Reading Assignment:
Note: Books I, II, IV and IX are included in the Demaria text, pp. 42-130;
supplement your readings from the on-line
Paradise Lost from New Arts Library.
Also read the headnotes to each book for a statement of the "argument."
DUE: Weekly Post #4 for Scotland and Ireland groups
Our readings for this class conclude Paradise Lost but the themes
and discussion will continue throughout the semester. As you read, consider
the overall impact the poem makes, the questions it raises and attempts to answer,
and the many ways you can appreciate and analyze its intricate depths.
Notes and Discussion Questions:
1.
Note Adam's recriminations in book ten. How does he feel toward Eve?
What is Eve's response?
Why does Adam refuse to commit suicide?
How do they bring about their reconciliation with God?
2.
In book twelve, examine Adam's amazement at Michael's report: "That all this good of evil shall produce, / And
evil turn to good" (470-1). This is a central paradox of the epic. How
do you understand it? What does it mean?
What is the allegorical significance of the ending of the epic: "The world was all before them"?
Consider the question, does Milton achieve his grand aim: To justify the ways of God to men?
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