1、 A puritan writer with revolution enthusiasm (16081674)Paradise or the Garden of EdenBeautiful landscape Fertility of land Eternal springParadise:associated with childhood,Eden,innocence Lost:driven out the Eden of Garden What does it mean to be fallen:Pain,sin,sex/love,Milton asserts that this orig
2、inal sin brought death to human beings for the first time,causing us to lose our home in paradise until Jesus comes to restore humankind to its former position of purity.Fall of Adam and Eve:part of“Last Judgment”by Michelangelo on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.Adam and Eve are full of shame
3、and fear.The cherub in red points a sword to send Adam and Eve out of Eden.威廉布雷克为失乐园绘制的插图 Information about Paradise Lost Milton based on Paradise lost on the Book of Genesis and imitated the epics of Homer and VirgilLiterary source from Bible The temptation by Satan humankinds first act of disobedi
4、ence toward God the consequences that followed from disobedience,the fall of man,or the original sin,causing the lose of the paradise.Jesus comes to restore humankind to its former position of purity.The imitation of epic style Milton invokes his muse,which is actually the Holy Spirit rather than on
5、e of the nine muses.An invocation of the muse at the beginning of an epic is conventional,so Milton is acknowledging his awareness of Homer,Virgil,and later poets,and signaling that he has mastered their format and wants to be part of their tradition.But by identifying his muse as the divine spirit
6、that inspired the Bible and created the world,he shows that his ambitions go far beyond joining the group of Homer and Virgil.while Homer and Virgil only chronicled the journey of heroic men,like Achilles or Aeneas,Milton chronicles the tragic journey of all menthe result of humankinds disobedience.
7、Homer and Virgil describe great wars between men,but Milton tells the story of the battle between God and Satan,good and evil.Who is Satan?Old Testament Reference to Lucifer New Testament References to SatanOld Testament Reference to Lucifer Falling From Heaven In the King James version of the Old T
8、estament,there is only one reference to a being falling from heaven:“Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy comingHow art thou fallen from heaven,O Luciferthou shalt be brought down to hell,to the sides of the pit.”(Isaiah 14:9-16 KJV)Lucifer Means Light-bringerNew Testament Referen
9、ces to Satan Falling From Heaven Just like Lucifer in Isaiah,Satan fell from heaven:And there was war in heavenSatan was cast out (Revelation 12:7-9)Satan Goes to HellJust like Lucifer in Isaiah,Satan goes to hell:Satan was cast out into the earth (Revelation 12:9)Satan Radiates Light in His Fall fr
10、om Heaven Jesus associating a great light with the fall of Satan from heaven:I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven (Luke 10:18)Thus,the name Satan is just another name for the being called Lucifer in the King James Bible,and so it was Lucifer who was thrown from heaven in Revelation.What did
11、Satan do?Why?Satan defies Gods authority,denying his fate,the hierarchyA Representation of Miltons Vertical Cosmos The layout of universe with Heaven above,Hell below,and Earth in the middle presents the universe as a hierarchy based on proximity to God and his grace.This spatial hierarchy leads to
12、a social hierarchy of angels,humans,animals,and devils:the Son is closest to God,with the archangels and cherubs behind him.Adam and Eve and Earths animals come next,with Satan and the other fallen angels following last.To obey God is to respect this hierarchy.Satan refuses to honor the Son as his s
13、uperior,thereby questioning Gods hierarchy.Thus comes the first sin of the Seven Deadly Sins,Pride,Satans pride to disobey the Gods supremacy.饕餮(Gluttony)、贪婪(Greed)、懒惰(Sloth)、淫欲(Lust)、嫉妒(Envy)、暴怒(Wrath)、傲慢(Pride)For Satans disobedience,he was cast down into the bottom of the Hell as the punishment.A
14、dam and Eve understand their disobedience and decide to repent for their sins and seek forgiveness.Did Satan repent for his disobedience?His decision to continue to disobey God after Fall into Hell ensures that God will not forgive him.Satan lies stunned beside his second-in-command,Beelzebub,in a l
15、ake of fire that gives off darkness instead of light.Breaking the awful silence,Satan bemoans their terrible position,but does not repent of his rebellion against God,suggesting that they might gather their forces for another attack.What though the field be lost?105 All is not lost;the unconquerable
16、 Will,And study of revenge,immortal hate,And courage never to submit or yield:And what is else not to be overcome?我们损失了什么了 并非什么都丢光:不饶的意志,热切的复仇心,不灭的憎恨,以及永不屈服,永不退让的勇气 还有什么比这些更难战胜的呢?That Glory never shall his wrath or might 110 Extort from me.To bow and sue for graceWith suppliant knee,and deifie his p
17、ower,Who from the terrour of this Arm so lateDoubted his Empire,that were low indeed,That were an ignominy and shame beneath 115 This downfall;他的暴怒也罢,威力也罢,决不能夺去我这份光荣.经过这一次战争的惨烈 好容易才使他的政权动摇,这时还要弯腰屈膝,向他 哀求怜悯,拜倒在他的权利之下,那才是真正卑鄙,可耻,比这次的沉沦还要卑贱.since by Fate the strength of GodsAnd this Empyreal substance
18、cannot fail,Since through experience of this great eventIn Arms not worse,in foresight much advanct,We may with more successful hope resolve 120 To wage by force or guile eternal WarrIrreconcilable,to our grand Foe,Who now triumphs,and in th excess of joySole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heavn.因为我们
19、的生而具有神力,秉有轻清的灵质,不能朽坏,又因这次大事件的经验,我们要准备更好的武器,更远的预见,更有成功的希望,用暴力或智力向我们的大敌,挑起不可调解的持久战争.他现在正自夸胜利,得意忘形,独揽大权,在天上掌握虐政呢.Satans first speech-heroic virtues Courage and Eloquence-Agamemnon,Achilles,Odysseus Leadership qualities-Moses,Jesus Defeated rebels He is courageous,undaunted,refusing to yield in the face
20、 of impossible odds,and able to stir his followers to follow him in brave and violent exploits.Milton is clearly aware of what hes doing in making Satan somewhat appealing in the early chapters.Beelzebubs speech is doubtful;he now believes that God cannot be overpowered.Satans second speech“Falln Ch
21、erube,to be weak is miserableDoing or Suffering:but of this be sure,To do ought good never will be our task,But ever to do ill our sole delight,160 As being the contrary to his high willWhom we resist.”(157-162)Doing evils against God who still intends to turn their evil deeds toward the good.If the
22、n his ProvidenceOut of our evil seek to bring forth good,Our labour must be to pervert that end,And out of good still to find means of evil;165 Which oft times may succeed,so as perhapsShall grieve him,if I fail not,and disturbHis inmost counsels from thir destind aim.(162-168)Satan intends to do ev
23、ils in order to disturb Gods plan that God means to be good and seeks good from evil.Satans intention anticipates his later plot to attempt corrupting mankind,Gods creation.“But see the angry Victor hath recalldHis Ministers of vengeance and pursuit 170 Back to the Gates of Heavn:The Sulphurous Hail
24、Shot after us in storm,oreblown hath laidThe fiery Surge,that from the PrecipiceOf Heavn receivd us falling,and the Thunder,Wingd with red Lightning and impetuous rage,175 Perhaps hath spent his shafts,and ceases nowTo bellow through the vast and boundless Deep.”(169-177)The retreat of Gods army and
25、 the completion of God and his troups battle.“Let us not slip th occasion,whether scorn,Or satiate fury yield it from our Foe.Seest thou yon dreary Plain,forlorn and wilde,180 The seat of desolation,voyd of light,Save what the glimmering of these livid flamesCasts pale and dreadful?Thither let us te
26、ndFrom off the tossing of these fiery waves,”(178-184)Satan calls up his followers not to miss the chance while God is in peace,suggesting to go further off the burning lake.There rest,if any rest can harbour there,185 And reassembling our afflicted Powers,Consult how we may henceforth most offendOu
27、r Enemy,our own loss how repair,How overcome this dire Calamity,What reinforcement we may gain from Hope,190 If not what resolution from despare.Satan coaxes his followers to have a rest and then plot a proper plan to revenge Satans unrepentant evil nature is unwavering.Even cast down in defeat,he d
28、oes not consider changing his ways:he insists to his fellow devils that their delight will be in doing evil,not good.In particular,as he explains to Beelzebub,he wishes to pervert Gods will and find a way to make evil out of good.Why Milton created the figure,Satan?Relation of Paradise Lost to Milto
29、ns experience in the period of Restoration-obedience,monarchy and rebellion.It seems that Milton seek the liberation from tyranny.Satans rebellious speech serves the poets personal hatred of the restored monarch.Satan,on the whole is condemned in the epic.In Book I he is a strong,imposing figure wit
30、h great abilities as a leader and public statesmen,whereas by the poems end he slinks back to Hell in serpent form.Satans gradual degradation is dramatized by the sequence of different shapes he assumes.He begins the poem as a just-fallen angel of enormous stature,looks like a comet or meteor as he
31、leaves Hell,then disguises himself as a more humble cherub,then as a cormorant,a toad,and finally a snake,as a internal punishment.The themes The Importance of Obedience to God In essence,Paradise Lost presents two moral paths that one can take after disobedience:the downward spiral of increasing si
32、n and degradation,represented by Satan,and the road to redemption,represented by Adam and Eve.The Hierarchical Nature of the Universe Satan questions Gods hierarchy The fallen angels hope to beat God and thereby dissolve what they believe to be an unfair hierarchy in Heaven.The rebels are punished b
33、y being banished far away from Heave Satan continues to disobey God and his hierarchy as he seeks to corrupt mankind.Likewise,humankinds disobedience is a corruption of Gods hierarchy.But with the Sons sacrifice,this hierarchy will be restored once again.In Dantes cosmology the earth is at the cente
34、r of the universe and Hell a vast funnel-shaped cavity or reversed cone reaching from near the earths surface to the center,which is the center of the universe,the farthest point from God.The sides of the cavity form a succession of concentric levels in diminishing circles as they approach the centr
35、al depth,and on these levels the successive classes of the impenitent are punished,each lower circle punishing more severely a worse offense.Jerusalem,as the place of the Crucifixion,is the center of the land hemisphere,in the line of the central axis of Hell.The other hemisphere is all water except
36、 for the island-mountain of Purgatory,at the antipodes of Jerusalem.Dantes journey is from the edge of the pit-we are not told where or how he enters-down to the center,and then continuing in the same direction,up the bed of a subterranean stream to the shore of Purgatory.It should be noted that in
37、Dantes narrative here means the present world,in which he tells his story,and there the world of the dead.In dialogues,of course,this usage is reversedThe System of Dantes InfernoNeutrals Circle 1.Virtuous HeathenIncontinent Circle 2.LasciviousCircle 3.GluttonsCircle 4.Avaricious and ProdigalCircle
38、5.WrathfulViolent Circle 7.(1)Violent against others(2)Violent against self(3)Violent against God,nature,and art Fraudulent Circle 8.Simply Fraudulent(1)Panders and Seducers(2)Flatterers(3)Simonists(4)Diviners(5)Barrators(6)Hypocrites(7)Thieves(8)Fraudulent counselors(9)Makers of discord(10)Falsifiers Circle 9.Treacherous(1)to kindred(2)to country and cause(3)to guests(4)to lords and benefactors
