Paradise Lost By Milton Essay, Research Paper

Paradise Lost, reaches out and pulls in references and allusions to other

literary works, making it Milton?s most influential piece of literary work.

The writing echoes primary epic and the epic?s elevated language of describing

people and events in great detail and in super realistic terms. Primary epic

often uses nature as a simile, as with the line, ?Thick with autumnal leaves

that strew the brook.?(303). This line portrays an image of thousands of dead,

brown, wet, and muddy leaves, which add more depth to the portrait of the fallen

angels described in the passages from lines 299-313. To assert this description

further, Milton uses references to specific places to affirm and reinforce the

grand stature of the characters to whom he is referring. For example, the demons

are, ?High over-arched embower; or scattered sedge / Afloat, when with fierce

winds Orion armed / Hath vexed the Red Sea coast," (304-06). Orion armed is

associated with seasonal storms and The Red Sea in Hebrew is called The sea of

sedge. These two images when combined, add a fierce and grimy portrait of these

fiends. They seem to be hovering, and waiting for the right moment to generate

chaos in the world G-d has thrown them down to. Milton has, in this passage,

begun the process of characterization of these demons. He endows Satan with

heroic qualities and his cohorts emerge as militant followers of a stately, yet

ominous leader. Although Satan has heroic qualities and his angels are portrayed

as evil warriors, Milton often has these rebellious angels remember what they

have lost and given up. This helps to express the nature of their evil. Each

demon is aware of their condition and their transgression from Heaven to Hell

and they are, ?Under amazement of their hideous change.? (313). The main

theme of the poem as a whole, is the examination of the origin of human

Christian civilization, the emergence of evil, and how evil forces secure

themselves into the world in the first place. The question of why G-d has

allowed this evil to emerge and what is G-d?s solution, is answered through

Milton?s similes and references to historical events. For instance, Milton

refers to the Biblical event of the Exodus, by describing how multitudes of

fallen angels chased the Hebrew children through the Red Sea: ?The sojourners

of Goshen, who beheld / From the safe shore their floating carcasses / And

broken chariot wheels;? (310-11). Besides the ?broken chariot

wheels;?(311) being another simile to the sheer quantity of the fallen angels,

the reference to the event of the Passover suggests that, although G-d has

allowed for a certain amount of evil to take place, in the end his omnipotence

will ultimately divert Satan and the deception he has devised. Although G-d?s

actions may seem unjust, He has made provisions for the evil through Christ. The

passage within the poem reflects the evil nature of Satan, prior tohis plan to

corrupt the innocence of Adam and Eve. To supplement this evil, Milton uses

strong language such as ?vexed? and ?fierce.? He uses word combinations

to describe the physical and the ethereal. For example, ?Perfidious hatred?

is used to describe the motivation behind the pursuit of the Hebrew children in

the Exodus. By using strong language and similes to nature, Milton has

established in his descriptions, an epic tradition.