Paradise Lost: An Analysis of Allusions and Reading Strategies
Paradise Lost
Epic Poem by John Milton
The great poet John Milton had a very different view of human pride. As a devout Puritan, he believed in the truth of the Bible’s warning. He illustrates this warning brilliantly in Paradise Lost.
Text Analysis: Allusion
An allusion is a brief reference to a person, place, or event, or to another literary work. Writers often use allusions as a way to enrich your understanding of characters and actions and emphasize important ideas.
Most of the allusions Milton includes in his great Christian epic Paradise Lost come from biblical stories and classical literature, such as Greek and Roman mythology.
Allusion:
Line 34: Milton calls Satan “Th’infernal serpent”. (Satan’s temptation of Eve in the Bible, during which he takes the form of a serpent).
Reading Strategy: Reading Difficult Texts
Milton used a dramatic writing style. This style features striking phrases and unusual imagery.
Strategies:
- Simplify difficult syntax by paraphrasing.
- Use footnotes to clarify archaic expressions, or words and phrases we no longer use.
- Focus on the thoughts, words, and actions of Satan, the main character in this portion of the poem.
Reading Purpose
Learn about the fateful choices made by a fallen angel.
Background
Milton begins his epic like the ancient epics that were his models, with an invocation of, or call upon, a Muse. The speaker asks for inspiration and states the subject and themes of the poem. He then explains how Satan, once among the most powerful of God’s angels, was cast out of Heaven for leading a rebellion against God’s rule. Awakening in Hell alongside Beelzebub, another fallen angel, Satan considers what he has lost and reaffirms his defiance of God.
- one greater Man: Jesus Christ.
- Heavenly Muse: the source of Milton’s inspiration – here identified with the Spirit of God that spoke to Moses.
- Oreb… Sinai: Mounts Horeb and Sinai, on which Moses heard the voice of God.
- shepherd: Moses, the chosen seed: the Jews.
- Sion Hill… Siloa’s brook: places in Jerusalem, the holy city of the Jews.
- Aonian mount: Mount Helicon in Greece, sacred to Muses.
- argument: subject.
- Providence: God’s plan for the universe.
- justify: show the justice of. Milton states his purpose in this line.
- our grand parents: Adam and Eve.
- transgress: sin against.
- for one restraint: on account of the command not to eat of the tree of knowledge.
- th’ infernal serpent: Satan, who in the Bible takes the form of a serpent and tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
- what time: when.
- host: army.
- Him the Almighty Power… arms: God hurls Satan from the ethereal sky, or heaven, to hell, a bottomless pit of perdition, or damnation, where he must live in unbreakable chains and punishing fire.
- his doom… wrath: fate had more punishment in store for him.
- obdurate: stubborn.
- ken: can see.
- Milton conveys the desolation of hell through a horrifying paradox: flames that give no light, only “darkness visible”.
- still urges: always presses; afflicts.
- sulphur: Burning sulphur, called brimstone, is often associated with God’s wrath.
- as far removed… utmost pole: The image is probably drawn from Virgil’s Aeneid, which situates Tartarus, or hell, as twice as far below the earth’s surface as the heavens are above it.
- weltering: writhing; thrashing about.
- long after known… Satan: The ancient Phoenicians, whose land is here called Palestine, worshipped the god Baal, also known as Beelzebub in the Bible. The name Satan comes from the Hebrew word meaning “enemy.”
- study: pursuit.
- with suppliant knee: pleading in a kneeling position.
- doubted: feared for.
- ignominy: disgrace.
- empyreal: heavenly.
- apostate: renegade.
- vaunting: boasting.
- compeer: companion of equal rank.
- of force: necessarily.
- suffice: satisfy fully.
- thralls: slaves.
- Beelzebub suggests that God has left the fallen angels strength so that their suffering will be increased or so that he can use them for his own purposes. Then Beelzebub asks what use in that case (“What can it then avail”) the fallen angels’ strength and eternal life will be to them.
- cherub: angel.
- aught: at all.
- laid: calmed.
- impetuous: violently forceful.
- slip th’occasion: miss the chance.
- satiate: satisfied.
- afflicted powers: stricken troops.
- reinforcement: increase of strength.
- rood: a unit of measure, between six and eight yards.
- as whom… Tarsus held: in Greek mythology, both the huge Titans – of whom Briareos was one – and the earth-born giant Typhon battled unsuccessfully against Jove (Zeus), just as Satan rebelled against God. Zeus defeated Typhon in Asia Minor, near the town of Tarsus.
- Leviathan: a huge sea beast mentioned in the Bible – here identified with the whale by Milton.
- night-foundered: overtaken by the darkness of night.
- invests: covers.
- incumbent on: resting upon.
- lights: rests after flight.
- The force…Etna: an underground wind moves a hill torn from Cape Pelorus, on the coast of Sicily, or Mount Etna, a nearby volcano. It was formerly thought that earthquakes were caused by underground winds.
- sublimed: vaporized.
- involved with: wrapped in.
- the Stygian flood: the river Styx – in Greek mythology, one of the rivers of the underworld.
- sufferance of supernal power: permission of heavenly power.
- all but less than: second only to.
- wherefore: why.
- astonished: stunned, th’oblivious pool: the river Lethe – in Greek mythology, a river of the underworld that causes forgetfulness.
- mansion: dwelling place.
Allusion:
Line 239: Stygian flood. Explanation: river Styx – in Greek mythology. How Allusion Affected My Understanding: Shows the setting of the underworld (sea).
Allusion:
Line 198: Titanian or Earth-born, that warred on Jove. Explanation: Titan and giants are Greek myth. How Allusion Affected My Understanding: Satan is huge and beastly. Is just a failed rebellion.
Allusion:
Line 233: Etna. Explanation: nearby volcano. Underground winds move. How Allusion Affected My Understanding: Resembles power. Destroy everything into pieces.
Allusion:
Line 199: Briareous. Explanation: Is a Titan, who battled Zeus unsuccessfully. How Allusion Affected My Understanding: Allows the fight between God and Satan with no successful.
Allusion:
Line 201: Leviathan. Explanation: Huge sea monster mentioned in the Bible. How Allusion Affected My Understanding: Satan resembles as huge.
John Milton
John Milton, (born December 9, 1608, London, England—died November 8?, 1674, London?), English poet, pamphleteer, and historian, considered the most significant English author after William Shakespeare.
Milton is best known for Paradise Lost, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in English.
Abandoning his earlier plan to compose an epic on Arthur, Milton instead turned to biblical subject matter and to a Christian idea of heroism. In Paradise Lost—first published in 10 books in 1667 and then in 12 books in 1674, at a length of almost 11,000 lines—Milton observed but adapted a number of the Classical epic conventions that distinguish works such as Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid.
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Diary by Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys kept a diary to record his ideas and experiences. He did not intend it to be shared or published. In fact, he wrote it in code to ensure that it would not be easily understood.
Text Analysis: Diary
A diary is a daily account of a person’s own thoughts, experiences, and feelings. A diary is a primary source. A primary source is written by someone who was present at the event being described. Some diaries provide valuable insights into historical events and eras. Samuel Pepys’s diary merited publication in part because of the fascinating portraits it presents of English life 350 years ago.
Reading Skill: Connect to History
Comparing the events described in a text which events in your own world is a way to connect with the text you are reading. For example, you may find yourself comparing the historical events described in this selection to recent events you have learned about or experienced in your lifetime. Making connections between events described in a text with your own experiences can help you gain a greater understanding of what you read.Reading PurposeRead to find out how life in the 1660s compare to life today.Background: The Diary of Samuel Pepys is a vivid firsthand account of events that occured more than 300 years ago. As a personal secretary to a British admiral, Pepys witnessed the return of the King Charles II to England from exile in France. He also was present during the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666, which destroyed about 13,000 homes and most of London´s government buildings.Samuel PepysBorn Febrary 23, 1633, London, England- died May 26, 1703, London. Was an English diarist and naval administrator, celebrated for his Diary (1825) which gives a fascinating picture of the English Restoration. from 1660 to 1669. Period: Restoration and the 18th century. Studied at St. Paul´s School entered Trinity Hall and Magdalene College, Cambridge.