Paradise Lost Book I

First thing to say about Paradise Lost is that it overturns common sense and knowledge of Satan. I am not a strong religious person, but even I know, that the bible does not contain biographical information about the fallen angel, Lucifer. While he is usually referred as the evil one, as he contributes solely in negative aspects of a person’s life, Milton’s novel portrays how his downfall from heaven was a failure to reach his goal – which was to be stronger and more significant than what the God had assigned him to be.

Honestly, the book blew my mind. Milton spun the readers’ minds as he conveyed that Lucifer was not full of atrocity. He had a reasonable excuse that made him unsatisfied with the position in Heaven; he could not stand working underneath the God’s son. This envious emotion is what led him to the rebellious war. As I read the book, it almost made me feel as if God, who most society believes to be the flawless, wonderful figure, was the main contributor of turning Lucifer into an evil symbol of Hell. After all, without considering Lucifer’s feelings at all and sticking to the idea of what we call is “monarchy”, the God used his overwhelming power to break Lucifer’s ambitions.

Now the book poses a question. Were Lucifer’s rebellion and the formation of Hell a bad thing? From my point of view, and reading the text, I think Heaven and Hell must coexist. It is like the idea of binary opposition that appears in post-structuralism. Additionally, Lucifer’s will to break the repetitive lives and work for a higher position in Heaven was a very understandable excuse. Now, I’m not saying that war was the best solution in order to solve this problem, but I think the action he took was so much more efficient than sitting as one of the many angels in Heaven, simply obeying what the God says. Otherwise, Heaven would be a Marxist state – very close to the ideas introduced in Brave New World Revisited – loss of self-identification, manipulations by stronger powers, etc.

As I read the book, I figured a strong connection between Paradise Lost and Grendel from Beowulf.  The author wrote the story from a new perspective that is usually ignored – thus through this, the readers can judge for themselves, whether Lucifer was the criminal or actually a victim.

 

The Tempest

ANTONIO (ACT 2 SCENE 1)

Ay, sir. Where lies that? If ’twere a kibe,

'Twould put me to my slipper. But I feel not

This deity in my bosom. Twenty consciences,

That stand ’twixt me and Milan, candied be they

And melt ere they molest! Here lies your brother,

No better than the earth he lies upon,

If he were that which now he’s like—that’s dead—

Whom I, with this obedient steel, three inches of it,

Can lay to bed for ever; whiles you, doing thus,

To the perpetual wink for aye might put

This ancient morsel, this Sir Prudence, who

 Should not upbraid our course. For all the rest,

They’ll take suggestion as a cat laps milk.

They’ll tell the clock to any business that

We say befits the hour.

 

                The above passage is drawn out from the famous last work by Shakespeare, The Tempest. The story revolves around Prospero’s retaliation against Antonio and others who had usurped his throne as a king of Milan twelve years ago. While everyone is sound asleep on the island, Antonio and Sebastian stay awake, as they have their own secret talk. Antonio suggests Sebastian to kill his brother, King Alonso of Naples, in order to attain the position of a king. Sebastian appears to be uneasy about the plan, and inquires Antonio whether he feels the guilt from stealing his brother’s throne, when he answers as above.

 

                In one of the first lines, Antonio states  

“If ’twere a kibe,

'Twould put me to my slipper. But I feel not

This deity in my bosom.”

With this, Antonio compares the act of usurping a throne to an ordinary conduct of putting a slipper on. By making the comparison, Antonio successfully acquires the other’s attention and eliminates the sense of guilt that was residing inside Sebastian, as he explains how he was simply acting for a better future of Milan. Additionally, in the following sentence, Antonio compares Alonso to dirt, and skillfully convinces Sebastian to murder his own brother. This phrase portrays Antonio’s lack of respect for the current King of Naples, as he describes Alonso as “no better than the earth he lies upon.”

 

                 Furthermore, the readers can see how Antonio thinks lightly of the other members from the last two sentences.

For all the rest,

They’ll take suggestion as a cat laps milk.

They’ll tell the clock to any business that

We say befits the hour.

Antonio applies simile as he compares the watches to a cat, an obedient animal, and as he does so, he tells Sebastian the simplicity of convincing the others. The contrast between the two conveys how the others are rather brainless – that they will take the two’s words without question.

                Through the passage, Antonio efficiently convinces Sebastian into killing his own brother to steal the position as a king. The comparisons that he makes prove his cunningness, and lack of respect for others, as he would go to any lengths to attain his objective.