Paradise lost book 9

SATAN
1. " with darkness thrice the equinoctial line he circled ...From pole to pole " - emphasises Satan's power . Vast settings is also a feature an epic .
  1. However this may not show bravery or power - as Satan is flying round the earth to stay in darkness as he is fleeing from " the threats of Gabriel"
    1. " with heavenly spoils , our spoils ...man he made, and for him built/magnificent this world" - personal pronoun " our " reflects Satan's bitterness and that he feels personally wronged. Alliteration of "man" ,"made" , "magnificent = bitterness at everything God has done for Adam and Eve.
    2. " this man of clay , son of despite/ whom us more to spite his maker raised/ From dust : spite then with spite is best repaid "
      1. "Clay " - referring to how God created Adam from the ground and the dust , But could also connotes Satan thinks man will be easy to change , re-mound and corrupt.
        Repetition of "spite " - reflects how he is set on vengeance.
      2. " Back to the thicket slunk / The guilty serpent" - verb "slunk " - could reflect Satan's deceptive secretive nature. Could also suggest Satan himself is ashamed of the uncourageous underhand method of revenge.
  2. "For only in destroying I find ease/ To my own relentless thoughts ; and him destroyed " - repetition of " "destroyed "and " destroying " - obsessive desire for revenge . Alternatively - haunted and unstable - enjambment and caesuras reflects how his thoughts are disjointed .
    1. " In one day to have marred/ what he almighty styled , six nights and days" - intelligence , able to outsmart God ( intelligence = feature of Epic villain) . "marred" above " almighty " - reflects how Satan has overcome / tricked God .
2. " In with the river sunk , and with it rose Satan involved in rising mist " - Adjective "rising" suggests he is gaining more power . Noun "mist " - suggests Satan is illusive hard to catch or find - deceptive, hides and obscures things .
  1. This idea of Satan being a mist is echoed later on in book 9 - " like a black mist low creeping "
    1. " His bursting passion into plains thus poured "
      1. " I in one night freed / From servitude inglorious well - nigh half / The angelic name"- verb " freed " - suggests the angels were imprisoned , feature of a Machiavellian villain - totally convinced their actions are justified.
        This statement by Satan is an exaggeration as in book 2 we learn Satan only freed one third of heavens angels.
        " He leading swiftly rolled / In tangles, and made the intricate seem straight" - "leading" suggests he is controlling Eve , making the "intricate seem straight" - making the complex and sinister nature of the fruit hidden Satan's deceitful & manipulative nature hiding his true intent.
3. " If I could enjoy in aught , sweet interchange / Of hill , and valley, rivers, woods and plains , /Now in land , now in sea ...Rocks , dens , and caves; but I in non of these /find place or refuge "
  1. Epic cataloging - reflects Satan's bitterness at all the things he doesn't have , Alternatively it could be demonstrating Gods omnipotence and the beauty of his creation - how Satan is no match for God .
    1. " The only to of mankind , but in them / The whole of the human race , his purposed prey " - plosive alliteration " purposed prey " - creates harsh , hard sound and reflects his dark intent .
      1. " sovereign mistress " , " celestial beauty" , " Empress to this fair world " - Satan uses flattery to persuade Eve - He also tries to convince her of her power " sovereign " , " empress" - suggesting she is powerful enough to make her own decisions and question God.
        "Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixed,/ Ruddy and gold"- verb " loaded " suggests it is plentiful and desirable, however could also connote excess - puritan ideas at the time would have seen excess as sinful.
        " gold " emphasises the fruits value, but. " ruddy" - the fruit is wholesome and healthy - but this red colour could also signify danger , blood and death.
        " powerful persuaders , quickened at the sent" - plosives alliteration of "powerful persuaders" - creates a hard forceful sound - reflects how he is trying to trying to corrupt .
        Line is not in iambic pentameter - suggesting Satan is disrupting the natural rhythm of the poem and Eden.
        " All the other beasts... longing and envying stood " - verbs " longing "and " envying" suggest the fruit is desirable and it is natural to want it as all the other animals want it .
  2. The cataloging could also reflect Satan's isolation as the is so much he is now forbidden from . Bitterness and Alienation from society suggests Satan is more of a Malcontent than a tragic hero.
    1. " serpent sleeping , in whose mazy folds / to hide me and the dark intent I bring " - Serpent is innocent , Satan corrupts things . The serpent's innocence is emphasised later on in book 9 - " nor noncent yet, but on the grassy herb" .
      1. Feature of a Machiavellian villain- resourceful and using others to carry out his plans.
Eve
1. " what we by day /lop overgrown, or prune , or prop, or bind " - Eve being persuasive - tripling emphasises extent of the work - " we " - personal pronoun , shows they are both affected by this .
  1. " offspring of heaven and earth , and all earth's lord" - Eve using flattery to manipulate Adam .
    1. " Thus saying from her husbands hand her hand/ soft she withdrew" - adverb " soft " - suggests she is taking Adam's warning lightly . Or that she is just being tender and loving towards him .
      1. Sibilance emphasises the unity they have , emphasis on hand foreshadows Eve eating the fruit " her rash hand " - what happens when she doesn't have Adams guidance.
        " mindless all the while , / Herself , though fairest unsupported flower ...and storm so nigh"
        Vulnerable and unaware of the danger and that Satan is approaching .
        " Friendly to man , far from deceit or guile" - Eve's emphasise her gullibility and how far wrong she is - Satan is described as a "guileful tempter" earlier in book 9.
        " Thus it shall befall/ Him who to worth in woman overtrusting" - Man will never again trust woman or let her rule
        Reflects Milton own beliefs about women being inferior- in one of his essays Milton wrote " who can be ignorant that woman was created for man, and not man for woman" .
        " and taught /the tongue not made for speech to speak thy praise" - plosive alliteration- harsh sharp sound , reflects Eve's internal struggle about whether or not to eat the fruit.
        " taught the tongue not made for speech " - could be seen as either miraculous or could reflect that it is unnatural .
        " but his forbidding /commends thee more" -could be saying that God forbidding the fruit means it is important and valuable- But could also suggest she has an overwhelming desire to go against God just to see what will happen if she eats the fruit.
  2. " And from a parting angel overheard / As in a shady nook I stood behind "
    1. " shady " connotes Eve was hiding being secretive and deceitful-
    2. Dishonest - she heard Raphael 's warning at the end of book 9 - but still wants them to " divide their labours"
    3. This almost similar Satan sneaking and stalking Eve - " he " half spied " Eve and " Nearer he drew" .
  3. " only our foe /tempting affronts us with his foul esteem /of our integrity : his foul esteem ... turns / foul on himself "
    1. Repetition of "foul" - reflects Eve's ignorance , assumes the evil will be easy to spot . Alternatively- trying to convince Adam she is aware of the dangers of separating .
      1. " such ambush hid among sweet flowers and shades " - Eve not looking for trouble and evil - is in a beautiful place .
        " oft stooping to support / each flower of slender stalk...carnation, purple , azure, or speckled with gold "
        She is supporting and helping the garden , not corrupted yet . Royal colours " purple ", "azure" and " gold" - reflect how she blessed and precious - the more perfect and innocent she is made out to be , the worse her fall from grace.
        " his persuasive words, impregned /with reason, to her seeming and with truth"- Eve is tricked and genuinely believes what Satan is saying- " Impregned" - suggests Satan has corrupted and penetrated her with his lies.
        " her rash hand in evil hour" - personification- suggests her hand is a separate part of her and she acted on impulse. Synecdoche- representing Eve through a part of her body - making her responsible.
        " And Adam wedded to another Eve... confirmed then I resolve,/Adam shall share with me in bliss or woe" - wants to bring Adam down with her out of spite and jealousy . Bliss or woe also echoes marriage vows ' for better or for worse'.
        Adam has a similar thought before he eats the fruit :" should God create another Eve , and I /Another rib afford, yet loss of thee / would never from my heart " - both agree they can't be without each other.
2. " looks intervene and smiles , or object new / casual discourse drawn on, which intermits / our days work "
  1. Verbs "intermits" and " intervene" - suggests Adam is a burden and a distraction to her.
    1. " fruit divine" , "o sovereign , virtuous, precious of all trees" - she is worshiping and praising the fruit instead of God - blasphemous , rejecting her creator.
      1. Eve is also using the same language Satan used to tempt her - " sovereign mistress" - emphasising how she has been corrupted by his evil , listening to Satan rather than God.
        " And heightened with wine , jocund and boon" - idea of drunkenness, She has been foolish and is out of control.
        Idea of drunk pleasure repeated later on in book 9 :" not death, but life/Augmented, open eyes, new hopes, new joys/ Taste so divine"
  2. This is contradictory of Eve not to want to spend time with Adam - as in book 8 she leaves Adam and Raphael , preferring to hear it from a Adam himself , who will kiss and hold her while he tells her .
    1. " she ate :/ Earth felt the wound" - her action has physically damage nature. The Caesura (" she ate:")- creates a pause and emphasises the enormity of the action.
      1. Mirrors and Contrasts early on in book 9 : " when all things that breathe / From Earth's great alter send up silent praise/ to the creator " - no mention of creator when Eve eats the apple- reflects rejection of God.
Adam
1. " The wife where danger and dishonour lurks / Safest and seemliest by her husband stays "
  1. " seek not temptation then, which to avoid/ were better , a nod most likely from me / Thou sever not "
    1. " seek not temptation " echoes Lord's Prayer " And leads not into temptation , but deliver us from evil" - reminding Eve to trust and follow God .
    2. " sever " - violent verb - reflects how they need each other and the physical closeness they have as Eve was once a part of Adam . Alternatively- emphasising the danger of being apart .
2. " I from the influence of thy looks receive / Access in every virtue ... More wise, more watchful , stronger "
  1. Milton criticising traditional epics where Knights are spurred on by beautiful maids to accomplish great feats - whereas in Paradise lost Adam's admiration of Eve is misplaced as she leads him to evil.
    1. "While horror chill/ Ran through his veins , and all his joints relaxed;/From his slack hand the garland wreathed for Eve /Down dropped"
      1. Shocked, Eve has fallen in his eyes ( shown by him dropping Eves garland)- disappointed him . Alternatively -" his slack hand" - suggests that it was because of his negligence, not keeping watch of Eve , that she fell from grace.
        " not deceived, / But fondly overcome with female charm" - adverb "fondly" - suggests he is willing and happy to go down with Eve.
        " Earth trembled from her entrails , as again/ in pangs, and nature gave a second grown /sky loured...wept at the completing of the mortal sin" - earth is physically damaged to its core .
        More dramatic and tragic than when Eve ate the fruit " Earth felt the wound , and nature from her seat / sighing through all her works " -
        " while Adam took no thought / Eating his fill" - " no thought" - oblivious to the damage he has caused . " Eating his fill" - suggests ignorance and carelessness but also reflects puritan ideas about excess being sinful.
        " As with new wine intoxicated both / They swim in mirth , and fancy they feel / Divinity within them breeding wings"
        Swimming in " mirth" suggests they are enjoying and revelling in their sin. Feeling "divinity within " themselves- almost blasphemous, thinking they can be God like.
        " in lust they burn" - Their sexual desire is a sign of their lost innocence. The verb " burn" has connotations of death , destruction and hell.
        A bit further on the idea of fire is repeated-"contagious fire" - suggesting the destruction and evil they have unleashed will spread.
3. " To whom thus Adam fervently replied ./ O woman"
  1. Adjective "fervently " - becoming more urgent and frustrated at eve - " o woman" belittling her and becoming angry -
    1. " Adam the while/ waiting desirous her return, had wove/ of choicest flowers a garland" - portrayed as feminine and innocent - Milton portraying him as weak for listening to his wife?
      1. " Divine displeasure for her sake, or death" - "divine dipleasure" before "death " - emphasises Gods power- his wrath is worse than death.
        Alternatively "her sake" before "death" - reflects how Adam is putting her before the consequences of eating the fruit.

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Paradise lost book 9

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