Human Truths and Encouragement for Change in John Milton's Paradise Lost

As a female college student reading Paradise Lost in 2008, I suspect a great divide exists between myself and Milton, a blind poet who published his masterpiece in 1667. However, Milton's understanding of basic truths about humanity and the human mind triumphs boundaries of time and culture. Milton's Paradise Lost contains incredibly accurate and precise portrayals of humanity. Milton focuses on deep truths that still connect us innately and involve us instantly with the poem. Milton's intention in writing Paradise Lost was to justify the ways of God to men. Incidentally, he also captured basic and deep human, moral, and spiritual verities. Through the lens of religion, Milton educates us about the workings of our own minds and urges the reader to change.

Yes, Paradise Lost is a heavily religious poem. But even for the non-religious and the secular, Paradise Lost is essential. The Christian values encouraged in Paradise Lost are not damning. Milton champions a centrifugal attitude, an approach of reaching into others rather than recoiling into oneself. Paradise Lost inspires readers to be humanitarian and unselfish. This is not only applied to Christianity, but to all people, and all modes of living. This paper is structured in the same way that my mind originally responded to Paradise Lost. I experienced a heartfelt attraction to Satan and a judgmental reaction against God, like an angry teen who rebels against her parents. Then came a consideration of my own centripetal nature in relation to my original reactions. Finally, my mind wanders back to Milton's depiction of unfallen Adam and Eve as a profound example of the love and humility we should all strive for.