聊城大学外国语学院英国文学史与选读课件 Milton.ppt

John Milton (1608-1674) the greatest poet of the 17th century author of Paradise Lost John Milton (1608-1674) Life: 1. one of the most learned of all English poets; 2. an independent, even rebellious nature 3. a staunch puritan, a fighter for religious and political freedom; “spokesman of the revolution”; Literary achievements : 1.the early lyrics: Lycidas (an elegy), Comus (a masque) 2.the middle pamphlets: Areopagitica , Defense for the English People; 3. the late epics: Paradise Lost( the greatest epic in English since Beowulf), Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes ( a verse drama) Epic----- a long narrative poem telling about the great deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of the society from which it originated; Homer: Iliad , Odyssey Dante: Divine Comedy Beowulf , Paradise Lost Paradise Lost Source: Genesis of the Bible Structure: 12 books Style: grand epic after the classic model of Homer and Virgil, in blank verse; Paradise Lost The story: the creation, the rebellion in Heaven of Satan and his fellow angles, the defeat and expulsion, the creation of earth and of Adam and Eve, Satan’s temptation of Eve, and the departure of man from Heaven. Paradise Lost Theme: The purpose is to “Justify the ways of God to Men,” (向世人昭示天理之公道）i.e. to show that the fall, death, and salvation are all acts of a just God. God has a divine plan for mankind. Paradise Lost Theme: Man is fallen, yet his fall is the precondition to human life. Adam and Eve committed sin, but they made the happy fault, which is justified for their aspiration for knowledge. Adam sins out of loyalty to his wife. So the subject of the epic is not only the fall but also the transgressor’s discovery and acceptance of their new mortal status. The character of Satan At the outset of the epic, Satan is depicted as a rebel and plotter, the spirit of evil. Yet Milton was in deep sympathy with Satan, for he was a rebel too, challenging alike the authority of King and Churc