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
