English Literature

Adam and Eve are the very first human couple and the parents of the whole human race and the masterpiece of God's art of creation, primarily lived in Eden which is an indescribable beautiful garden in Heaven. God had given them the liberty to enjoy everything available there, with only one restriction that they were not to eat the forbidden fruit there, but they could not act upon this curb, therefore, God punished them for their disobedience and expelled them from Paradise. When we make a careful and critical analysis of "Paradise Lost" Book IX, we discover that in spite of having many common features of character and personality both Adam and Eve have a world of difference between them as well. Both of them are made of clay, have steadfast faith in God and equally love each other yet at the same time they are divided in opinion about their work, passion and the fear of an enemy. As far as Eve is concerned, she possesses female charm and attraction, a suggestiv...

Satan occupies the most prominent position in the action of Paradise Lost. Though the main theme of the poem is the "Man's first disobedience" yet it is the character of Satan which gives a touch of greatness to this epic. Al the poetic powers of Milton are shown on the delineation of the majestic personality of the enemy of God and Man, i.e. Satan. As it is shown in Paradise Lost Book-I that the character of Satan is a blend of the noble and the ignoble, the exalted and the mean, the great and the low, therefore, it becomes difficult to declare him either a hero or a wholly villain. In Paradise Lost Book-I we can hardly doubt his heroic qualities because this book fully exhibits his exemplary will-power, unsurpassable determination, unshakable confidence and unbelievable courage. However, the encyclopedia of religion removes some of the confusion from our minds regarding Satan's character in the following words: Satan means the arch-enemy of men, the adve...

Homer and Virgil were the two great masters of the Classical epic. Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid have invariably served as models for all writers of the classical epic. Milton was a great classical scholar and he sought to write an epic. He dreamt of immortality and he aspired to be one with Homer and Virgil as the author of a classical epic. Milton turned his great classical and Biblical learning to a poem to "assert eternal providence, and justify the ways of God to men". I may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. Milton achieved eminent success in making Paradise Lost as classical epic. In spite of certain drawbacks and defects, Milton's epic is entitled to take its rightful place among half a dozen classical epics in the world. The first essential feature of the epic is its theme. The theme of an epic must have a national importance or significance; that is, the epic must be a true and faithful mirror of the life and of a na...

Samson as a Tragic Hero Samson, the protagonist of the play, "Samson Agonistes" by John Milton, is a tragic figure who was a Hebrew by birth. At his birth it had been prophesied that he would perform some noble deeds for the deliverance of his people. Therefore, he was made a Nazarite, that is to say a person whose life is dedicated to the service of God and his chosen people. He was a man of superhuman power and strength but he fell down from his high position and ultimately died for making a mistake and thus he was made a tragic hero. Whether Samson is a tragic hero or not, can be evaluated from the oldest theory of tragedy and tragic hero. These things are given below:- A tragic hero is a character in a work of fiction (often the protagonist) who commits an action or makes a mistake which eventually leads to his or her defeat. The idea of the tragic hero was created in ancient Greek tragedy and defined by Aristotle (and others). Aristotelian tragic hero: Aristotle once sai...