Imagine the absolute worst possible place to be.
It’s most likely a space consumed by darkness, terror, hate, disgust, and death. A place where no hope exists and nothing exists in beauty. In the book Paradise Lost, the author John Milton provides readers with a great sense of experiencing Hell and its consuming darkness. In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve’s grave disobedience led God to cast them out of the Garden of Eden and into Hell; however, the bible itself does not go into specific detail describing the true nature of such a place. Paradise Lost is a unique text that provides poetic insight about the nature of some of the events mentioned in the bible, and therefore it is recognized for its religious and political impacts of its time.
The text provides interesting details of the nature of Hell specifically describing it as “a dungeon horrible on all sides around, as one great furnace with flames, yet from those flames, no light but rather darkness visible” (Milton page 4, lines 60-30). A place where rest and hope do not exist and those restricted to this world experience pure arrogance, pride, hatred, and restlessness (Milton page 4, line 64) . Using imagery, Milton paints a clear picture and distinction between Heaven and Hell referring to the celestial light and happy fields contrasted to the lake of flames and darkness (Milton page 246).
A significant theme highlighted throughout the first book of Paradise Lost is the concept of seeking autonomy from God. The rebel angels in Hell discuss their plans to pursue a war with God in Heaven. The angels state that it’s “better to reign in Hell than be a servant in Heaven” (Milton page 9, line 263) and that it’s possible to “make a Heaven of Hell, and a Hell of Heaven” (Milton page 9, line 255). The dialogue among the angels and their intention to become independent and more powerful than God is similar to several stories in Genesis when humans seek autonomy from God. For example, the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:3 describes the human intention to “build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” This story is a great example of God’s merciful response when humans seek independence from Him. Throughout the creation story of Genesis, God repeatedly transforms evil into good, and this is also represented in the Paradise Lost. When the angels discuss their plans to defeat God, they conclude that God is all-powerful and basically impossible to defeat. They decide that they should instead deceive God to perform evil. As an all-knowing being, God is aware of their plan and He opens the gates of Hell so they can make their attempt. God wants to turn their evil into a greater good!
The publication Paradise Lost had religious and political impacts. Following England’s civil war, the Puritans took over Parliment and John Milton was a strong advocate for religious reform (https://digitalcommons.whitworth.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=th314h). Paradise Lost was written with the intention of strengthening the personal and intimate aspect of religion, offering new perspectives and insights to different people with the hopes of unifying believers (https://digitalcommons.whitworth.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023 &context=th314h). Although some more traditional groups were concerned about the disturbing imagery of Hell and Satan, others were in support of it. Some have even said that John Milton’s Paradise Lost has influenced the English Church’s perspective of Heaven and Hell, and that his work plays a “doctrinal role in Christian life” (https://digitalcommons.whitworth.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article= 1023&context=th314h). Therefore, the unique perspective and poetic insight provided by Paradise Lost was crucial for the political and religious movement at the time and significantly influenced society.
Leave a Reply