- Sep 2018
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So he with difficulty and labour hard Mov'd on, with difficulty and labour hee
When Milton repeats himself it is to make an important point. Here Satan's "labour" is "difficult" because it is in vain, since he is alienated from God. So he certainly does not look heroic here.
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Labouring,
Labor was the curse laid on Adam after the fall.
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then purg'd with Euphrasie and Rue The visual Nerve,
Milton has had personal experience with diseases of the eyes and he has made a reference to cures number of times in PL.
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O miserable of happie!
Suggesting that his previous happiness has caused his present misery, Milton stresses how one condition can produce its opposite.
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that day [ 210 ] Remov'd farr off;
This could mean that the actual day of their deaths is in the future, but the process of dying begins instantly.
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Thine shall submit, hee over thee shall rule
The "rule" of man over woman could be part of the punishment for the Fall.
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Absents thee,
could refer to psychological alienation rather than to physical absence.
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delight to Reason joyn'd.
Milton could be referring to Aristotle's doctrine that "the highest end and chief delight of man is a life of intellectual speculation".
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if all be mine,
Milton points out that age and circumstances should make it impossible for him to produce a work on the scale of PL, and stresses that there must be a force or spirit that is speaking through him.
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God is thy Law, thou mine: to know no more Is womans happiest knowledge and her praise.
This may not imply Eve's inferiority, as Eve is to Adam as Adam is to God, since the Son stands in the same relation to the Father.
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As when the potent RodOf Amrams Son
This could refer to the miraculous power of Moses at the Red Sea and therefore fall into the category of an epic.
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Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,
This refers to where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Certainly a noble man and noble deed.
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one greater Man
This is an example of the noble doings of a noble man. A reference to Jesus of Nazareth, known as "the second Adam" , and 'Restores us, and regain the blissful Seat'.
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Tabernacle
Light is conceived as stored in a chamber during the night [Jb 38:19]. Also, "Tabernacle", connects the primal light with the ark of the covenant, which was also kept in a tabernacle.
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Light Ethereal,
The symbolism of light is universal and occurs in the ancient Near East as a whole in a manner similar to the symbolism of light in the bible. OT. Light is vision and Yahweh gives light to the eyes [Ps 13:4]. The light of the eyes is also hope [Ezr 9:8] and revelation. Light is the element of moral good [Is 51:4] and [Jn 3:20].
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quintessence pure Sprung from the Deep
Light was not 1 of the 4 elements, but Milton makes it into the 5th essence, or "quintessence" This has also been identified with the "philosophers' stone", a chemical elixir alchemists believed would act as a catalyst to bring the world to a state of perfection.
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Let ther be Light, said God, and forthwith Light
This light does not emanate from the sun which Milton says has not yet been created. [247-248] Yahweh is the creator of light [Gn 1:3-5] This affirmation is probably intended to raise Him above the dualism of light and darkness.
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fit audience find, though few
A famous phrase expressing Milton's conviction that it is preferable to address even one just man than a world of false men.
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DEscend from Heav'n Urania, by that name If rightly thou art call'd, whose Voice divine
Milton makes an unequivocal claim to divine inspiration therefore expecting us to attribute authority to his version. This idea is repeated in book ix 46-47.
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Unjustly thou deprav'st it with the name Of Servitude to serve whom God ordains, [ 175 ] Or Nature; God and Nature bid the same,
Milton speaks with conviction here, that the most virtuous were naturally entitled to dominion. So he expects us to accept his idea.
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- Aug 2018
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yet be not sad.
A pleasant surprise that Adam comforted Eve after her troublesome dream, even though he did not like hearing about it. We see this repeated "Be not disheartened"line 122. This idea is reinforced by line 129 "So cheer'd he his fair spouse, and she was cheer'd;"
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Smil'd with superior Love,
Even in love Adam appears to be superior. This was unexpected.
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So farr the happier Lot
Eve assumes that the fact that she finds her fulfilment in Adam makes her more fortunate than him. This surprises me particularly as Milton assures us previously that Eve is certainly not Adam's equal and was created to serve Adam.
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though Thron'd in highest bliss
This meets my expectations as the Father pronounces the Son of God's exaltation above all names in heaven and earth.
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and his faithless Progenie: whose fault? Whose but his own?
This is disappointing here and seems to be victim blaming particularly that it includes all who follow.
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So eagerly the fiend Ore bog or steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare, With head, hands, wings, or feet pursues his way, And swims or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flyes:
Satan's entire journey is confused and chaotic so he seems to be ridiculous.
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Champions
Milton associates the devil with the aristocratic virtue of chivalry as with a hero
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when his darling Sons
Satan seems ridiculous here when sarcasm is used to indicate his jealousy of God's love of man.
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Precedence,
Satan seems ridiculous here with a "performative contradiction" when he claims precedence in the act of renouncing it.
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His proud imaginations thus displaid
This refers to the fact that Satan does not argue rationally so he appears to be ridiculous.
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HIgh on a Throne of Royal State
Book 2 starts with Satan's monarchal qualities being emphasized as if he were a classic hero.
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