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Unit 22: Paradise Lost-I (Non-detailed Study): Discussion and Analysis-III

Adam’s ability to perceive the fall as a fortunate one is an inherent paradox in Milton’s mixture of Notes
the human and the divine. Adam is to be judged according to what he did in his own time, and yet
he is allowed to see all the future consequences of his actions in an instant. A mortal mind cannot
readily accept this idea. Few Christian thinkers (certainly not Milton) would say that the sin of
Adam and Eve was an unequivocally good thing. Rather, the fall and the resurrection are both
intimate parts of God’s providence—he foresees them both and sees them outside of time, existing
together. Humankind, on the other hand, must do its best in a temporal world, dealing with the
decisions of the present. As Adam and Eve leave Paradise, they know that obedience to God and
love for his creation can help humankind toward its salvation, and lead humankind toward regaining
the Paradise that has been lost.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
1. In what book does the fall take place?
(a) Book VIII (b) Book X
(c) Book IX (d) Book XII
2. What is Milton’s stated purpose in Paradise Lost?
(a) To assert his superiority to other poets
(b) To argue against the doctrine of predestination
(c) To justify the ways of God to men
(d) To make his story hard to understand
3. Which of the following is not a character in Paradise Lost?
(a) Night (b) Agony
(c) Discord (d) Death
4. When Satan leaps over the fence into Paradise, what does Milton liken him to?
(a) A snake slithering up a tree (b) A germ infecting a body
(c) A wolf leaping into a sheep’s pen (d) A fish leaping out of water
5. Which angel tells Adam about the future in Books XI and XII?
(a) Uriel (b) Raphael
(c) Michael (d) None of these
6. Which statement about the Earth is asserted as true in Paradise Lost?
(a) It was created before God the son (b) Earth hangs from Heaven by a chain
(c) The Earth is a Lotus flower (d) The Earth revolves around the sun
7. What is the stated subject of Paradise Lost?
(a) The fight between good and evil (b) Heaven’s battle and Satan’s tragic fall
(c) The creation of the universe (d) Adam and Eve’s disobedience
8. Which devil in Satan’s second-in-command?
(a) Mammon (b) Sin
(c) Moloch (d) Beezelbub
9. Who discusses cosmology and the battle of Heaven with Adam?
(a) God (b) Eve
(c) Raphael (d) Michael

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