Paradise Lost

A detailed Summary of Paradise Lost

In John Milton's poem, "Paradise Lost," there is a portrayal of marriage between the two protagonists Adam and Eve. The narrator tells a story about the unity between this man and woman and shows us their trials during this time. Adam was a man created by God and through one of his ribs, his wife Eve was then created. These two characters are human and throughout the poem the author points out their flaws and drawbacks as a couple. In the beginning of the story Adam and Eve are a couple who is happy and in love. However, toward the end of the poem we see a change in attitude from the couple; we notice a shift in feelings and in mindset. Milton shows us an image of what a happy marriage should be like, but when the two separate, it is then that their marriage begins to crumble while this power dynamic shifts from Adam's character to Eve's character and is seen through the use of diction, imagery, and tone. Therefore, through the use of these literary elements, Milton tries to explain that a marriage will be able to be successful, but there is always a struggle with separation, temptation, and being a flawed human.

In Book IV, Milton uses diction to introduce these two characters and how happy they a

Eve's tone when speaking more openly about her marriage explains why she is living a blissful like because she has Adam for a husband. She believes that to Adam, "indeed all [her] praises owe" because he has made her (444). She feels confident that she should be thankful to Adam because he has created her. She is so amazed by how beautiful Adam made her that when looking at her reflection in the water, Eve was "pleased . . . with [the] answering looks" (464). The marriage works because Adam is handsome and Eve is beautiful. Indeed she is so beautiful that when she looks at this reflection of her in the water even she is impressed. The tone that she uses explains a lot about her feelings and how content she is with herself and in her marriage.

Adam's tone can also be distinguished when he answers Eve after she thanks him for making her so beautiful. Se explains how "out of [his] side to [her] being [he] lent / out of [his] side to [her], nearest [his] heart" (483-484). We previously saw some of the inequalities that this couple faced in their marriage and Adam's tone in his later response shows that she should be thankful to him for creating her. This idea that Eve is submissive to Adam is accepted in this marriage because they both understand that. Eve is thankful to Adam and she even admits that she is submissive to him describing that she is beautiful, but only through Adam's "manly grace" (490).

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Approximate Word count = 958
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English