. In these lines, Milton not only announces the main subjects of his epic poem but also offers his intention. He also continues the age-old tradition of pleasing the Muses and seeking their mercy and help for the creation of creative artwork, his epic poem. However, Milton doesn’t invoke any of the nine Greek Muse or goddesses of Art, rather he invokes, the Holy Spirit, representing the Trinity and thus, following the norms of Christian Protestantism. He specifies that his Muse is the same that inspired Moses to receive the Ten Commandments and write Genesis. Milton then describes the topics of his epic: the story of Man's first disobedience and the "loss of Eden," subjects which have been "unattempted yet in prose or rhyme."

The next section begins as Milton raises the question of what led Adam and Eve to disobey God? He then suggests that their disobedience was partly instigated by a serpent. This serpent is Satan.

Milton then introduces his central character Satan who has just fallen from Heaven. There was no hell before this, God invented Hell where Lucifer could be thrown. Satan is chained to a fiery, yet dark lake of hell. Satan is coming to his conscious and he sees himself chained to hell. Satan raises his head and finds Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies next to him. In Heaven, Beelzebub used to be a beautiful archangel who has now been turned into a horrible, ugly fallen angel. Beelzebub is a closed confidante of Satan. Satan gathers his guts and calls Beelzebub, telling him how God never showed his actual power to them before the war. He bemoans his loss as he remembers how he presumed himself equal to God and denied obeying the Son of God. As he declared war against the Almighty, many angels and archangels joined him in opposition to the hierarchy suggested by God. A cosmic war began that shook the throne of God. However, God exercised his enormous power, and Satan and his cohorts were thrown out of Heaven by the Son of God to "nine times the space that measures day and night,” that is hell.

Satan raises his voice and vows to raise his power again for the second attack. Beelzebub is not that enthusiastic as he now believes that God cannot be defeated. Satan doesn’t contradict Beelzebub and hence accepts the insurmountable power of God. Yet, he devises a plan and says that they should at least prevent God’s good works to evil purpose as this will reduce the power of God making him vulnerable. The two fallen angels rise again and fly off to a nearby land which is firmer than the lake yet, is fiery, brazen, and dark. They can do so because God allows them to break off the chains as the almighty intends to bring good out of their evil plans.

Beelzebub asks why the Almighty let them live? What plan did he have for them as the god could easily kill them forever? Satan says that God definitely wanted to punish them for eternity but now when they know the real power of God they can better plan how to continue fighting against God and making him weaker. Satan is not willing to change his ways and determines to pervert the good ways of God to evil. He calls Twelve angels closest to him and then raises his huge army and calls them to raise his cause. As he observes the dark, brazen, fiery surroundings, Satan declares, "Better to reign in hell, then serve in heaven."

The rebels gather their energy and find new strength in Satan’s call. Satan’s soldiers start playing music and beating drums, they are beaten, vanquished, tired, yet, loyal to their general. Satan then reveals his plan. He has heard about a new creation of God which is the man. He declares that they will continue their war against Heaven but their pawn will be mankind. God will make Man for doing good but they will force mankind towards evil. Satan’s soldiers respond to his roar by digging up a nearby mountain. As they continue to dig more, they find gems, gold, and other precious metals. Mammon, another fallen Angel takes the lead. He suggests that he will now make the marvelous palace of hell with the help of another architect angel Mulciber. Mammon and Mulciber declare that "Hell is bad, but with a few improvements we can make it lots better, even attractive."With the help of other fallen angels, they soon raise a great temple which they name Pandemonium. This word was invented by Milton. Pan in Greek means All, and thus, Pandemonium is the place where all demons prevail. All the demons and fallen angels enter the Pandemonium. While Satan and his twelve close associates maintain their structure, all the other fallen angels shrink and reduce their size to have a proper place in the newly erected palace to hold a summit. These demons have special powers as they can easily change their shape from huge winged demons to the smallest creatures as they wish.

Analysis of Paradise Lost Book 1

Milton presented Satan in a specific manner that renders him a shadow of a tragic hero. He is the central character of the first few books. In the first book, Milton shows his struggle and how he bravely gathers his strength to fight against the odds. Milton invested the first three books of his epic in developing and expressing the Antagonist so that when he introduces the protagonists, Adam and Eve, the reader may have a good idea of what foes they are going to face.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss Paradiz Lost as we intend to cover all 12 books of this epic poem by Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse, thanks, and regards!

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Edith Wharton was a popular American novelist and short story writer who took birth on January 24, 1862, and died on August 11, 1937. She was the first woman to attain the Pulitzer Prize for literature that she won for her fiction novel The Age of Innocence in 1921.

Her other major works include the novels The House of Mirth (1905), The Custom of the Country (1913), and the short story or the novella, Ethan Frome (1911). The Age of Innocence was published in 1920.

Themes of Age of Innocence

The major theme of the novel is the vanity and hypocrisy of the rich upper-class of American society during the Gilded Age (1870-1900). Another theme of the novel is the difference between sexes. In Wharton’s novel, women are sexually innocent, not expected to have extramarital affairs, and divorce is not considered appropriate. Women may employ the power of duty, loyalty and, motherhood. Duty is the main theme of the novel as Wharton tries to clarify that a person needs to sacrifice his or her personal freedom to fulfill his or her duties, specifically, duties as a parent. Victorian American women were considered beautiful trophies but innocent brides. Another important theme is how society forces the hypocritical social code.

Characters of Age of Innocence

Newland Archer is a young lawyer working in New York. He is engaged to May Welland and he is very happy about it as this marriage will secure his position in the higher upper-class society of New York. Soon he meets Countess Ellen Olenska, a cousin of May Welland and he realizes that he is falling in love with her. Throughout the novel, Newland Archer struggles between integrity and individual freedom. He sacrifices his passion for his duties.

May Welland Archer is a young socialite belonging to a rich family. She marries Newland Archer and settles in a conventional life. She is totally controlled by her mother and family values. She realizes that Newland doesn’t love her. At first, she decides to release Newland from his engagement, however, Newland assures her that he loves her and she trusts him. After marriage, she realizes that Newland is in love with her cousin Ellen but she pretends innocent about it. She pretends that she and Newport are leading a perfectly happy married life. But within, she is unhappy and frustrated. Her frustration leads her to acquire a manipulative nature. She is not willing to give up her marriage and is ready to do anything to keep Newland away from Ellen.

Ellen Olenska

Ellen is a cousin of May Welland. She is a married woman. Her husband was abusive and cruel who stole her fortune and had affairs with many women. Ellen decides to leave her husband and gets separation. She is planning to divorce her husband but her family and society aren’t ready to support her. She is a free spirit. When she comes to know how Newport feels for her, she realizes that she also has feelings for him. Yet, she is not willing to ruin her cousin’s marriage. When she comes to know about the pregnancy of May, she decides to sacrifice her feelings for Newland and go back to Europe.

Mrs. Manason Mignotte

She is the grandmother of May and Ellen. She is a matriarch of a powerful rich family. She holds complete financial control over the family. She was widowed at an early age of 28 and since then she continued to safeguard her family’s social position with her shrewdness and force of character.

Mrs. Augusta Welland

She is the mother of May. She is also a strong lady who controls her weak-willed husband Mr. Welland and her daughter May. She has raised May to be a proper society lady. However, her upbringing has turned May into a dull woman with rigid views of appropriate and inappropriate. May lacks imagination and is ruled by societal conventions. Like her mother, May ends up manipulating, forcing, and rulling over her husband in a dull, passionless marriage.

There are many other minor characters describing the social ruin of the Gilded Age.

Summary of The Age of Innocence

Newland Archer is a young lawyer working in New York. He is engaged to May Welland, a young socialite belonging to a rich powerful upper-class family. Newland is happy about this relationship as his marriage will confirm his position in the upper class of New York. However, he finds May as a dull, uninteresting girl. May’s Aunt Augusta Welland has manipulated the delay in their marriage and has forced a long engagement period.

May’s cousin Countess Ellen Olenski has decided to return from Europe to her family in New York. She is married to Polish Count Olenski. Count Olenski is an abusive husband who has snatched the fortunes of his wife Ellen and continues to torture her. Olenski has many extramarital affairs and since he isn’t willing to change his ways, Ellen has decided to leave him and come back to her home in New York.

Mrs. Manson Mignotte suggests that the family should support Ellen and tells everyone in the family to treat her well. Mrs. Manson tells Newland to receive Ellen when she arrives. Newland is not too enthusiastic about Ellen as he feels that her tainted marriage will ruin his family’s social position. When Newland meets Ellen, he finds her exotically beautiful, full of enthusiasm, passion, and happiness. He feels that, unlike May, Ellen is a free spirit with an open mind. Gradually, he finds himself intrigued and attracted towards Ellen. Ellen continues to brazenly flout the fastidious rules of society of New York.

The more time Newland spends with Ellen, the more attracted towards her he finds himself. Gradually, he starts doubting his relationship with May Welland though she is the perfect girl to let him have a secured position in Old New York society. He starts feeling troubled within himself and decides to persuade May to marry him soon or to elope with him as he doesn’t want to breach his engagement with her.

Ellen finally decides to file a divorce from her husband Count Olenski but her family members do not agree with her as they are terrified of the scandal and disgrace that this divorce will bring to the family. Living apart can be tolerated, but divorce is unacceptable. One of the law partners of Newland suggests Newland talk to Ellen and persuade her not to divorce Count Olenski so that the Archer family can be saved from the ignominy that the divorce will bring. Newlands talks with Ellen and succeeds in persuading her not to divorce. However, his passion towards Ellen increases to limits and he decides to confront May and begs her to elope with him to accelerate their marriage date. May refuses his proposal. May feels that Newland is romantically attached with someone else and she offers him a release from the engagement, but Newland says that he truly loves her and wants to marry her as soon as possible. May trust him.

After some days, Newland finally expresses his love for Ellen. Ellen is also impressed by Newland but she is horrified by the thought that she will be ruining her cousin’s engagement. She tells Newland that she doesn’t want him to leave May for her. At the same time, Newland receives a letter from May. May wrote to Newland that she has talked with her mother and her mother is ready to let them marry soon.

Newland and May get married and Ellen decides to live in Washington, away from Newland. Newland finds his society's marriage boring. May is a dull and uninterested person and she lacks the vividity that Ellen possesses. Newland tries to forget Ellen but is unable to do so. Newland and May visit Newport, Rhodes Island where Newland Meets Ellen again. He comes to know that Count Olenski has asked for reconciliation and wants Ellen to return to Europe. Her family wants her to return and continue her marriage but Ellen has refused. Enraged by her independent attitude, Mrs. Manson Mignotte has cut off her money.

Newland realizes that Ellen is leading a difficult life. He desperately seeks some way to leave May and get married to Ellen. He realizes that it will be almost impossible for him to marry Ellen ever, he asks her to elope with him, but Ellen refuses. Meanwhile, Mrs. Manson Mignotte, grandmother of Ellen and May, gets sick and she calls Ellen back to New York to take care of her. She accepts her separation from Count Olenski and reinstates her monetary allowances. Newland and May also return to New York and Newland continues to seek time to meet Ellen in privacy. Ellen is attracted towards Newland and under renewed pressure from him, she agrees to consummate their relationship.

Meanwhile, May realizes that Newland is romantically involved with Ellen. She is frustrated. She realizes that her marriage with Newland is a sham but she is not ready to let it go. She decides to manipulate Newland to continue and maintain the sanctity of marriage with her. Newland learns that Ellen has decided to return to Europe. Newland knows that Ellen will never go back to her husband. He decides to leave May and follow Ellen and lead a new life with her. May announces that she and Newland are throwing a farewell party for Ellen. After the party, Newland decides to face May and tell her that he wants to leave her and go with Ellen. However, before he could say anything, May tells him that she learned that morning that she is pregnant with his child. She informs him that she had told Ellen about her pregnancy two weeks earlier though she was not sure of it at that time. Newland realizes that Ellen decided to leave New York because of May’s pregnancy as she doesn’t want to ruin May’s family. Newland faces the struggle of choosing Ellen and follow her to Europe or to remain with May and tender his duties towards the upcoming child. He decides to sacrifice his love for his duties towards the child.

Time flies and some 26 long years later, May gets terminally sick. Before she dies, she calls her son and tells him to always trust his father because his father sacrificed his most precious feelings for his child. Newland then realizes that May knew about him and Ellen from the start and she deliberately manipulated him and Ellen to save her marriage. Newland is 57 now. He and his son decide on a tour to Europe. When they are in Paris, his son comes to know that one of his mother’s cousins, Aunt Ellen is living in Paris. He decides to go and meet her. Newland also goes to visit her with his son. On arriving outside the apartment building, Newland sends up his son alone to meet Ellen. Newland considers going and meeting Ellen after so many years, but in the end, decides not to; he walks back to his hotel without seeing her. Newland's final words about the love affair are "It's more real to me here than if I went up.

So this is about The Age of Innocense. We will continue to discuss the English American Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Lycidas by John Milton | Structure, Summary and Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

Lycidas was one of the early works of John Milton. It was published in 1638 in Justa Edouardo King Naufrago, a collection of elegies dedicated to the memory of Edward King who died by drowning when the ship he was traveling with sank in the Irish sea in 1637.

John Milton didn’t have many friends during his college time but he was very close to Edward King who was elected as a fellow of Christ College, Cambridge. Milton viewed King as an honest, selfless, and able one among the corrupt clergymen. Many other alumni of Cambridge wrote elegies for King in Greek and Latin that were published in Justa Edouardo King Naufrago but Milton wrote Lycidas in English and it was the last poem of the collection of elegies.

Structure of Lycidas

Lycidas is a long 193 line poem. Milton mentioned this poem as a monody, a poem as a monologue. However, there are many other voices in the poem along with the narrator. Milton cleverly changes the form of the poem with each new voice. The shift from one form of a poem to another reflects the entrance of a new voice. In the end, the main narrator of the poem goes away while the second speaker appears. The poem lines are written in Iambic Pentameter with no specific rhyming. The poem is written as an Italian Cantazone for most of its parts. At the end, when the second speaker appears, the poem changes its rhyme to a consistent ottava rime with the rhythm of abababcc.

Though the poem is an elegy, Milton stressed more on his knowledge of classical literature and poetry. He certainly expressed his grief for the loss of Edward King, his friend, but this poem appears more like his resume, his effort to establish himself as a better poet. The poem includes a lot of fiction in place of true natural feelings and raises too many concerns along with King’s demise. Many critics have noticed that this elegy is inauthentic. Samuel Johnson criticized this elegy and said, ‘in the poem, there is no nature, for there is no truth, there is no art, for there is nothing new.” Johnson criticized the whole genre of pastoral elegies as ‘easy, vulgar, and therefore disgusting.” He famously said about Lycidas, “Where there is leisure for fiction there is little grief.” Despite such harsh criticism, Lycidas was exceedingly popular and it was considered the best poem of John Milton.

Summary of Lycidas

The poem is a pastoral elegy and like classical pastoral elegies, it begins as the poet invokes the Muse and offers the reason for writing this poem. A Muse is any of the nine ancient Greek goddesses who presided over arts, music, and literature. Ancient Greek poet or writer used to call his particular Muse to inspire him. In ancient times, poets used to write pastoral elegy in which they used to give a fictional name for the diseased. In this poem, Milton addresses his friend Edward King as Lycidas as Lycidas was also a historical figure who died at a young age before he could bloom.

Lycidas can be divided into six parts. The first part is the prologue followed by the body of the poem consisting of four parts, and then it ends with the epilogue, the sixth part.

Prologue of Lycidas (Lines 1-24)

The poem begins as the narrator picks leaves and flowers for the funeral of Lycidas. He plucks unripe berries and ivy. The plants die too young, like Lycidas.

The poet then invokes his Muse and explains his reason for writing the poem. Milton says that he vowed that he will keep away from poetry until he gets enough maturity to write poems. However, ‘bitter constraints and sad occasion' is forcing him to write an elegy. He says that he is too sad for the demise of his friend and there is no other way to express his grief but to use words. Hence, he is compelled to write this elegy. He invokes the Muse to inspire him to write this elegy. He asks the Muse to fill his urn with water and mourn Lycidas. In a way, Milton puts himself in the same line as that of Theocritus, Virgil, or Homer.

The 2nd Part of Lycidas (Lines 25-64)

The poet describes how Lycidas and the poet were enjoying their life as jolly shepherds. Milton invokes rural pastoral imagery that actually gives an idea of his life with King at Cambridge, the ‘self-same hill’ where they learned together. He describes how he and King used to start their day with studies early in the morning that continued throughout the day late into the night. Alas! Lycidas is no more, and this is a huge change, the world is no more like it was before his death. In a traditional pastoral elegy style, the narrator then asks his Muse, where was she when Lycidas died? Why couldn’t the goddess save his friend against death? And then he answers himself that his demise was fate and even her presence would not have saved him.

Then the poet reflects on the philosophy behind this. He wonders if his hard work and poetry can accomplish anything good? Why should he lead a strenuous disciplined life while abandoning all the pleasures he can have and cultivate the Muse? He thinks that one does so to obtain Fame, which is the reward of living laborious days. But as he is about to get his reward, Fate intervenes and he dies. In the precarious human life lies the tragic irony. Here, Milton suggests that Lycidas (or King) was also an emerging poet who could have earned a huge name had he lived longer.

While the poet is wondering about this, the God of Music and Poetry arrives. Apollo (Phoebus) tells the speaker to remain calm. He reminds the speaker that fame on earth isn't nearly as awesome as life in heaven and that life in heaven is where real fame happens.

The 3rd Part (Lines 85-131)

The third section begins with the pastoral description of mourners lamenting the death of Lycidas. The sea god Triton arrives and he leads the procession of mourners. Triton is followed by his winds behind him. In the prologue, the poet called the Muse to mourn for Lycidas, Triton answers his call on behalf of the Muse. Triton denies taking the blame for the death of Lycidas. He says the winds were good and the water was smooth. The ship sank because it was built during an eclipse and was doomed to fail.

Then appears St. Peter, “The Pilot of the Galilean lake.” He mourns the death of Lycidas and his speech soon turns into a sermon against the corrupt clergy and the sad condition of the Anglican church.

The 4^th Part (Lines 132-164)

In this part, the poet describes the “flowerets of a thousand hues” cast on the hearts of Lycidas, is an “escape from intolerable reality into a lovely world of make-believe.” Suddenly, the poet realizes that Lycidas’s body is in the sea and he cannot have a proper funeral.

The 5th Part (Lines 165-183)

In these lines, Milton brings upon the idea of Afterlife and expresses his strong belief in immortality. Grief and sorrow are temporary. And though Lycidas is apparently dead, he has arisen from the dead: “Through the dear might of Him that walked the waves.” Lycidas is in heaven, and therefore “Weep ye no more.” The saints there to entertain him in “sweet societies / That sing, and singing in their glory move.” The poet offers the image of the Sun setting only to rise again, a metaphor for Christian resurrection.

The Epilogue (Lines 185-193)

The shepherd leaves the place and a new speaker continues the poem to its end. The second speaker describes the shepherd rising to explore new pastures, leaving the place where he grieved for Lycidas. The conclusion points to a new determination both to face life hopefully and to rise up to greater poetic achievements.

Lycidas is a proper pastoral elegy describing the loss of a close friend. The mourning is twice interrupted where the poet describes his personal sorrow with universal significance. He uses the death of Lycidas to reflect on the precariousness of life and the irony of fate that can render all human efforts futile. Along with that, the poet also comments against the degeneration and corruption of the Anglican church while suggesting that Lycidas was an honest selfless clergyman.

This is it for today. We will continue to discuss other important works by John Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse.

Thanks and Regards.