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John Milton Paradise Lost book's 9 & 10 A03 (context) and AO5 (critics) $11.11   Add to cart

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John Milton Paradise Lost book's 9 & 10 A03 (context) and AO5 (critics)

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These revision notes contain the relevant context surrounding Milton's Paradise Lost books 9 & 10, as well as relevant critics (both modern and historic). Therefore, these notes are relevant to the A level English Literature exam where both AO3 and Ao5 are mandatory elements of examination

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  • June 30, 2022
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John Milton ‘Paradise Lost’ AO3: Context
Political Context

James I = 1603-1625

Charles I = 1625-1649

Oliver Cromwell = 1649- 1658

Charles II = 1660 - 1685

Mid-17th century = time of great social & cultural turmoil

English Civil War/ Revolution  intermittent between Parliamentarians (parliament) & Royalists
(crown)…

Resulted in beheading of King Charles I & the 11-year period where England was a Republic under
the rule of Oliver Cromwell

Ideological happenings as result of civil war…

Questioning Government & authority at the time and the significance/ importance of the crown

1958 onwards Milton = spent more time on Paradise Lost than defending a regime he no longer
believed in

Charles I

Believed in the ‘Divine right of Kings’ and ruled fairly autonomously but…

Parliament believed that the king had a contractual obligation to the people to rule without tyranny

Parliamentarians = angry that Charles I refused to call a Parliament for majority of 1630’s

Charles I  tried to levy what were considered to be illegal taxes

Tried to take the church in the direction of High Anglicanism = aroused suspicion that he was trying
to revert the country the Catholicism

1649 = EXECUTED for high treason

Milton’s view on Charles I…

Involved in the opposition of King Charles I = developed in the 11 years of Charles’ tyranny

Supported the execution of Charles I  abolishing Kingship = moving back towards the original
freedom of Adam (Milton POV)

 Satan’s defence is that he attacked God to earn his follower’s freedom (like freeing Charles
I’s followers from tyranny through execution)

Oliver Cromwell

1649  Milton appointed Cromwell to position of Secretary for Foreign Tongues = translating
documents into Latin

1653 = became Lord Protector

, 1655  Milton supported the Commonwealth but was becoming privately dissatisfied with it…
Cromwell = did NOT increase men’s freedom  military dictator who curtailed freedom

Succeeded in 1658 by his son Richard

Satan and Cromwell comparable?  meant to be a link made by Milton…

Both gifted BUT flawed leaders = eloquent rebels

Through Satan Milton avoids direct criticism of God

Religion & The Bible

1641 = published ‘Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England’

Career of political prose writing until just before death in 1674

Felt poetry should glorify God & help people become better Christians

Youthful orthodoxy changed to  consider ordination as a priest & theology which characterises his
later writings

Milton’s contemporary readership = would’ve had detailed knowledge of the Bible & respect for
authority of the scriptures

Milton = strong Protestant who emphasised the freedom of the individual  mans fall = could be
seen as fortunate…

Individual human’s chance to redeem themselves by true repentance and faith

Milton saw the ‘Fall’ as leading to corruption of human thinking as well as a breakdown of moral
choices

The fact that man was created free = repeated several times throughout PL

In Areopagitica (1644), Milton defends the freedom of the press, arguing the reader shouldn’t be
over-protected but exposed to both good & evil in what they read fall of A&E maybe not a bad
thing?

Paradise Lost = presents protestant Christian views…

Union of Old & New Testaments

Unworthiness of mankind

Importance of Christs love in man’s salvation

Ideas of good and evil

Influenced by St Augustine  a theologian who documented the fall of Lucifer to become Satan &
identified him with the Serpent of Genesis

St Augustine…

Believed that evil = ‘negative impulse’  an act of the will in preferring itself to God

To be happy as well as good, all creatures should accept their place in the hierarchy…

‘The Chain of Being’

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