Paradise Lost Flashcards
1
Q
AO5: 17th century interpretation
A
- publication in 1667 - significant religious reverence
- many readers saw it not just as a literary work but as a profound exploration of humanity’s relationship with God
2
Q
AO5: Shelley
A
“Milton’s devil as a moral being is far superior to his God”
3
Q
AO5: Stanley Fish
A
- wrote ‘Surprised by Sin: the reader in Paradise Lost’
- argues that we read the text as “fallen post-lapserian sinners”
4
Q
AO5: Epson on why the poem is so good
A
- “because it makes God so bad”
5
Q
AO5: C.S Lewis
A
- argues that Milton achieves his aim of ‘justifying the ways of God to man’
- ‘Adam fell through uxoriousness’
6
Q
AO5: Frye
A
- Adam eating the apple was him “surrendering the power to act”
7
Q
AO5: William Blake
A
- “Milton means for us to be seduced by Satan just as our forefathers were”
- Milton was “of the devils party”
8
Q
AO5: opposing views of Empson and Gilbert
A
- Empson: “Milton thought that men ought to control women”
- Gilbert: “Milton paves the way for feminist thinking”
9
Q
AO3: Milton’s ‘The Doctrine of Discipline and Divorce’
A
- argues the right to divorce when emotional and spiritual connection is lost
- unorthodox Christian views
10
Q
AO3: Milton’s ‘The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates’
A
- defends the right of the people to execute a guilty sovereign whether tyrannical or not
- Milton supported the disillusionment of the monarchy
11
Q
AO3: Doctor Faustus
A
- hungry for power and knowledge and in search of this he sold his soul to the devil; arguably Adam and Eve do the same
- Idea that we all carry hell within us - “hell is just a frame of mind” - Satan shares this opinion
12
Q
AO3: The Book of Genesis
A
- inspiration for Paradise Lost
- retelling to ‘justify the ways of God to man’
- deviates in Book X with Satan’s punishment
13
Q
AO3: Milton’s Lycidas
A
- compares priests to wolves : criticism of Catholicism, exploring corruption in the Christian church
14
Q
AO3: Milton’s Aeropagitica
A
- defence of free speech and criticism of censorship
15
Q
AO3: Milton’s beliefs surrounding the monarchy
A
- anti-royalist (at one point in his life, Milton was an activist and propagandist)
- believed in meritocracy
- criticised Charles I for venturing higher than his lot
- demanded that the state serve its people not the other way round
16
Q
AO3: Milton’s views on religion
A
- believed that iconolatry debased and enslaved human beings in their own societies
- Milton believed strongly in free will and believed each individual Christian should be his own church, advocating the the complete abolishment of all church establishments
- called for removal of priests whom he referred to as ‘hirelings’ and despised Catholicism as a religion
- the reformation of the church which called for the abolishment of bishops played a significant role in the development of his beliefs
17
Q
AO3: Augustinian theodicy
A
- explains how the existence of suffering is compatible with an all loving God
- Adam and Eve’s sun destroyed the state of perfection in Eden
- all evil is either sin or the punishment of sin
- evil isn’t something created by God, it is a lack of goodness caused by the disobedience of human beings
- God is loving and shows justice by not intervening to prevent evil : in the fall of man this applies as through the death of Jesus eternal life is available
- idea of felix culpa
- still widely accepted by Protestants and Catholics today
18
Q
AO3: Class and Gender
A
- 17th century witnessed the emergence of increased social mobility, mirrored in Satan’s aspirations
- Adam as the epitome of masculinity
- Satan’s manipulation of Eve illustrates societal perceptions of women as easily swayed or irrational
- Adam and Eve could be argued to be representing the traditional roles assigned to women and men at the time, however in the separation scene for example, Eve’s independence could be viewed as a departure from the submissive & obedient role expected of women in this era
19
Q
AO3: Religion
A
- Paradise Lost engages with theological debates & questions human existence and the divine plan
- Religious tensions were high. The reformation fragmented Christianity which led to conflicts between Protestants and Catholics all over Europe
- In England, Puritanism gained prominence and promoted strict adherence to biblical principles
20
Q
AO3: Science
A
- 17th century = Age of Enlightenment
- period of great scientific and intellectual progress
- example: Galileo challenged traditional views of the cosmos and reshaped humanity’s understanding of the universe
