Paradise Lost Y8 Flashcards
Who was John Milton?
John Milton (1608-1674) having been brought up to work in the church, actually became a poet and political writer. After the Civil War in England was complete and Charles II restored to the throne, he was imprisoned and could have risked execution if not for the intervention of friends. Having gone completely blind by 1660 and being forced to keep a low profile, he wrote the works which we know him for today, most importantly for us, Paradise Lost.
What is Paradise Lost?
It is an epic poem (sometimes known as a ‘biblical epic’ written by John Milton.
It is divided into twelve books running to a total of over 10,000 lines.
It tells the tale of the Fall of Adam and Eve who is tempted by the fallen angel Satan to disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Milton said that his epic was designed to ‘justify the ways of God to men.’
Paradise Lost is an epic poem. What are the features of an epic poem?
An epic poem describes a form of poem in which follows the journey and ‘adventures’ of extraordinary protagonists.
The lines are often written in blank verse. This means that it is written in lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter.
It begins in media res, which means that we start in the middle of the action.
It makes use of the epic simile.
The poet often repeats key phrases to reinforce the reader’s impressions, particularly of a character.
What was the English Civil War?
Taking place between 1642-1651, the English Civil War saw Parliamentarians (‘Roundheads’) and their supporters battling King Charles I and his royalist supporters (‘Cavaliers’) for control over Parliament and the laws it could pass. It was also a religious dispute. The Parliamentarians won and the King was executed in 1649.
