Paradise Lost Essay Questions

What was Milton's goal in writing Paradise Lost?

While authorial intention for a text can never truly be known, the narrator of Paradise Lost announces his aims at the very beginning of the epic. In the invocation to the muse, Milton says that he plans to tell the story of man's disobedience in order to "justify the ways of God to men" (26). Most interpret this announcement to mean that Milton wants to focus his readers' attention on God's nature of turning everything from bad to good. As such, though most read Paradise Lost as a bleak and tragic narrative, Milton announces early on that it is a narrative meant to remind readers of God's providence.

What are some qualities that Satan possesses and why are they important to the narrative?

Milton's Satan is perhaps one of the most famous figures in all of English literature, and with good reason. Satan is extremely large in stature, racked with pain and despair, and an expert rhetorician. These qualities – especially his rhetorical skill – render him an excellent tempter of Eve and later Adam. His rhetorical skill has also been compared to political figures who promise easy solutions to long-term problems, as Milton frequently warned the English people about demagoguery and the difficulty inherent to establishing a free commonwealth. To this day, readers are often torn over whether to sympathize with Satan or feel repelled by him, a quality that Stanley Fish famously argued reminds readers of their own fallen state as humans.

How is God portrayed in Paradise Lost?

God is portrayed initially as a benevolent and loving creator. However, as Paradise Lost becomes more complex, readers might be tempted to interpret God as harsh, cruel, or vengeful. This portrait of God mirrors that of the New Testament, when God frequently punished man for his wrongdoings. This portrait is also evidence of Milton's nuanced take on the creation story: by portraying God in this way, he often tempts the reader to side with Satan, thereby dramatizing the temptation of man in the reader themself.

Is Paradise Lost only a bleak and tragic story? Why or why not?

Paradise Lost is a narrative with no surprise endings: as it follows the book of Genesis from the Christian Bible, most readers will know that the epic ends with Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden. As such, there is a doomed and bleak mood surrounding the entire text. However, Paradise Lost is not a hopeless narrative; indeed, there is one figure that provides a more redemptive mood to the text, as well as foreshadows the rest of man's fate. The Son, later to become Jesus Christ, intervenes in defense of man, asking God to sacrifice him for man's sins. While the Son plays a much larger role in Paradise Regain'd, his role in Paradise Lost essentially reminds readers that despite their disobedience and expulsion from paradise, humanity will ultimately be redeemed by Christ's actions.

Is Milton a misogynist? Why or why not?

Readers will likely notice the extreme and exaggerated misogyny that appears in Paradise Lost in Book X, after Adam and Eve have both eaten from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam compares Eve to Satan himself, and accuses her of being false and manipulative. These misogynistic insults – which were, in many other Renaissance poems, accusations lodged at women who rejected men's advances – are troubling. However, some feminist scholars have pointed out that the misogyny of Paradise Lost appears, crucially, after the fall: that is, misogyny is ushered in by Satan and is one of the consequences of men's disobedience. As such, one cannot necessarily declare that Milton or his text is misogynist, because the misogyny of the poem is filtered through the presence of the antagonist.