Paradise Lost: Context Flashcards
Backdrop of Paradise Lost
- 17th century England
- Renaissance literature
17th century views on marriage compared to monarch
- Relationship between husband + wife mirrors the relationship of king and subject
What year was Paradise Lost written?
1667
How can Milton’s relationship with King Charles II be paralleled to Satan and God?
Satan’s attempted overthrow of his monarch (God) could be paralleled to Milton’s desperation to overthrow his monarch (Charles II)
What was Milton’s attitude towards catholics?
- Converted from Catholicism to Protestantism
- Despised corruption he saw in catholic church (add more detail later)
What were Milton’s views on women?
- Viewed men as superior to women
- Believed wives should be subservient to their husbands
- However believed in marriage “the wiser should govern the less wise, whether male or female” (‘On Christian Doctrine’)
What was Milton’s relationship with religion?
Milton was religious, but was against the organised religion and corruption of the church
What were Milton’s views on divorce?
- Milton’s ‘Divorce Tracts’
- Argued for the legitimacy of divorce on grounds of spousal incompatibility (both intellectual + sexual)
What were Milton’s views on marriage?
- Milton held conservative beliefs about women as a secondary appendage to man (to serve them)
- But his belief of marriage is that it is for companionship + intellectual development
What was the legal age for marriage in MIlton’s time?
- Legal age for marrying was around 12-14 (marriage was for status/social standing not love)
Context of ‘A monstrous serpent on his belly prone’
- Reference to the Old Testament
- A symbol of being vanquished so the serpent crawls on the ground and eats the dust as a constant symbol of a degraded and defeated Satan.
What type of poem is PL?
Epic poem
What is Areopagitica? (and how does it link to Eve?)
- An anti-censorship tract (freedom of speech), published by Milton 1644
- Censorship suppresses truth and intellectual growth
- Emphasizes the importance of individual freedom to seek knowledge
- Can be linked to Eve’s desire for intellectual expansion and own agency
Bible quote:
‘____ entered into the _____ through ____’
‘Sin entered into the world through man’ Romans 5:12
Bible quote:
‘______ was not ________’
‘Adam was not deceived’
Timothy 2:14
Bible quote:
‘_____ triumphs over ____________’
‘Mercy triumphs over judgement’
James 2:13
Bible quote:
‘Now, Adam and Eve try to pass the _______ for their _________ to others’
‘Now, Adam and Eve try to pass the blame for their actions to others’
Genesis 3:12-13
Human relationships after the fall (St Augustine’s types of love)
- Shift from Caritas (selfless, outward, generous love) to Cupiditas (selfish, inward love of temporary, earthly things)
- Eve’s eating/desire of the fruit = cupiditas taking over caritas
In the ‘Confessions of Augustine’ what is the term concupiscence (catholicism)?
- Refers to sinful lust (the inclination toward sin and evil)
- Not only sexual lust but a lust for the material/the earthly
What is Joseph Swetnam’s misogynistic pamphlet called + what year?
‘The Arraignment of Lewd, idle, froward and unconstant women’ (1615)
What is the significance of Speght’s ‘A Muzzle for Melastomus’
- Written as a prose refutation of Swetnam’s misogynistic tract
- First woman to identify herself by name, as a female polemicist
What is a tyrant?
An absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler’s sovereignty.
What is a theodicy?
- The defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil
- good and evil needed to exist in the world in order to create a sense of balance
What religious sect did Milton belong to?
- Presbyterian (sect who called for abolishment of bishops)
- Milton called for removal of priests (he called “hirelings”)
What was Milton’s goal writing Paradise Lost?
‘Justifying the ways of God to man’
