for

Paradise Lost, Book I

By John Milton

John Milton Background

Intent to be a Poet

At 21 Years of Age

School

Milton attended Christ College in Cambridge

30 Years OldWhen John Milton

was about 30 years old he left his father’s estate and traveled to Italy to meet artists, scholars, philosophers, and scientists whose works he had been studying.

For Twenty YearsMilton neglected his

poetry because during the Civil Wars in England he wrote pamphlets on behalf of Parliament. After the wars, he served as Latin Secretary to the State Council for the Puritan Commonwealth.

TragediesDeaths of his first

two wivesThe deaths of all but

three of his childrenAt the age of forty-

four the loss his eyesight

1660Milton was free to

devote himself to writing the epic poem he had planned so many years earlier.

ArrestedWhen the Puritan

government was dissolved and King Charles II ascended the throne, Milton was arrested as a traitor.

Influential friends managed to save him from probable hanging, but he was forced to retire and pay heavy fines that left him nearly penniless.

Before Milton’s DeathIn the years before

his death, he dictated to his daughters not just one epic masterpiece, but two: Paradise Lost and its sequel, Paradise Regained.

SonnetsMilton wrote twenty-

four sonnets between 1630 and 1658.

The epic is a long narrative poem that tells the story of a hero and reflects the values of a culture. For seventeenth-century English writers, the ancient Greek and Roman epic poets, such as Homer, set the standard for literary greatness.

Epic Poetry

AgeMilton was blind and around 53 years old when he first began composing his 10,565 line epic poem Paradise Lost.

What is Paradise Lost about?

Blank VerseBlank verse, or

unrhymed iambic pentameter, is one of the simplest forms, in that each line is essentially a new stanza. Shakespeare used blank verse for the poetry in his plays (although not for his sonnets, which were rhymed).

Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter is five iambs per line, which is a metrical foot in verse in which an unaccented syllable is followed by an accented one, as in “a-rouse” and “a-cat.” The meter of Paradise Lost (1667) is a form so flexible and natural that even among the verse experiments of the modernist period it remains a favored structure. (Handbook of Literary

Terms: Second Edition)

Felt about RhymeMilton thought it was unnecessary.

1600-1642Paradise Lost was

written as the dust was settling after years of war and turmoil. From 1642 to 1660, the government of England went from a monarchy to a commonwealth (rule by Parliament) to a protectorate (rule by one man, Oliver Cromwell) to a monarchy.

Two Decade PeriodDuring this two

decade period, no matter which side a person was on, he or she experienced both defeat and triumph. Milton sensed the nation needed an anchor, a literary work that would once again help define and unite a culture.

God’s ReasonMilton’s explanation of God’s reason for allowing suffering in the world, and the dark, proud figure of the rebel Satan pitted against God in civil war, must have led readers to reflect on England’s own civil war.

Bradley Cooper - SATAN

Beezlebub, Archangel SammuelRufus Sewell

Gabriel (Casey Affleck)

Archangel Michael (Benjamin Walker)

Adam (Diego Bonita) Eve (Camilla Belle)

Abdiel (Djimon Hounsou) Raphael (Sam Redi)

URIEL (Callan McAuliffe)

for

Paradise Lost, Book I

By John Milton

Literary Terms

Point of ViewThe point from

which the story is told. Usually the narrator, character or outside observer who tells the story.

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First Person Point of View

When a character in the story tells the story.

Example: When “I” or “Me” is used in a story or movie to tell the story.

http://www.worth1000.com/entries/42000/42129AFhe_w.jpg

Third Person Limited Point of View

The narration does not use “I” or “me”. Only he/she/it.

The narrator focuses on the thoughts and feelings of just one character.

http://www.3d-screensaver-downloads.com/images/harry-potter-screensaver/big3.jpg

Third Person Omniscient Point of View

The all knowing narrator can tell us about the past, present and future of all the characters (godlike). http://landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/God.creating.stars.jpeg

NarratorThe person that is

telling the story.

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The time and place of a literary work.Example: The setting for “The

Cask of Amontillado” is “Early evening in an Italian city during a carnival immediately preceding Lent.”  

Setting

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ThemeA central message of

a literary work. It is a generalization about people or about life that is communicated through the literary work. Readers think about what the work seems to say about the nature of people or about life.

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http://victoryatseaonline.com/war/otherwars/images/patriot.gif

Character

A person or an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work. Characters are sometimes classified as round or flat, dynamic or static.

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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.numberonestars.com/movies/images2/cars.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2006/cars.htm&h=829&w=560&sz=96&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=Y6EU5SvonuLBTM:&tbnh=144&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCars%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%26sa%3DG

Dynamic Character

This character develops and grows during the course of the story.

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Round Character

This character shows many different traits--faults as well as virtues.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/malcolm/gallery/images/340/malcolm4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/malcolm/gallery/season3/malcolm4.shtml&h=255&w=340&sz=10&hl=en&start=16&tbnid=XhkiSujuGSyOkM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=119&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmalcom%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bmiddle%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%26sa%3DG

Static Character

This character does not change much in the story.

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Flat CharacterHas only one or two traits.

http://www.darrenfrodsham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/batman.jpghttp://members.tripod.com/~film_circle/rushhour.jpg

Stock CharacterA stereotypical character that occurs

frequently in literature. Examples are the mad scientist, the battle-

scarred veteran, and the strong silent cowboy.

Protagonist

The main character in a literary work.

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Antagonist

A character or force in conflict with a main character or the protagonist.

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Plot

The sequence of events in a literary work.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/toolkits/images/TMP_plotdiagram_large.jpg

Is a writing or speech that explains a process or presents information. In the plot of a story or drama, the exposition is the part of the work that introduces the characters, the setting, and the basic situation.

Exposition

Exposition

All the events leading up to the climax.

Rising Action

Rising Acti

on

The conflict reaches a high point of interest or suspense.

Climax

Climax

Follows the climax and leads to a resolution.

Falling Action

Falling

Action

The end of the central conflict.

Resolution

Resolution

ConflictA struggle

between opposing forces, usually it will form the basis of stories, novels, and plays.

http://www.warnerbros.co.uk/movies/troy/img/troy_main.jpg

Internal Conflict

Involves a character in conflict with himself or herself.

http://www.sfrevu.com/ISSUES/2002/0201/Film%20-%20A%20Beautiful%20Mind/beautiful%20mind.jpg

External ConflictThe main character

struggles with an outside force. Usually the outside force consists of:man vs. manman vs. natureman vs. societyman vs.

supernatural (God or gods)

Man vs. Man

http://www.talithamackenzie.com/pics/biog/troy.jpg

Man vs. Nature

http://www.canadian-titanic-society.com/book_cover.jpg

Man vs. Supernatural

http://www.kidsclick.com/images/hercules_action.jpg

Man vs. Society

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Terms and Definitions

A word choice intended to convey a certain effect.

Example: “It was easy to use that laptop” or “It was effortless using that laptop”

Diction

AllusionA reference to a well-known person, place,

event, literary work, or work of art.

http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/7050000/7053060.jpg

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/b/b1/350px-Da_Vinci_The_last_supper_detail_Da_Vinci_code.jpg

http://www.sonypictures.de/landing/the-da-vinci-code/images/img_1.jpg

The epic is a long narrative poem that tells the story of a hero and reflects the values of a culture. For seventeenth-century English writers, the ancient Greek and Roman epic poets, such as Homer, set the standard for literary greatness.

Epic Poetry

The HeroCharacter Archetype

In its simplest form, this character is the one ultimately who may fulfill a necessary task and who will restore fertility, harmony, and/or justice to a community. Often he/she will embody characteristics of Young Person from the Provinces, Initiate, Innate Wisdom, Pupil and Son.

Blank VerseBlank verse, or

unrhymed iambic pentameter, is one of the simplest forms, in that each line is essentially a new stanza. Shakespeare used blank verse for the poetry in his plays (although not for his sonnets, which were rhymed).

Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter is five iambs per line, which is a metrical foot in verse in which an unaccented syllable is followed by an accented one, as in “a-rouse” and “a-cat.” The meter of Paradise Lost (1667) is a form so flexible and natural that even among the verse experiments of the modernist period it remains a favored structure. (Handbook of Literary

Terms: Second Edition)

Media Res In medias res or

medias in res (into the middle of things) is a Latin phrase denoting the literary and artistic narrative technique wherein the relation of a story begins either at the mid-point or at the conclusion, rather than at the beginning, establishing setting, character, and conflict via flashback and expository conversations relating the pertinent past

Irony

The general term for literary techniques that portray differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention.

Implies a twist. http://kilby.sac.on.ca/towerslibrary/pages/users/DVD%20-%20Romeo%20&%20Juliet%20(Hollywood).jpg

Verbal Irony

Words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant.

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Dramatic Irony

There is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true. http://www.sunnews.com/images/2003/0821/jasonRGB.jpg

Situational IronyAn event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience.http://www.d8a.co.uk/vcd/Planet-of-the-apes.jpg

APPOSITIVE

An appositive is a noun or pronoun that is placed next to another noun or pronoun to identify it or give additional information about it.Example: My brother Frank has red hair. (Frank identifies brother.)

APPOSITIVE PhraseAn appositive phrase is an appositive

plus any words that modify it. Commas should be used to set off an appositive or appositive phrase that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.Example: Mrs. Robinson, a woman of

humble origins, now owns a large retail chain. (A woman of humble origins gives additional information about Mrs. Robinson. It is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.)

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

They can be switched, but needs a comma if the dependent clause comes first.

A dependent clause is preceded by subordinators such as: because, since, although, when, or after or a relative pronoun such as: who, which, or that.Example, “Great literature, which stirs

the imagination, also challenges the intellect.”

Complex Sentence

directly addressing an imaginary person, place, thing, or abstraction, either living, dead or absent from the work. Example: Ophelia, in Hamlet, says, “O, heavenly powers, restore him.”

Apostrophe

Hyperbole

Is an extreme exaggeration. Example: I have so

much money, I am burning a hole in my pocket

If I told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else.

Example:“Time is a monster that

cannot be reasoned with”

http://www.alyon.org/generale/theatre/cinema/affiches_cinema/s/seu-smo/simon_birch.jpg

Personification

Inanimate objects have human characteristics.“The wind cried in

the dark.”“The leaves were

dancing in the trees.” To Kill a Mockingbird

Simile

A figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike ideas. Example: Claire is as

flighty as a sparrow.

http://www.abcteach.com/circus/images/simile10.gif

Symbol(ism)

Anything that stands for or represents something else. An object that serves as a symbol has its own meaning, but also represents abstract ideas.

http://wynn.house.gov/images/American%20Flag.gif

http://www.homeschooloasis.com/wedding_rings2.jpg

A word that contains a set of ideas associated with it in addition to its explicit meaning. Based on the word, it can be personal and/or based on individual experiences.

Example: “My bad” or “Sorry” “House” or “Home”

Connotation

Tone

The writer or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, character, or audience, and it is conveyed through the author’s choice of words and detail. Tone can be formal or informal, serious or playful, bitter or ironic, indignant, objective, etc.

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Foreshadowing

The use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur (future action). Use of this technique helps to create suspense, keeping readers wondering and speculating about what will happen next.

http://www.hyperborea.org/journal/images/foreshadowing.jpg

ImageryThe descriptive or

figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader. These pictures or images, are created by details of sight (visual) – p. 678, sound (auditory), taste (gustatory), touch (tactile), smell (olfactory), movement (kinesthetic), or internal (organic).

http://www.thailandtradenet.com/photos/catalog/bedroom/chinese-bed.jpg

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