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"Paradise Lost" In-Class Notes

Today, we continued our reading of "Paradise Lost." We met the character of Satan, his "general," Beelzebub, and saw the conditions in Hell where they have been exiled to by God. We focused mostly on what we learned about Satan and Beelzebub and what their attitude and actions reveal to us. Below, you can see the notes each class took and add to your chart if you were absent.

Satan	Beelzebub	Milton (Speaker)
Was God’s favorite Sent to Hell where it is Fiery Dark Sorrowful Torturous Wakes up in Hell, feeling stubbornly prideful Calls God a rage-filled tyrant; believes he rules by force, not by logic or popular opinion Deformed by his fall from Hell; described as a giant sea monster Believes angels should be self-ruling Wants to do bad just to spite God Immediately ready to go back to war with God Believes it is better to rule and be in charge in Hell than to be a follower or servant in Heaven	Regrets going against God, but won’t let go of his pride Deformed from his fall to Hell Believes God left them their immortality to exploit them	Religious and devout Wants to spread God’s word

Poetry Annotations: Spenser, Cavalier, and Pastoral

Spenser sonnets are very similar to Shakespearian sonnets, but they often have a very different tone. Where Shakespeare wrote often about passionate love and beauty, Spenser wrote about the unattainable and fleeting love and beauty. He often wrote about the love he could never seem to have. You can see in the poem below that we annotated as a class that he writes about love fading as time passes and how he tries to resist the inevitable.



Pastoral poems focused mainly on the beauty of idealized rural life. It relied predominately on imagery to convey its theme. The metaphors and similes we see frequently in sonnets are replaced by these descriptions of scenes of nature. This nature serves as a symbol of love and passion as you can see in the poem below. However, notice how most of these gifts the shepherd seeks to give are short-lived and rather impractical.



Cavalier poetry was mostly written around the thematic subject of carpe diem, or "seize the day." It is about living life while you can and seizing opportunities for pleasure or fun. Cavalier poetry often had a somewhat reckless or urgent tone, pushing the reader to make the most of limited time. It often referenced the passage of time using metaphors about nature.

"Paradise Lost" Intro

We are continuing our unit of Renaissance poetry by reading an excerpt from "Paradise Lost" by John Milton.

"Paradise Lost" is a metaphysical poem, but it is written in the style of an epic, like Beowulf. Let me break down what that means.

Metaphysical Poetry	Epic Poetry
- Written in many different styles and formats - Questioned the meaning of life - Concerned with the purpose of death and spiritual issues - Frequent use of paradoxes to demonstrate the contradictions within life - May portray difficult or controversial ideas using beautiful imagery or surprising comparisons	- Focused on a time period before modern recollection (WAY BACK IN THE DAY) - Unites a group of people with a specific moral code - Features extraordinary characters or gods - Form is determined by what is popular in that culture - Begins with a call upon a spiritual force for inspiration and the purpose of the piece - Originally a facet of ancient pagan cultures like the Greeks and Romans

Notice how many of the traits of epic poetry still hold true from "Beowulf."

John Milton was a Puritan, which means he led a life devoted to God, held fast to a very simple and minimalistic lifestyle, and shunned anything that was flashy, showy, prideful, or extravagant. Milton demonstrates that view point at the very beginning of the piece.

Normally, at the beginning of epics in Ancient Greece and Rome, the story teller would call upon the Muses, goddesses responsible for creativity, art, and inspiration. However, Milton calls upon the spirit of God, mentions Moses and Jesus, and asks God to help him spread his word in a way he has never done before. We see Milton not as someone who wants to be a great storyteller, but as someone who views his purpose as spiritual.

"Paradise Lost" tells the story of the fall of Satan and Satan's desire to wage a war of vengeance on God. Another angel, Beelzebub, is also in Hell with him and contemplates the purpose of their continued existence. When we return to class, we will see how these two fallen angels approach their new fate in Hell and their thoughts on their punishment and God's wrath.