John Milton / Paradise Lost

https://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/paradiselost/
https://jimbelton.wordpress.com/paradise-lost-in-modern-english/

1. Imagine someone has never heard of John Milton. Tell about him in 8-10 sentences.  Include why he is important to British Literature.

2. After a brief prayer for help from the Holy Spirit, in line 22, Milton gets right to the main issue: Whence the evil and suffering on Earth; how and why did mankind go wrong?

Who are the four principal characters, briefly introduced in lines 23-31?

3. Paraphrase the sentence in lines 29 to 39

4. In 116, Satan vows to wage by force or guile eternal war.  Please summarize Beelzebubs response in l20-150?

5. In 152-186, what plans does Satan propose?

6. List 3 sensory details (along with the relevant sense) for images in 165-172.  {For example, sulphurous hail- sense of touch and of smell}

7. What is Milton suggesting in lines 205-215, especially 208, and do you think hes right about this issue which has divided theologians for 1700 years?

8.Satan is the hero (or at least the protagonist) of this epic, and some have called him heroic.  Milton meant to show what he knew – that evil shouldnt be taken lightly nor its appeal and many disguises underrated.

Is Satan admirable in the closing speech of this section, l. 244-258?

9. What does Satan mean by, The mind/Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven?

10. How does the remark reflect his inner conflict and anguish?