Page 187 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes 9. Who leads Adam and Eve out of paradise?
(a) God (b) The son
(c) Michael (d) Raphael
10. Which of the following poets does Milton emulate?
(a) Virgil (b) Homer
(c) Both Virgil and Homer (d) None of these.
After God leads Eve away from her reflection, she first encounters Adam under a platan tree. Platan
is the Greek name for plane tree, and by giving the name of the tree in Greek rather than English,
Milton alludes to Plato, the Greek philosopher, whose name is etymologically linked with that of
the plane tree. The most well-known of Plato’s arguments is the thesis that reality consists of ideal
forms that can only be perceived by the intellect, in contrast with the deceptive shades or reflections
of these ideal forms that human beings perceive in everyday life. Milton associates the platan tree,
or Plato, with Adam, suggesting that he is closer to the ideal forms or essences of things, whereas
Eve is more part of the world of images, shade, and illusion, and is led away from illusions only
reluctantly.
Milton’s presentation of Adam and Eve was controversial in his time. Milton paints an idyllic picture
of an innocent, strong, and intelligent Adam, whereas Christian tradition more typically emphasizes
Adam’s basically sinful nature. The Puritans, like many other Christians, viewed the sexual act as
inherently sinful—a necessary evil that cannot be avoided precisely because man has fallen. Milton,
in contrast, makes a point of noting that Adam and Eve enjoy pure, virtuous sexual pleasure without
sin: they love, but do not lust. Milton implies that not only is sex not evil, but that demonizing it
goes against God’s will. He persuasively argues that God mandates procreation, and that anyone
who would advocate complete abstinence (as St. Paul does in the New Testament) would be an
enemy to God and God’s magnificent creation. Furthermore, Eve’s story about seeing her reflection
in the water hints that her vanity may become a serious flaw—and weakness—later on. Her curiosity
is sparked by her lack of understanding about who she is and where she is. She traces the river back
to its source just as she wishes to trace herself to her source, through emotional self-reflection, in
search of answers to her difficult questions. Also, her willingness to listen and believe the voice she
hears, which tells her about her identity, also foreshadows that she will trust another voice she will
hear later—Satan’s.
Milton’s presentation of Adam and Eve is controversial in our own time because the discourse
between Adam and Eve strikes many modern audiences as misogynistic. Milton portrays Adam as
her superior because he has a closer relationship to God. The idea that Adam was created to serve
God only, and Eve is created to serve both God and Adam, illustrates Milton’s belief that women
were created to serve men. The narrator remarks of Adam and Eve that their difference in quality
was apparent—”their sex not equal seemed” (IV.296). Milton implies that she is weaker in mind as
well as body than Adam. Eve herself freely admits her secondary and subordinate role. When she
explains her dependence on him she explains to Adam that she is created because of him and is lost
without him. Having Eve herself possess and verbalize these misogynistic, submissive views adds
a peculiar and somewhat disturbing power to the conversation. Milton’s views on the relations
between men and women were certainly common, if not dogmatic, in his time. Milton’s reading of
the Bible dictated that in marriage the woman is to obey the man, and that he is her ruler. The
relationship between Adam and Eve, though unequal, remains perfectly happy, because they both
in the end live in praise of God. Eve accepts her role as Adam does his own, and God loves both
equally.

20.5 Summary

• The beginning of Paradise Lost is similar in gravity and seriousness to the book from which
Milton takes much of his story: the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

180 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY