Paradise lost 2
Paradise lost 2Paradise Lost
Milton is widely considered to be one of the five greatest poets in the English language and Paradise Lost, a religious epic, is his greatest masterpiece. As stated in the beginning of the first book of Paradise Lost, Milton's intention for writing his religious epic is, among some other things, to justify the ways of God to men.
Milton's audience, of course, is a fallen audience, like the narrator of the epic. Some may think Satan is the hero of the epic; Milton has been blamed for making Satan too heroic a character. Others may blame God for allowing the falls to occur. However, both of these readings are shortsighted and are not what Milton intended. Therefore, to prevent misinterpretation, Milton has included a theme of personal responsibility for one's actions throughout the epic. In this manner, Milton neutralizes God from any unjust blame, exposes Satan for the deceiver that he is, and justifies the falls of both Angel and Man. First and foremost, Milton clears God's omniscience from any suspicion of blame for letting the Angels rebel or Man eat of the forbidden fruit. Milton defends God's foreknowledge in Book III, when God says,
. . they [rebel angels] themselves decreed
Thir own revolt, not I: if I foreknew,
Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault,
Which had no less prov'd certain unforeknow.
God states that His knowledge of future...
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