Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
214,883
edits
Paradise Lost: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (revise quote template spacing) |
No edit summary |
||
| (5 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{work}}
{{Infobox book
| title = Paradise Lost
| original title =
| image = Paradise Lost 25.jpg
| caption = I've fallen and I can't get up!
| author = John Milton
| central theme = The Fall of Man
| elevator pitch =
| genre = Epic poetry
| publication date = 1667
| source page exists =
| wiki URL =
| wiki name =
}}
{{quote|"''What in me is dark''
''Illumine, what is low raise and support'';
''That to the height of this great argument''
''I may assert eternal Providence'',
''And justify the ways of God to men''."
|'''John Milton''', ''Paradise Lost''}}
'''''Paradise Lost''''' is [[John Milton]]'s sprawling [[Narrative Poem|epic poem]] exploring the Fall of Man, and attempting to reconcile the idea of [[God]]'s omniscience with Free Will. First published in ten books in 1667, the twelve-book version modern readers will be familiar with came out in 1674. Notably told largely from the perspective of [[Satan]] himself, though other scenes focus on [[God]] or Adam and Eve. ''Almost'' a [[Prequel]] to [[The Bible]], though chronologically most of the action (''all'' of it, if you don't count the lengthy [[Flash Back]] to the War in Heaven and Michael's summary of postlapsarian history yet to come) takes place entirely during the third chapter of Genesis. In epic theory (and yes, such a thing exists), ''Paradise Lost'' is the final epic, as it has elements of everything from
Well-known as a source for ''mountains'' of literary criticism and a host of [[Alternative Character Interpretation|Alternative Character Interpretations]], many think the poem [[Designated Villain|makes a better case]] for [[Satan]] than [[God]]. [[Misaimed Fandom|This was almost certainly not Milton's intent]], but while most critics acknowledge this, [[Death of the Author|some assert that his intent is not the point]]. Ever since forty years ago and Stanley Fish's ''Surprised By Sin'', other academic critics assert that this ''is'' the point; the author intended to subvert [[Misaimed Fandom]] by making the reader sympathetic to Satan in the opening part, but then surprising the reader by finding out that Satan was actually lying and is evil all along in the later parts. By this argument, the reader re-enacts the Fall by reading the work. The multitude of different ways to read it are undoubtedly part of the appeal for scholars and literature buffs alike -- it helps that this opens limitless doors for [[Flame War|reasonable argument]]. Or y'know, [[First Installment Wins|they could just read the sequel]].
{{tropelist}}
* [[Anthropomorphic Personification]]: Sin and Death.
* [[Archangel Michael]]: As a total [[Badass]].
Line 99 ⟶ 110:
* [[Sympathy for the Devil]]: Literally, though [[Subjective Tropes|not everyone feels it]].
* [[That Man Is Dead]]: The reader is frequently reminded that the names of all the fallen angels have been erased from heaven, and that what they are called is what humans have named them to be, not their 'real names'.
* [[These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know]]: How angels "express" love, [[
* [[This Is Your Brain on Evil]]: The [[Forbidden Fruit]] makes you feel happy, invincible, and horny, and leaves you with a [[What Have I Done]]-hangover the next morning.
* [[To Hell and Back]]: Sort of -- the whole thing opens on [[The Legions of Hell]] immediately after being tossed down there, but [[Satan]] ''does'' come back as far as Earth.
Line 113 ⟶ 124:
[[Category:Poetry]]
[[Category:The Epic]]
[[Category:
[[Category:School Study Media]]
[[Category:Paradise Lost]]
| |||