The frustrations of Oroonoko

I don’t know why but I find this reading for Oroonoko, by Aphra Behn  to be one of the hardest one’s yet. A month or two ago I would have been so happy to read a bit more prose and now I’m just like holy moly there is so much text on one page. Aside from the length though it’s still a hard read for me and I think it is because this story is further away from religion and closer to the nasty nature of human beings. Slavery is a topic that I both hate and love to learn about as a history major. I get extremely passionate about it so it may be clouding my judgment somewhat while I read Oroonoko. I’ll have to work on that.

            I have been trying to think about what Dr. Mitchell-Buck said about if there was a hierarchy…who would be the nicest or morally good characters and I’m just like um none of them. So far though, into the first reading, I would say that Imoinda might be the nicest one. She seems the most innocent and obviously the most beautiful since everyone wants her. “On the other side, the old king, who had many wives and many concubines, wanted not court flatterers to insinuate in his heart a thousand tender thoughts for this young beauty, and who represented her to his fancy as the most charming…” (2189). They all seem pretty awful though, especially their views on slavery, Oroonoko included. The main character himself sold slaves to people and then he later ends up becoming a slave as well. Oh the irony.

Milton vs. Dante's Satan

By far, what has interested most in all of "Paradise Lost" has been Milton's interpretation of Satan as a sympathetic character. Considering that the poem was written in the time that it was, it seems like it would have been a controversial outlook, because up until then I can only assume that the general public was more used to traditional illustrations of him through other pieces of either epic poetry or biblical stories passed down through sermon. The most obvious one that comes to mind is the equally famous “Divine Comedy”

Written 112 years prior, Dante’s epic piece is considered by many to be the quintessential illustration of Hell’s anatomy (as well as Purgatory and Heaven). In the last circle of his intricate geography of it, the character of Satan is portrayed more as an abstract caricature than an actual character.

In Dante’s poem, Satan is a mindless, bestial-like creature locked in an icy lake. He can’t even speak with any of his three mouths, only because he’s too busy dumbly chewing on the three most notorious of traitors. Even then, it’s also implied that he’s too stupid to even speak a word.

Milton’s portrayal of Satan is a complete 180 from this, and I can’t help but wonder how a general public might have reacted to being ‘tricked’ into having, quite literally, sympathy for the devil himself. Up until then, they had been given these similar ‘embodiment of all evil’ sorts of interpretations, especially from Dante’s work so many years prior. 

From poem to prose

     Paradise Lost is an amazing poem that requires much analysis and trying to figure out what the subject of the sentence is can be tough, but the close reading we did in class really helped me grasp the meaning of it as a whole. It would be neat if we could continue reading it, but alas there is not enough time in the year. Now as we are reading Oroonoko, it seems easier to read than especially the poem of Paradise Lost.
    Taking a step back from the prose though, I have to think that it cannot be as easy as it seems. There seem to be a bunch of hidden meanings that one has to keep an eye open for, and I cannot wait to see how we analyze this in class.
     However interesting prose can be, I sometimes find more enjoyment in the analysis of poetry because there can be so much more depth within one line of poetry than sometimes one book itself. Poetry is rhythmic and beautiful and although harder to grasp, it is easier to memorize when rhyme scheme comes into play. I love poetry, but I also love reading prose as well.
     As a general consensus and as a poet on the side, I want to ask the class your opinion on which is easier to read: prose or poetry?
    And... does that opinion differ from what you enjoy reading more: prose or poetry?





Reference: http://www.poetrysansonions.com/2012/11/a-post-title-without-prose.html


Blog Challenge: 3 of 5 :)

The Demons’ Arguments Part III

Now, Mammon is perhaps the demon I most looked forward to reading about. I know of Mammon from the comic-con world as Satan’s son. He was supposed to be the Devil’s response to God and Jesus. The Devil felt that if God was to have a chosen Son, so would he. Basically the response “anything you can do, I can do better” which is pretty fitting to what we’ve read of Satan, in Milton’s world at least.

So reading Mammon in Paradise Lost was actually a bit of a disappointment. I wanted Satan’s son, instead I get a demon content with the realms of hell. Belial and Mammon seem to be on the same page as each other, both content to sit around and not do much…well at least Mammon wants to make hell a little more “homey.”

Mammon is the deity of greed.

In Book One of Paradise Lost, Mammon is described as:

“Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell

From Heaven; for even in Heaven his looks and thoughts

Were always downward bent, admiring more

The riches of heaven's pavement, trodden gold,

Than aught divine or holy else enjoyed

In vision beatific. By him first

Men also, and by his suggestion taught,

Ransacked the centre, and with impious hands

Rifled the bowels of their mother Earth

For treasures better hid.”

This version is found online at http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/jmilton/bl-jmilton_plost_1.htm

I of course wanted to find visual representations of this demon. The Mammon I expected was

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs28/f/2008/077/8/c/8c1799b4ff8b009a.jpg

The Mammon images that better fit Milton’s ideal are

 

http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/4/46347/1441057-mammon.jpg

 

http://th08.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2010/181/e/4/Mammon_by_palenight.jpg

These images fit what Milton describes because, as he states, Mammon was evil from the get-go. His view was already downcast. He likes hell because he never liked heaven to begin with. I still would’ve liked the Constantine comic version though…

The Demon’s Arguments Part II

The second demon to speak is Belial, which in Hebrew means worthless. He seems to be the deadly sin Sloth personified, or rather demonified. Milton describes Belial as:

“On th' other side up rose

Belial, in act more graceful and humane.

A fairer person lost not Heaven; he seemed

For dignity composed, and high exploit.

But all was false and hollow; though his tongue

Dropped manna, and could make the worse appear

The better reason, to perplex and dash

Maturest counsels: for his thoughts were low—

To vice industrious, but to nobler deeds

Timorous and slothful. Yet he pleased the ear,

And with persuasive accent”

Again, this version of Paradise Lost comes from the website http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/jmilton/bl-jmilton_plost_2.htm (It just makes it easier to cut and paste instead of typing it all out manually).

So, Milton describes Belial as graceful, humane, fair, dignified, false and hollow, noble, slothful, and persuasive. As another classmate had posted, the demon of college students…I might even go so far to add that Belial is the patron demon on English majors specifically.

Two images I found of Belial are

 

http://webzoom.freewebs.com/crimsonheart/Crimsonheart%20Profile%20Pics/BelialMorningstar.jpg

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/awean8/Belial.jpg

These depictions of Belial are fitting; he actually looks pretty dang cool if you ask me.

He looks and name (with the Hebrew meaning) are a perfect fit for his argument, which is basically like “Hey guys, we should totally just wait it out here. We shouldn’t listen to Moloch, we’ll just lose again. The best course of action is no action at all. Maybe if we wait around not doing anything long enough God will forgive us maybe…”

Overall, he is a pretty worthless demon.

O yeah, I forgot to add in my last post about how Moloch reminded me of the movie The Time Machine (no I haven’t yet read the book by H.G. Wells). I’m referring to the movie from the 1960s, because I'm cool like that...or something like that...

In the movie the main character travels far into the future where the race of humans are preyed upon and eaten by nefarious under-dwellers called the “Morlocks,” coincidence—I think not.

 

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121111085426/non-aliencreatures/images/2/2c/Morlocks.jpg

The Demons’ Arguments Part I

I loved the demons’ and their arguments regarding what their next move should be. I know we talked about them in groups, but I wanted to talk a little more about them.

I was fascinated by Moloch’s vengeful aggression. But it makes sense. The demon himself makes sense and I can see why Milton would choose him to be one of the voices for the war argument. Moloch or Molech means “king” in Hebrew. Moloch was one of the Caananite gods (from the Bible). The followers of Moloch needed to sacrifice their children by throwing them into fire.

“next him Moloch, sceptred king,

Stood up—the strongest and the fiercest Spirit

That fought in Heaven, now fiercer by despair.

His trust was with th' Eternal to be deemed

Equal in strength, and rather than be less

Cared not to be at all; with that care lost

Went all his fear: of God, or Hell, or worse,

He recked not”

This version comes from the website: http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/jmilton/bl-jmilton_plost_2.htm

http://cdn.pjmedia.com/lifestyle/files/2012/08/child-sacrifice-to-canaanite-gods1.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwHoA6RQ7Muy8K5uyYGbkqOp7MD3i7U0OxFF3K0l4scoQSRAp765igKA2g6ur5GxXpMn06XSOmNrYg-wMu96VNf7mU7NL5w8fG-SqGqOmPEA-WgGqj2tctXwOR3QkjsoummFzMAMYIKMR/s1600/moloch.jpg

The description Milton provides of this demon is fitting to the images I was able to find online. He is “bull-headed” both literally and figuratively. He also appears strong and kingly. His characteristics fit his argument which is to attack Heaven again, because he feels he and the other demons have nothing to lose. They could lose hell and lose the eternal pain they feel or they could gain heaven. To him the only feasible option left for them is to fight. Even though he’s a pretty awful demon, you kind of have to respect his tenacity.  

SO MUCH IMAGERY

What struck me most while reading Paradise Lost was the imagery. It's everywhere! And considering that John Milton went blind and was dictating his writing to scribes and managed to write this beautiful, complex, and vivid work of art is crazy to me. I can’t even describe my own head of hair without sounding awful and yet Milton is describing amazing things that he’s never even seen when he wasn’t blind! (At least I’m assuming he’s never seen hell…)

I think he definitely appreciated the beauty in life, even when he couldn’t see it, and even though he was a huge grump. I think that’s what I like about Milton the most. I love the idea of him being so in awe of our world and finding just the right words to describe it.