Plan of the lecture english literature of the XVII century

“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 
 

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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. 

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KHILOLA RAKHIMOVA, senior teacher, URSU 
12