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John Milton: Paradise Lost
1st Edition 1667; 2nd Edition 1674
Peter Paul Rubens' painting, The Fall of the Rebel Angels, 1620. Oil on panel. Pinakothek, Munich. Beneath this painting I have placed a "template" as a prompt for contemplating some structural balances of Paradise Lost.
Read also some of Milton's Biblical sources.
Back to EN 348
PARADISE LOST: A STRUCTURAL TEMPLATE
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PLACE |
EPIC FORMAT |
SPACE & TIME |
CHIEF CHARAC- TERS |
CHIEF IMAGERY |
CHIEF GENRES |
GOD'S ATTRI- BUTES |
SATAN'S ATTRI- BUTES |
MAIN THEMES |
| I |
Hell |
Plight of Fallen "Heroes" (Aeneid) |
Down |
Satan, Devils |
"Burning Lake"
"Darkness Visible" |
Romance |
Absence |
Heroic
Pride |
Primal Hate |
| II |
Hell |
Catalogue and Heroic Speeches
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Plane |
Satan, Devils |
Dark Light |
Dramatic Speeches; Revenge Tragedy |
Absence |
Heroic |
Primal Revenge |
I
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Heaven,
Space |
Council of the Gods,
The Hero's Journey |
Up |
God, Uriel, Good Angels,
Satan |
"Ineluctable light"; Fountain of Light
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Epic |
Presence |
Jealous Hate |
Godly Love,
The Creative
Individual |
| IV |
Eden |
Edenic Love
Raphael's Retrospective Story |
Plane |
Adam, Eve, Raphael |
Dark & Light Woven Together |
Pastoral |
Walks in Garden |
Mixed Love &
Jealous Hate |
Edenic Love |
| V |
Eden |
Godly Messenger
Raphael
Raphael's Retrospective Story |
Plane |
Adam, Eve,
Raphael |
Dark & Light Woven Together |
Pastoral |
Absence |
Jealous Hate & Revenge |
Human Love ,
Service to God |
| VI |
Heaven |
War in Heaven
Raphael's Retrospective Story |
Down |
Abdiel, Angels, Messiah, Devils |
Expanded Space & Time |
Epic Battle |
Messiah Appears |
Heroic Pain, Battle Frenzy |
Primal Sin Shown as External
Psycho-machia |
| VII |
Heaven |
Creation of the Universe, Raphael's Retrospective Story |
Up |
God, Angels, Michael, Gabriel, Messiah |
Expanded Space and Time |
Epic Creation Myth |
Presence as Creator |
Absence |
Heavenly Love's Creativity |
| VIII |
Eden |
Debates & Discussions& Gardening,
Prayer |
Plane |
Adam, Eve, Raphael |
Garden,
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Pastoral |
Messiah Walks in Garden |
Hidden |
Messiah's
Limited Presence |
| IX |
Eden |
Spiritual Battle And "Fall" of Adam & Eve |
Down |
Adam, Eve, Raphael, Satan (As Serpent) |
Black, Dark Colors, Regression,
Decay |
Pastoral, Theology, Psycho- Machia |
Only God's Voice in Garden |
Tricky Lawyer & Theologian |
Human Self-love, Jealousy, Pride |
| X |
Eden, Then Earth |
Fallen Heroes
(Aeneid) |
Down |
Adam, Eve, And Michael |
Darker Colors, Decay |
Fallen Hero as Victims |
Absence |
Small, Mean Snake |
Human Meanness |
| XI |
Eden, Then Earth |
History of World (The Falls of Human-kind) |
Down |
Adam, Eve, And Michael |
History |
History |
Absence |
Small, Mean |
Falls And Risings in History |
| XII |
Eden, Then Earth |
History of Good,
Regeneration,
The Expulsion |
Up,
Plane |
Adam, Eve, and Michael |
History,
Vision |
History,
Pastoral |
Limited Providence |
Will Be Stepped on |
Falls and Redemption "Paradise Within,
Happier Far" |
Back to EN 348
Painting courtesy the Carol Gerten-Jackson
Fine Arts site.
Last modified: 2/3/2003
Maintained by Stephen Gottlieb. E-mail ... Prof. Emeritus Stephen A. Gottlieb
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