full title  ·  Paradise Lost

author  ·  John Milton

type of work  ·  Poem

genre  ·  Epic

language  ·  English

time and place written  ·  1656–1674; England

date of first publication  ·  First Edition (ten books), 1667; Second Edition (twelve books), 1674

publisher  ·  S. Simmons, England

narrator  ·  Milton

point of view  ·  Third person

tone  ·  Lofty; formal; tragic

tense  ·  Present

setting (time)  ·  Before the beginning of time

setting (place)  ·  Hell, Chaos and Night, Heaven, Earth (Paradise, the Garden of Eden)

protagonist  ·  Adam and Eve

major conflict  ·  Satan, already damned to Hell, undertakes to corrupt God’s new, beloved creation, humankind.

rising action  ·  The angels battle in Heaven; Satan and the rebel angels fall to Hell; God creates the universe; Satan plots to corrupt God’s human creation; God creates Eve to be Adam’s companion; Raphael answers Adam’s questions and warns him of Satan

climax  ·  Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

falling action  ·  The Son inflicts punishment; Adam and Eve repent; Adam learns about the future of man

themes  ·  The Importance of Obedience to God; The Hierarchical Nature of the Universe; The Fall as Partly Fortunate

motifs  ·  Light and Dark; The Geography of the Universe; Conversation and Contemplation

symbols  ·  The Scales in the Sky; Adam’s wreath

foreshadowing  ·  Eve’s vanity at seeing her reflection in the lake; Satan’s transformation into a snake and his final punishment