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“Paradise Lost”
completed by 1667, and
then, the second epic
“Paradise Regained”
and a tragedy,
“Samson Agonistes”
both
written by 1671.
Milton died on November 8, 1684 and was buried in London.
Miltons works form a bridge between a poetry of the Renaissance and the poetry
of the classicists of a later period. Milton was attracted by ancient poetry because of
the free thought there expressed and because of its great epic forms. Although poetry
was discouraged by the Puritans, he was nevetheless a champion of the Puritans in so
far as social and religious problems were concerned, because he believed that only a
republican government could provide a foundation for freedom.
CONTRADICTIONS IN MILTON’S OUTLOOK. HIS HIGH APPRECIATION
OF ANTIQUE CULTURE.
INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS SOURCES TO THE
CREATIVE WORK OF JOHN MILTON
KHILOLA RAKHIMOVA, senior teacher, URSU
11
Miltons works are characterized by their duality (which means that two
independent views go together). He chose his themes from the Bible, but under his
treatment they became revolutionary in spirit.
John Milton’s epic
Paradise Lost
is a poetic retelling of the Fall of Man. Its
purpose was to justify the ways of God and remove from him all presumed
responsibility for Adam and Eve’s sin. However, many readers doubt the poem’s
success because of the ambiguous nature of Milton’s God, and some critics believe that
Milton, consciously or not, has portrayed an evil God. But this is not the only paradox
of character. Upon closer analysis, it is found that there are many contradictions in
language and characterisation, which obscure God’s character.
Milton’s God is certainly paradoxical in nature. His innate qualities, physical
characteristics and will are outwardly divine, but often questionable, and subtleties
within the poem contend that he is the archetype of goodness the poem requires for his
justification. However, it is also found that in some cases the contradictions only seem
to be so at first glance and are reconcilable.
While the God of John Milton’s
Paradise Lost
certainly displays the divine
attributes of truth, spirit, immensity, infinity, eternity, omnipresence, omnipotence,
unity, vitality, omniscience, an infinitely pure and holy will, grace, faithfulness, and
being just, the poem is at times self-contradictory in terms of the language used to
describe these. Across the poem, Milton has repeatedly described God in one way and
countered himself elsewhere. Contradictions are also uncovered by the divided
opinions of characters within the poem. Satan’s criticisms of God’s truth, unity and
omnipotence bring to light an alternative interpretation of God that are only implicitly
renounced by Milton. When all contradictions are considered in tandem, they seem to
say that Milton’s God is not divine, but a flawed and mundane being.
However, we find that these contradictions often only appear paradoxical at first
glance. By understanding the context of Milton’s language, his contradictory
statements may be reconciled so as to justify rather than condemn God. It is true that
Milton’s God is far from the paragon of divinity that a conventional justification would
require him to be, but in some cases, this reflects the author and reader’s failure to
sufficiently express or comprehend divine attributes. Any man-made characterisation
of God – or exploration of one – is inhibited by our inability to fully comprehend
infinity, eternity, spirit, omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience. Milton also
highlights that our senses, being limited, impede our ability to perceive God. Thus, the
ambiguities in
Paradise Lost
could very well be seen as a reflection of our own
ambiguous interpretations of God, rather than a failure on the part of the poet. An
enhanced appreciation of the transcendent divinity and incomprehensibility of God
may, for some, suffice to justify his ways, and the contradictions found within
Paradise
Lost
may serve as evidence of this.
KHILOLA RAKHIMOVA, senior teacher, URSU
12
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