Paradise Lost by John Milton | Book 10 Summary & Analysis

in the opening of book 10 of Paradise Lost all-seeing and omniscient God already knows how Satan perverted Eve and how Eve perverted her husband God didn't intervene because Adam and Eve were fully equipped with strength and free will to resist the wiles of any foe he reassures the guardian angels of paradise that he allowed Satan to sneak in without condoning it he sends his son to Paradise to pronounce God's judgment on Adam and Eve as voluntary ransom and Redeemer a fallen man the son is a sign of God's mercy in Paradise the son calls Adam out of hiding and he and Eve are ashamed and embarrassed by their nakedness the son asks them about eating from the tree of knowledge and Adam admits that while Eve ate at first he did not refuse when she offered it to him the son points out that Adam placed Eve above God obeying his wife rather than divine command Eve says the serpent me beguiled and I did eat and without delay the son condemned serpents to slither on their bellies rather than walk upright the son then renders judgment on Eve to suffer pain and childbirth and to submit to her husband's will and rule Adams judgment is to be forced into agriculture and to toil to grow food out of cursed ground after delivering these sentences the son takes pity on them and gives them clothes meanwhile sin and death have built a bridge from hell to Earth and they meet Satan at the edge of paradise Satan's delighted and he sends sin and death to spread their bane and infect the earth Satan returns to pandemonium boasting of his success but instead of applause he here's a great pitch as the Sun transforms them all into serpents the forbidden tree appears and how but when they greedily devour the fruit it turns to dust God sees the devastation on earth of sin and death and he foretells the final victory of his son and the renewing of all things God then commands his angels to change earth to reflect the fall of mankind making its weather less pleasant and creating discord among animals and man Adam and Eve come more and more to understand their fallen condition they argue but ultimately agree to stop fighting about who's at fault they both confess beg pardon and humble themselves before God this book and the just merciful judgment of God is the culmination of milton's stated intention to justify the ways of God to man God's removal of the stairway to heaven exemplifies the changes that reflect the fall of man rather than connected to heaven the earth is now bridged to hell use forced subjugation to Adam also reflects a situational irony where she hoped to be his equal she is now doomed forever to be subordinate to his will you

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Keywords: short summary, quick analysis, summarized poetry (literary genre), paradise lost (book), john milton (author)

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Length: 3min 26sec (206 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 28 2018