Two Falls, One Redemption: The Fates of Satan and Eve

Here is it! The paper! So much to explore, so few pages to explore it all in. I finish it late last night and decided to sleep on it and read it again in the morning to make sure it make some kind of sense. Here's hoping! It was extremely interested to consider the similarities and differences in the characterizations of Satan and Eve in Paradise Lost. I feel like I only had the opportunity to scratch the surface of the discussion and hope to delve further into some aspect of it for my final paper. Enjoy!

Post-Colonial Paradise Lost Pre-write

The Motherland and her dependent colonial offspring
by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Thesis Statement:
Although Milton's Of Reformation and Paradise Lost still share many similarities with other works under postcolonial criticism, they ultimately condemn colonialization and predict the eventual dissolution of the English Empire.

Parallels between colonial history and Paradise Lost, Satan and colonizers both:

• Oppose higher power and cause a civil war
• Move across expanse to new, beautiful land
• Encounter beautiful, unintelligent, indigenous people
• Cause the downfall of the indigenous with words
• Return as conqueror
• NEW TWIST (main difference from many other works under postcolonial criticism): Satan (colonizer) is punished

Quotes showing Milton's prediction in Of Reformation:

"In all these things hath the Kingdome been of late sorely weakened, and chiefly by the Prelates. What numbers of faithful and freeborn Englishmen and good Christians have been constrained to forsake their dearest home, their friends, and kindred, whom nothing but the wide Ocean, and the savage deserts of America could hide and shelter from the fury of the Bishops."

Inherent Tyranny

As an American, the concept of a monarchy is a rather romantic notion. For Milton, not so much. In his text  Eikonoklastes, his main argument is that there is a deep-rooted tyranny in such an establishment, and through the case of Charles I, and his refutation of the monarch’s ideas, Milton leaves the reader with a sense of his dissatisfaction with this particular kind of government.

Considering Eikonoklastes can be viewed as condoning regicide, it’s not much of a surprise the document gained less of a readership than it might have if it had not been published in a period when Charles I was comparatively popular. However, Milton’s main points have survived, and may be applied to other rulers, not just the ill-fated Charles.

Take Queen Elizabeth I, a personal favorite of mine. Professor Burton mentioned in class that she was fairly lenient with her Catholic population until they tried to kill her, an event known as the Revolt of the Earls which took place in 1569. At this point her actions and those of her advisers became rather more strict in nature. While this is a rather condensed version of the proceedings, Milton’s claim may be observed. Elizabeth I didn't go into her reign with the intention of persecuting Catholics, but in a sense she became a figure similar to her sister Mary, whose persecution of the Protestants is more widely known, and may be viewed as tyrannical.

Eikonoklastes, while certainly a text directed at the present, has a farther reaching purpose. Through it Milton expresses his dissatisfaction with his own government and its past permutations, leading his audience to question the integrity of future regimes and their own part in this cycle of tyranny.

A Short History Lesson

Once I got past Milton's flowery language that strove to obscure his obvious dislike of religious hierarchy, I was able to find points I disagreed with—points I disagreed with for historical reasons.