Post 3 of 4
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Just some thoughts...
What really interested me about Part 1 of Paradise Lost was Miltion's ability to portray God as this merciful, benevolent power. By giving Lucifer free will he looks even more like the God you would not want to betray because he bestows goodness and grace; he gives his creations free will and the ability to make all their own choices. Because of God's portrayal, Lucifer's choice to rebel looks a little silly. I mean why be chained and have to live your life in God's disfavor when you can enjoy his generosity and compassion? Lucifer's choice reminded me of Doctor Faustus. Why commit your soul to forever burning in hell so you can play silly, cruel jokes when you could have just lived in the favor of God (after repenting) and went to Heaven? It seems so pointless. Maybe Milton did this to emphasize Adam's and Eve's decision to disobey God. He contrasts the goodwill of God with the Lucifer's evil machinations. Anyway these are just some thoughts to wrap our discussion from this past week.
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The way that Milton portrays Satan in something I also find kind of perplexing! We were told in class that Milton was a very religious person, which makes me wonder why he spend so much time on a character such as Satan. You bring up an interesting point though, did Milton shine the light he did on Satan so that in the end his readers would side with God?
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