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  Home : English : Poetry Study Guides : Paradise Lost : Key Facts
Paradise Lost
  
 
Key Facts
full title  ·  Paradise Lost
author  ·  John Milton
type of work  ·  Poem
genre  ·  Epic
language  ·  English
time and place written  ·  16561674; 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
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