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
