- Nov 2018
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www.dartmouth.edu www.dartmouth.edu
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Might hap to move new broiles
??
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Before the Gates there sat On either side a formidable shape;
Hell is a truly hellish place. This description is nightmare inducing
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The Stygian Counsel thus dissolv'd; and forth In order came the grand infernal Peers:
again referencing parliament
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Thus saying rose The Monarch, and prevented all reply, Prudent, least from his resolution rais'd Others among the chief might offer now (Certain to be refus'd) what erst they fear'd; [ 470 ] And so refus'd might in opinion stand His Rivals, winning cheap the high repute Which he through hazard huge must earn.
Love this - Satan is a very astute politician
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palpable obscure
To go along w "darkness visible"
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Synod of Gods,
synod - an assembly of clergy
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for so the popular vote
There are several references here to parliamentary procedure
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Which when Beelzebub perceiv'd, then whom, Satan except, none higher sat, with grave [ 300 ] Aspect he rose,
Beelzebub: Silly to think we would be allowed to build an empire here - let's find Earth
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and after him thus Mammon spake.
Mammon: Open war won't be successful - let's build a place here with our gems and gold ( this seems popular - demons applaud)
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On th' other side up rose Belial
Belial: revenge is no use - we should be model prisoners and hope for minimum security
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My sentence is for open Warr
Moloch: Open war - things can't be worse so why not? At least we'll get revenge
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More glorious and more dread then from no fall, And trust themselves to fear no second fate
It seems a bit silly to think the second go round would be better - against an omnipotent foe!
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www.dartmouth.edu www.dartmouth.edu
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So thick the aerie crowd [ 775 ]Swarm'd and were straitn'd; till the Signal giv'n.Behold a wonder! they but now who seemdIn bigness to surpass Earths Giant SonsNow less then smallest Dwarfs, in narrow roomThrong numberless, like that Pigmean Race
Not only time but space is distorted
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Expos'd a Matron to avoid worse rape.
Well ok then. Gah. How do believers justify this?
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drove them thence to Hell
Still worried about the timeline here. All the old Gods are represented here as demons, yet Man has yet to appear
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Moloch
Beelzebub, Moloch, Chemos (Peor), Baal, Astarte, Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, Orus, Belial and all the greek Gods...
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Say, Muse, thir Names then known, who first, who last
Lists are a common occurrence in epics - but whew the similes in this one!
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And justifie the wayes of God to men.
Is the poet telling us this is the purpose of his poem?
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by thir own recover'd strength, [ 240 ]Not by the sufferance of supernal Power.
Yet first they had to be freed from their chains. see line 212 "high permission of all-ruling Heaven"
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So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend layChain'd on the burning Lake, nor ever thence [ 210 ]Had ris'n or heav'd his head, but that the willAnd high permission of all-ruling HeavenLeft him at large to his own dark designs,
Here Satan is freed to create mischief - why?
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Who from the terrour of this Arm so lateDoubted his Empire,
The holy spirit was afraid of Satan's power, and doubted he could keep his empire? When does the idea of God's omnipotence arise?
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If thou beest he; But O how fall'n! how chang'd
Lucifer, now and evermore Satan, begins to speak
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As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole.
celestial pole - another astronomy reference
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Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms
who dared to defy God
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Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd [ 35 ] The Mother of Mankind,
Deceived after the fall...
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Thou from the first Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread
Holy spirit? But ...wings outspread - Archangel?
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That with no middle flight intends to soar Above th' Aonian Mount, while it pursues [ 15 ] Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime
Things unattempted - more epic reference here. Noble deeds by a noble man, written by a nobel (but not humble!) poet
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Sing Heav'nly Muse
Epic reference - see Iliad, Odyssey
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(for Heaven and Earth may be suppos'd as yet not made
Driven out of Heaven, yet Heaven " ...may be supposed as yet not made" I'm having a little issue already with the timeline. ( very biblical, since God said "let there be light" before the the formation of the stars)
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- Aug 2018
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www.dartmouth.edu www.dartmouth.edu
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That with no middle flight
I'm curious what the poet meant here - is the epic composed of a description of the origin and fall, but not much of the "middle" ? Doubtful I would think from the length!
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OF Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, [ 5 ] Sing Heav'nly Muse
From the very beginning Milton's intention to write an epic are obvious, echoing the much older Odyssey and it's first line "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns..." (Fagles trans)
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