PARADISE LOST: THEME AND INTENTION

Q: In Paradise Lost Milton plans to justify the ways of God to

men. How far is he successful in doing so? (PU 1999)
Q: Who do you think is responsible for the fall of Man Adam
or Eve? (PU 2004)
Q: Paradise Lost is the story of Mans first disobedience to
God. Discuss with reference to Miltons great epic. (BZU
2003)
Q: What is the great argument of Paradise Lost? Describe
how Milton invests his theme with epic grandeur.
Q: Discuss the theme and moral purpose of Paradise Lost.
Q: Is it true to say that Milton has justified Satans ways to
men?
Q: Through the direct justification of Gods ways to man is
convincing, there is an indirect justification. Discuss.
Themes are fundamental and often universal ideas described in a
literary work. As Milton wanted to write about Things unattempted
yet in prose or rhyme, he chose for his epic the Biblical theme, the
fall of man from paradise on account of his sin. The theme of Paradise
Lost is clearly stated in the opening lines. In lines 1 - 26, we are told
that the poems main theme is Mans first disobedience and to assert
Eternal Providence and justify the ways of God to man.
Of Mans first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I may assert the Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.
Thus, in this poem, Milton narrates the story of Adam and Eves
disobedience, and explains how and why it happened. He places the
story in the context of Satans rebellion and Jesus resurrection. In
essence, Paradise Lost presents two moral paths that one can take
after disobedience or sin: the downward spiral of increasing sin and
degradation represented by Satan; and the road to redemption
represented by Adam and Eve.
As a tradition of classical epics, the theme is vast and has universal
significance. Milton has tried to show that every action of man,
however insignificant, has its consequences. His main concern is that
man must make the right use of every moment of his life because his
actions are irrevocable.
From Paradise Lost, Book I, we come to know that with the fall of
man, there was also the fall of Satan who took arms against God. In
this book, we are not told much about man. We simply learn that man
(Adam) was living blissfully with his wife, Eve, in the Garden of Eden.
He enjoyed full liberty except that he was not allowed to eat the fruit of
the Tree of Knowledge. It was Satan who misguided Eve due to his

jealously, revenge and hatred because Adam was directly responsible

for his present misery and expulsion from Paradise.
In lines 27-44, Milton talks of the prime cause of mans fall. He asks the
heavenly muse:
---------------------------------------------what cause,
Movd our grand parents---------------------------------------------------------------------------to fall of
From their Creator, and transgress His will
------------------------------------------------------------Who first seducd them to that foul revolt?
and himself answers that it was The infernal Serpent Satan:
---------------------------------------- whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind,--------------------------
Satans boastful pride had urged him to start an impious war in
Heaven. When he failed in his attempt, he was driven out of Heaven
along with his followers and thrown down to bottomless Hell.
Milton further tells that pride is a grave sin. He introduces Satan as a
symbol of pride. Satan was damned only because of his pride. Firstly,
he committed sin in the form of disobedience, wishing that he would
be second in command after God. Secondly, he denied to repent and
tempted our first parents, Adam and Eve, to do evil. Satan declares:
We may with more successful hope resolves
To wage by force or guile, eternal war,
Irreconcilable to our grand Foe.
Thus pride and lust for power of Satan invited Gods wrath which led to
his perpetual punishment.
To some extent, we can that pride brings malice, folly, misery and lust
in any creature if he does not repent. Therefore, Satans core desire
because of his pride was to degrade God and seduce his creatures. So
the everlasting combat among God, Good, Evil and Man is also a
subsidiary theme in Paradise Lost.
Milton also emphasizes the idea of free will but in a good sense,
because it becomes worse when we misuse it. Though Satan has
strong will power yet that is based upon despair; he misused his will
power. In fact, Adam could have avoided the transgression with his
better wisdom because God had already informed him about the
coming danger. Apart from this, God withdrew His support and made
Adam free to exercise his own judgment and reason. So Satans
temptation was a great test of Adams faith in God. But he failed in the
test and consequently suffered the humiliation of his fall. In fact Adam
enjoyed perfect freedom of choice, therefore, by eating the forbidden
fruit, he knowingly defied God by obeying Eve and his inner instinct
instead of God and his reason.
The justification of Gods ways to Man is also the theme of
Paradise Lost. Milton justifies the punishment of Adam and Eve for the
crime they committed. They were expelled from paradise. However,

Milton is not a pessimist. He describes the goodness of God and His

love for His creations. Because of his graciousness, he sent the Christ
the Redeemer of mankind who saved us from eternal damnation. By
following Christ, men were given a chance of regaining the lost
paradise.
Milton is greatly admired by the critics, having courage for dealing with
the universal subject. The scene of action is the universal space, time
is represented by eternity. The characters are God and His creations,
Satan and Man. The epic deals with the fortunes of the whole human
race and not of a particular country or nation.
Regarding the theme of Paradise Lost, Coleridge believes that:
Milton deals with the origin of evil as well as
the combat between good and evil, and thus
makes Paradise Lost a book of deep morals.
To conclude, we can say that the fall of man is the main theme of
Paradise Lost. We may say that Satan, Adam and Eve are fully
responsible for their fall because God does not punish anybody
unjustly, unless he disobeys His commands. God has fixed certain
canons for us to observe. If someone goes against these fixed rules, he
is bound to meet a horrible end. But there is a little controversy at this
point. Some critics like Saurat are of the view that Paradise Lost is
built around two themes: the first one is the fall of angels and the
second one is the fall of man. But the more convincing single theme,
being the center of Paradise Lost is the fall of man. It is a very sacred
subject having a universal appeal for all mankind. Grierson aptly
remarks:
It is not the task of Paradise Lost to justify the
ways of God to Satan, but to men.