From what I can understand... and without any prior knowledge I feel like I wouldnt understand this at all.. it seems to go from the fall of man, to the fall of satan... but satans fall eventually led to the fall of mankind. Its one in the same. Satan fell from heaven due to his own actions but blamed everything on God, His refusal to bow down, and his desire for power... his own selfishness put him in hell. "Against the throne and monarchy of God,/ Raised impious war in Heav'n and battle proud," (why is heaven spelled like that?) shows this fight that Satan had with God. He went against him knowing God had the power to cast him out of heaven.
I dont know if anyone else watches the show Supernatural... but remember when all the Angels fell from heaven to Earth? Thats the picture I get in my head when I read this.
This, from what I can tell is an elaborate way of explaining what the bible already tells us, with what seems to be much exageration,
While the entrance of Satan to Hell was highly dramatized, I do think it was necessary. The way Milton introduces Satan to the readers makes him almost human, and in a way, readers become sympathetic to both him and his situation (that being stuck in Hell with the rest of his soldiers) and while it may seem overdramatic or unnecessary, I think it was done very well and it was important, because it established Satan as an important and (arguably) likable character from the very beginning of the poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kelsey. In addition to that, how many times have you been telling a story and made it more dramatic with hyperboles and all? Drama makes stories more interesting and catches the attention of the reader more effectively. In reference to you question of why Heav'n is spelled like that, I believe it has to do with the flow and rhythm of the poem. I see "Heav'n" written a lot in music because it fits easier into the rhythm.
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