Through Paradise Lost to analyze John Milton

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[Abstract]: John Milton, the greatest English poet after Shakespeare, towers above all other English writers of his time in his artistic achievement. For the great influence of Milton over the later writers and the superior status in the English literature, most scholars pay more attention to his works. While, Paradise Lost, often considered as the greatest English epic and Milton's masterpiece, also catches the common attention from literary world. They analyze Paradise Lost from many aspects. However, as the masterpiece of Milton in his later years, it tells the fall of man and Satan's expulsion from Eden by shaping the rebellious character Satan, which reflects some thoughts of Milton, such as Puritan thought, revolutionary thought, contradictory thought and humanism.

[Key words]: Paradise Lost, John Milton, puritan, revolutionary, humanism, contradictory, thoughts, religion

The introduction of John Milton and Paradise Lost:

John Milton, the greatest English poet after Shakespeare,was the on great literary figure who tried seriously to combine Renaissance and the Reformations.He has created most works ,but Paradise Lost is the most famous one and often considered as the greatest epic in literary history. Therefore,it has gathered the most thoughts of Milton and it is the best choice for us to know John Milton.Paradise Lost were taken from the Old Testament , which is written by blank verse and it concludes:(1)the rebellion of Satan and his fellow angels(2)their defeat and expulsion from Heaven(3)the creation of the Garden and Eden and the first man and woman Adam and Eve(4)the fallen angels in hell plotting against God(5)Satan's temptation of Eve(6)the exile of Adam and Eve from Paradise(7)Upon Satan's return to hell,he and his followers are all turned into serpents.The following contents are my analyses of John Milton's thoughts through this epic.

一.The Puritan thought of Milton

As we all know, Milton was born in Puritan family, so he was influenced deeply by the Puritanism. Moreover, he was faithful follower of Cromwell and wrote many powerful pamphlets to support the Revolution. From the words in Paradise Lost ,"sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven "we can see it is God who control the world and "tyranny" reflects the supremacy power of God. In addition, we also can find the Cromwell's shadow or figure. The second part of this epic describes Satan wants to revenge and he holds the democratic Congress to debate the issue. The Congress comes from the model of democratic Congress created by Cromwell. Therefore, through this part, we can see the tendency to Puritanism of Milton.

二．The revolutionary of Milton

In fact, the revolutionary character is the most primary feature of Milton .In other words, Milton is just a rebellious man and he regards this justice as his holy mission. Milton has wrote: “My resolution was unshaken, though the choice was either the loss of my sight or the desertion of my duty.” The sentence has shown the firm decision of revolution of John Milton. In some degree, Milton makes Satan unconsciously serve as his own mouthpiece. Through shaping the role Satan, Milton shows a puritan's revolt against the established doctrine of the Catholics and the Anglican church, just like Satan's monologue in Paradise Lost :"What through the field be lost? All is not lost：the unconquerable will/And study of revenge, immoral hate/And courage never to summit or yield/And what is else not to be overcome?"Just a few sentences, it has shown us a totally rebellious role. From this, we have known comparing with the God, Satan, as the rebellious role, is more brave and decisive. Therefore, Satan becomes the central part of the epic. And Satan expresses the revolutionary thoughts of John Milton successfully.

三．The contradictory thought of Milton

Paradise Lost is taken from the Old Testament . As we all know, in the Bible, Satan is a negative figure who is the symbol of evil and God is the represent of supremacy. However, in Paradise Lost, although Satan is rebellious and he tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the Forbidden Tree--The tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, he described as brave, persist, rebellious, and heroic in Milton's work. Comparing with God, most people would like to praise Satan because of his decisive mind and unconquerable will .We can see that, in fact, Milton affirms to the rebellion of Satan and shapes a brave figure to readers. But eventually, Adam and Eve are exiled from Paradise by God and Satan also returns to hell and his followers are all turn into serpents. From the seventh part, we know the ending is that the revolution failed .The failure of revolution and the praise of Satan's rebellion reflects the contradictory thought of Milton clearly. In other words, Milton stands by the side of evil, which reflects the strong inner contradict and clash.

四．The humanism of Milton

Milton is the writer in the seventeenth century. During that time, the Renaissance happened in the England and the humanism becomes popular. Of course, Milton is not an exception and he is influenced deeply by humanism. In Paradise Lost, we can find the trace of humanism here and there .From the third part of this epic, the humanism reflects clearly with the creation of the Garden of Eden and the first man Adam and the first woman Eve .The occurrence of Adam and Eve makes the epic enter a new sensation .In Eden, Adam and Eve live a peaceful and colorful life. They play with some other creatures and tell the private words each other before be found eating the fruit of the Forbidden Tree--The tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil by God. It shows a cheerful and romantic atmosphere created by human themselves to us. Also, we will feel the greatness of human beings. It shows the affirmation and praise to human beings rather than the affirmation to the world outlook of God-focused. In addition, John Milton praising the rebellious Satan means that he admits it is right for human to fight against the power—God. In other words, it is a hymn about human fighting against God. Therefore, the epic also reflects the humanism of Milton.

Natural conclusion:

As the greatest English poet after Shakespeare and the great literary figure in the world, John Milton plays a very important role in the history of literature of England even in the history of the world .He tries to combine Renaissance and the Reformation together and create the rich stories of classical learning with the revival of the deep religious feeling. His works make him famous and it has influenced the later people deeply both in writing and spirit. Just because of his greatest influence on the later writers , it has great and special meaning for us to analyze the works of John Milton. Paradise Lost, as the great epic in modern language and the most important masterpiece of John Milton, has become the mouthpiece of John Milton naturally. For us, we should and must read this epic Paradise Lost again and again until we can comprehend the real meaning of this epic .At the same time ,we should know the relation between the author John Milton and the work Paradise Lost. I remember that the teacher of American literature once said that “In any works of one writer , we can find a character that is similar to the author , we also called it the mouthpiece of the author. And usually, the author will express the thoughts he wants to say in the reality but he dare not say through the character he shapes in the work .” Therefore, Satan becomes the character who represents John Milton and tells us the real thoughts of John Milton. That is Puritan thought, revolutionary thought, contradictory thought and humanism. First, The Congress held by Satan comes from the model of democratic Congress created by Cromwell. through which, we can see the tendency to Puritanism of Milton. Second, through shaping the rebellious character –Satan, expresses the revolutionary thoughts of John Milton successfully. Third, Milton praises the braveness of Satan and stands by the side of evil unconsciously, which reflects the strong inner contradict and clash.Fourth,John Milton praises the rebellious Satan for his fighting against the power—God. In fact,it is a hymn about human being. Therefore, the epic also reflects the humanism of Milton.

In conclusion,Satan is the mouthpiece of John Milton and this epic Paradise Lost is the monologue of the thoughts of John Milton.It reflects the Puritan thought, revolutionary thought, contradictory thought and humanism.

The Reference Book:

1.A Brief History of English Literature With Selected Readings

王佩兰 等主编 东北师范大学出版社 2006.8

2.A Guide to A Survey of English Literature 常耀信 主编 武汉大学出版社 2009.12

Through Paradise Lost to analyze John Milton1