Paradise Lost
In John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost", the issue of who is to blame for the fall of man is one that is widely discussed and argued. Since Eve is the one who acts on her own to eat from the Tree of Knowledge as she says "To satisfy the sharp desire I had / Of tasting those faire apples, I resolved / Not to defer; hunger and thirst at once"(538-541), she is usually thought to be solely to blame. When everything is sorted out later in the story, it becomes clear that Adam and Eve were equally at fault for their actions. Adam knows the dangers that eating from the Tree of Knowledge would bring, so Adam is faced with a problem. The problem is that Eve wants to split up for the day saying "Alone, without exterior help sustained? Let us not then suspect our happy state / Left so imperfect by the Maker wise / As not secure to single or combined. / Frail is our happiness, if this be so" (290-296) and Adam knows that this is a bad idea, particularly after the dream that she has described to him. They argue at great length, but in the end Adam allows Eve to do as she wishes even though he knows she is making a very bad decision. Adam also knows that his ability to reason is inherently stronger than Eve's, yet in his love for her is s
Adam knew what would happen if Eve went off alone but said "With thy permission then, and thus forewarned, / Chiefly by what thy own last reasoning words / Touched only, that our trial, when least sought, / May find us both perhaps far less prepared, /The willinger I go, nor much expect / A foe so proud will first the weaker seek; / So bent, the more shall shame him his repulse"(330-337). After the deed is done, they fall into a terrible argument of who is to blame, but the reality is that the two of them are equally at fault for the fall of man, because either could have prevented it if they had obeyed the will of God. O woman, best are all things as well Of God ordained them; his creating hand Nothing imperfect of deficient left Of all he had created, much less man, Or aught that might his happy state secure, Secure with outward force. Within himself the danger lies, yet lies within his power; Against his will he can receive no harm. But God left free the will, for what obeys Reason is free, and reason he made right, But bid her well, and still erect, Lest by some by fair appearing good surprised, She dictate false and misinform the will To what God expressly hath forbid (296-308). Arguments that Eve is solely to blame often come up simply because she is the one who ate the fruit. It's much like the laws being conceived present day which plac
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Approximate Word count = 914
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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