Milton and the Republican Politics of Paradise Lost

Key Question Being Explored in This Insight:

How can Paradise Lost be seen as a statement on republican ideals? Frank Lovett argues that rather than contradicting his political views, Paradise Lost aligns with Milton’s earlier writings by depicting monarchy and artificial hierarchies as evil, as they violate the natural right to freedom and equality.

View the page of: Frank Lovett

Institution: Washington University in St Louis

Explore more insights in:

Political Philosophy Political Science Social Sciences

Media Literacy Toolkit

Faculti's Media Literacy Toolkit helps viewers critically engage with academic insights by analyzing the research context, identifying perspectives, and encouraging thoughtful evaluation.

Critical Questions to Consider ▼

What assumptions does the research make?
Are there alternative perspectives not explored?
What are the limitations of the research method?

Bias and Perspective Awareness ▼

This research comes from Washington University in St Louis . Reflect on how the institution's academic focus and research partnerships may shape the questions being explored.

Further Reading ▼

Read the Study

How can Paradise Lost be seen as a statement on republican ideals? Frank Lovett argues that rather than contradicting his political views, Paradise Lost aligns with Milton’s earlier writings by depicting monarchy and artificial hierarchies as evil, as they violate the natural right to freedom and equality.

Image courtesy of interviewee. October 24, 2024

Log-in or Sign-up to Faculti
Currently viewing this subject insight as a guest. You have insight(s) remaining for this month. Login to view 8000+ figures on the platform.

Generating Workspace...

Export as PDF

This video video discusses the interpretation of John Milton's "Paradise Lost," particularly focusing on the character of Satan and the poem's underlying political themes. The speaker, a historian of political ideas rather than a literary scholar, argues that Milton, known for his Republican political writings, embeds these ideas within the poem.

Satan's character is presented as not only sympathetic but also reflective of Republican ideals, which parallels Milton's own anti-monarchical views. This video video relationship complicates traditional interpretations of the text that view Satan solely as a villain. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding "Paradise Lost" within its historical context, where early readers would have recognized Milton's political stance.

Furthermore, the text highlights that both Satan and Eve's rebellion stems from their resentment against the artificial hierarchy imposed by God, promoting a message against unjust political institutions. The speaker challenges the notion that Milton turned away from politics late in life, arguing instead that "Paradise Lost" continues his earlier political arguments.

The initial lukewarm reception of "Paradise Lost" compared to John Dryden's adaptation, which omits the political elements, illustrates how the poem was perceived in Restoration England. The speaker suggests that the political implications of "Paradise Lost" became more appreciated as time passed and political tensions eased. Overall, the text underscores the intricate relationship between Milton's literature and his political philosophy.

Language:

Export as PDF

Export as PDF
Here are five key points from the video regarding Milton's "Paradise Lost" and the connection to his political writings:

1. **Satan as a Sympathetic Character**: The video discusses how the character of Satan in "Paradise Lost" is presented in a sympathetic light, which is noteworthy given Milton's reputation as a political writer. The author points out that Satan's character employs Republican language, suggesting deeper political parallels between Satan's rebellion and Milton's anti-monarchical sentiments.

2. **Milton's Republican Ideals**: The author emphasizes that Milton's political beliefs, which favored a self-governing republic rather than monarchy, significantly influence the interpretation of "Paradise Lost." Both Satan and Eve, in their rebellion against God, reflect Milton's ideas about hierarchy and injustice, portraying a clear critique of hierarchical political structures similar to monarchy.

3. **Convideoual Reading**: The author argues for an intellectual historical approach to Milton's work, stressing the importance of understanding the political and social convideo in which "Paradise Lost" was written. This convideo was crucial for Milton’s contemporaneous readers, who were aware of his controversial political ideas expressed in pamphlets and writings.

4. **Continuity of Political Thought**: Contrary to the view that Milton shifted away from political writing to poetry due to disillusionment, the author contends that "Paradise Lost" is a continuation of Milton's earlier political writings. The themes of rebellion and equality in the poem echo his political arguments against monarchy, rather than depicting a change in his convictions.

5. **Initial Reception and Adaptation**: The video notes that "Paradise Lost" had a muted initial reception compared to John Dryden's adaptation, "The State of Innocence," which omitted the political arguments present in Milton's original work. This may explain why Dryden's version was initially more popular; it presented a more palatable narrative for Restoration England, free from the challenging political implications Milton included.

Export as PDF
Here are some key quotes extracted from your video discussing John Milton and "Paradise Lost":

1. **Character of Satan**: “...one of the most famous, or maybe I should say, notorious, aspects of the poem, is that the most interesting character in the poem, is the character of Satan.”

2. **Milton's Political Ideology**: “Milton was a known, in his own day as a famous, political notorious political writer. He was considered a Republican, which in the convideo meant that he was against monarchy.”

3. **Connection between Satan and Republicanism**: “It’s not simply that Satan is a potentially sympathetic character, but he actually seems to be a Republican, which is what Milton's own political position was.”

4. **Interpretive Challenges**: “...the portrayal of Satan and Milton's political ideas...the few people who have noticed this particular problem have really struggled to address it.”

5. **Intellectual History Approach**: “...I think it’s really important to read a video, in full appreciation of the convideo in which it was written and published.”

6. **Initial Readers’ Understanding**: “The initial readers of Paradise Lost would've had a very clear understanding of his politics.”

7. **Republican Argument in the Narrative**: “...there is actually a Republican argument inherent in the story, the narrative itself...both Satan and Eve in Paradise Lost...rebel against God for the same reason.”

8. **Eve's Rebellion**: “...the poem is quite explicit about the fact that her sin is a product of her having been relegated to an inferior position in an artificial hierarchy.”

9. **Political Institutions and Legitimacy**: “...political institutions like monarchy that are hierarchical, are unjust and illegitimate...”

10. **Continuation of Political Ideas**: “Paradise Lost is a continuation rather than a withdrawal from politics...he is now presenting those arguments in a different form.”

11. **Initial Reception of Paradise Lost**: “The one curious thing about Paradise Lost, is that its initial reception was a little lukewarm...”

12. **Comparison with Dryden’s Adaptation**: “...he takes out all of the Republican political arguments in Paradise Lost...which is basically the same story, minus the political argument, was more acceptable.”

These quotes encapsulate the major themes in the analysis, including the complexity of interpreting Milton’s "Paradise Lost" through the lens of his political beliefs, the character of Satan, and the poem's initial reception.

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:90000

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.885
Course is one of the most famous, contributions

2
00:00:02.905 --> 00:00:04.005
to English literature.

3
00:00:04.545 --> 00:00:07.365
Um, and one of the most famous,

4
00:00:07.625 --> 00:00:11.525
or maybe I should say, notorious, aspects of the poem,

5
00:00:12.105 --> 00:00:15.125
is that the most interesting character in the poem,

6
00:00:15.225 --> 00:00:18.365
is the character of Satan Lake, famously equipped that,

7
00:00:18.425 --> 00:00:21.085
Milton is of the Devil's party, but doesn't know it.

8
00:00:21.545 --> 00:00:25.605
Um, and a lot of the interpretive debate around Milton

9
00:00:25.605 --> 00:00:29.565
and Paradise Lost in particular, has,

10
00:00:29.565 --> 00:00:32.605
focused on this sort of problematic aspect of the text.

11
00:00:33.265 --> 00:00:36.325
Um, but I am coming at Milton from

12
00:00:36.365 --> 00:00:37.525
a somewhat different point of view.

13
00:00:37.625 --> 00:00:39.005
I'm not a literary scholar.

14
00:00:39.185 --> 00:00:41.445
I'm a a historian of political ideas.

15
00:00:42.305 --> 00:00:45.445
Um, and so I'm coming at approaching Milton

16
00:00:45.445 --> 00:00:46.645
through his political writings.

17
00:00:46.825 --> 00:00:51.485
Um, and Milton was a known, in his own day as a a,

18
00:00:51.645 --> 00:00:54.485
a famous, political notorious political writer.

19
00:00:55.265 --> 00:00:57.445
He was considered a Republican,

20
00:00:57.455 --> 00:01:00.405
which in the context meant that he was against monarchy.

21
00:01:00.425 --> 00:01:03.885
He thought England should be a self-governing, republic,

22
00:01:03.985 --> 00:01:05.685
or as they said then a commonwealth.

23
00:01:05.985 --> 00:01:10.445
If you are, immersed in Milton's political writings,

24
00:01:10.505 --> 00:01:12.725
and are familiar with his Republican ideas,

25
00:01:13.505 --> 00:01:16.645
and then look at Paradise lost, the thing

26
00:01:16.645 --> 00:01:20.005
that immediately strikes you, as quite extraordinary,

27
00:01:20.425 --> 00:01:24.325
is that, it's not merely that, that,

28
00:01:24.455 --> 00:01:26.325
Satan is a sympathetic character.

29
00:01:26.505 --> 00:01:28.245
Uh, lots of people. There's lots

30
00:01:28.245 --> 00:01:30.125
of cases in literature of sympathetic villains.

31
00:01:30.125 --> 00:01:32.205
It's a sort of classic trope actually.

32
00:01:32.985 --> 00:01:35.565
Um, but what's more remarkable is that much of

33
00:01:35.565 --> 00:01:37.685
what Satan says and his allies say,

34
00:01:38.225 --> 00:01:41.245
is actually in Republican language, very similar

35
00:01:41.385 --> 00:01:44.405
to the political language Milton himself had used earlier.

36
00:01:45.145 --> 00:01:46.925
Um, and so that presents,

37
00:01:46.925 --> 00:01:49.045
that changes the puzzle quite dramatically.

38
00:01:49.045 --> 00:01:51.205
It's not simply that Satan is a,

39
00:01:51.275 --> 00:01:53.005
potentially sympathetic character,

40
00:01:53.025 --> 00:01:55.605
but he actually seems to be a Republican, which is

41
00:01:55.605 --> 00:01:57.565
what Mill's own political position was.

42
00:01:58.305 --> 00:02:01.165
Um, and that raises a whole host of,

43
00:02:01.485 --> 00:02:03.645
challenges in interpreting, interpreting the ply,

44
00:02:03.745 --> 00:02:04.885
interpreting the poem.

45
00:02:05.145 --> 00:02:07.125
Milton has been studied by literary scholars

46
00:02:07.125 --> 00:02:09.285
who are less familiar with his political writings.

47
00:02:09.985 --> 00:02:13.685
Um, and so not being familiar with, Republican ideas.

48
00:02:14.465 --> 00:02:17.765
Um, you know, they're reading the text simply as a,

49
00:02:17.805 --> 00:02:18.885
a literary artifact.

50
00:02:19.105 --> 00:02:21.845
Um, and so many of them have simply not noticed

51
00:02:22.505 --> 00:02:25.805
the connection between, the portrayal of Satan and,

52
00:02:25.825 --> 00:02:27.445
and Milton's political ideas.

53
00:02:28.145 --> 00:02:31.445
Um, so there are exceptions to that.

54
00:02:31.505 --> 00:02:34.165
And so the few people have noticed this particular problem

55
00:02:35.145 --> 00:02:36.875
have really struggled to address it.

56
00:02:37.015 --> 00:02:40.795
And the the typical, approach is to try

57
00:02:40.795 --> 00:02:42.915
to explain it away in some way or other.

58
00:02:43.295 --> 00:02:45.715
Um, and often that's by resort to some sort

59
00:02:45.715 --> 00:02:47.715
of esoteric reading of the play.

60
00:02:48.215 --> 00:02:51.315
Uh, so you try, they try to read between the lines

61
00:02:51.415 --> 00:02:52.595
and they try and, and,

62
00:02:52.615 --> 00:02:56.195
and come up with a, a sort of symbolic interpretation.

63
00:02:56.695 --> 00:02:58.715
For example, you know, the people

64
00:02:58.715 --> 00:03:02.485
Have tried to suggest that the play is supposed to be a,

65
00:03:02.605 --> 00:03:03.645
a warning to its reader.

66
00:03:03.705 --> 00:03:06.165
So you read it, you sympathize with Satan,

67
00:03:06.165 --> 00:03:08.205
and then sort of realize that, I need

68
00:03:08.205 --> 00:03:09.925
to be on guard against the dangers

69
00:03:09.925 --> 00:03:11.405
of political rhetoric or something like that.

70
00:03:11.545 --> 00:03:13.045
You know, those readings are,

71
00:03:13.045 --> 00:03:14.325
can be interesting in their own right,

72
00:03:14.745 --> 00:03:16.645
but, you know, essentially what they're trying

73
00:03:16.645 --> 00:03:19.045
to do is explain away the problem,

74
00:03:19.185 --> 00:03:22.285
or avoid the problem through a very complicated,

75
00:03:22.805 --> 00:03:25.645
symbolic, metaphorical esoteric reading of the text.

76
00:03:25.985 --> 00:03:28.485
I'm approaching Milton from the point of view

77
00:03:28.485 --> 00:03:30.205
of intellectual history,

78
00:03:30.985 --> 00:03:32.925
and as an intellectual historian, I think

79
00:03:32.925 --> 00:03:34.085
that there are certain ways that you

80
00:03:34.085 --> 00:03:35.205
ought to approach texts.

81
00:03:35.205 --> 00:03:37.565
And particular, I think it's really important to,

82
00:03:37.595 --> 00:03:40.565
read a text, in full appreciation

83
00:03:40.565 --> 00:03:43.245
of the context in which it was written and published.

84
00:03:43.785 --> 00:03:45.965
Um, and so that means, in particular,

85
00:03:46.315 --> 00:03:49.085
immersing yourself in the literature of the time period

86
00:03:49.425 --> 00:03:52.285
and trying to understand how his immediate readers,

87
00:03:52.345 --> 00:03:53.725
the people he, you know, was,

88
00:03:53.905 --> 00:03:56.365
had in mind when he was writing,

89
00:03:56.745 --> 00:03:58.885
how they would've encountered the book, knowing

90
00:03:58.915 --> 00:04:00.125
what they knew at the time,

91
00:04:00.225 --> 00:04:02.285
and understanding the way, what the sort

92
00:04:02.285 --> 00:04:03.605
of discourse was like at that time.

93
00:04:05.065 --> 00:04:08.285
Um, and so from the point of view of his immediate readers,

94
00:04:08.665 --> 00:04:11.245
they would've had a very firm

95
00:04:11.385 --> 00:04:13.205
and clear idea of his politics.

96
00:04:13.525 --> 00:04:15.085
'cause he was quite, he was not an

97
00:04:15.085 --> 00:04:16.405
obscure figure by any means.

98
00:04:16.465 --> 00:04:19.205
He wrote many, many, political pamphlets.

99
00:04:19.225 --> 00:04:21.885
He was, his ideas were considered very

100
00:04:21.885 --> 00:04:23.245
controversial and very public.

101
00:04:23.745 --> 00:04:25.765
Um, and so the initial readers

102
00:04:25.765 --> 00:04:27.645
of Paradise Loss would've had a very clear

103
00:04:27.645 --> 00:04:29.005
understanding of his politics.

104
00:04:29.465 --> 00:04:32.365
And so the thing that struck me in reading Paradise last

105
00:04:32.365 --> 00:04:33.645
almost certainly would've struck

106
00:04:33.645 --> 00:04:35.245
them, right off the bat.

107
00:04:35.245 --> 00:04:38.005
And so I think in, in trying to understand it from the point

108
00:04:38.005 --> 00:04:39.805
of view of intellectual history, it's very important

109
00:04:39.805 --> 00:04:42.325
to understand the context in which it was written

110
00:04:42.345 --> 00:04:44.405
and approach it from that point of view.

111
00:04:45.065 --> 00:04:47.885
Um, and I should say, I should stress again that, you know,

112
00:04:47.885 --> 00:04:50.285
that's not the only way to read a book,

113
00:04:50.395 --> 00:04:52.125
depending on what your aims are.

114
00:04:52.745 --> 00:04:56.325
Um, texts often escape the purposes of their authors

115
00:04:56.325 --> 00:04:58.645
and can mean things to us that they may not have met

116
00:04:58.785 --> 00:05:01.045
to their, the writer of that, that text.

117
00:05:01.145 --> 00:05:02.165
And that's, that's fine,

118
00:05:02.165 --> 00:05:04.565
and that could be a very enriching way of reading a book.

119
00:05:04.585 --> 00:05:06.085
But from the point of view of intellectual history,

120
00:05:06.145 --> 00:05:08.685
I'm mainly interested in what Miling was attempting to do

121
00:05:08.925 --> 00:05:11.125
and what he was attempting to say,

122
00:05:11.345 --> 00:05:13.085
and what his immediate audience

123
00:05:13.615 --> 00:05:16.765
would have heard on reading Paradise Loss in the

124
00:05:16.765 --> 00:05:17.885
context in which it was written.

125
00:05:17.985 --> 00:05:21.005
So the, you know, the 1660s roughly, when you start

126
00:05:21.005 --> 00:05:24.445
to really examine Paradise loss carefully, one,

127
00:05:24.475 --> 00:05:27.565
what you also notice is that the Republican,

128
00:05:27.985 --> 00:05:31.725
the Republicanism expressed in the book is not confined

129
00:05:31.865 --> 00:05:33.325
to Satan's speeches.

130
00:05:34.185 --> 00:05:36.805
Um, and this is sort of the Achilles heel of attempts

131
00:05:36.805 --> 00:05:38.885
to interpret it as simply a warning about the

132
00:05:38.885 --> 00:05:40.205
dangers of rhetoric or something.

133
00:05:40.785 --> 00:05:44.045
Um, I think that there is actually a Republican argument

134
00:05:44.725 --> 00:05:47.285
inherent in the story, the narrative itself.

135
00:05:47.865 --> 00:05:51.205
Um, and that argument is consistent with what Satan

136
00:05:51.205 --> 00:05:52.885
and his Confederates actually say

137
00:05:53.025 --> 00:05:55.285
and is consistent with what Republican views,

138
00:05:55.285 --> 00:05:56.645
including Milton's own views

139
00:05:57.285 --> 00:05:58.285
Actually were.

140
00:05:58.385 --> 00:06:00.245
Um, and so that, I think that's very important

141
00:06:00.245 --> 00:06:02.205
to understand this sort of unity across those

142
00:06:02.205 --> 00:06:03.765
three, those three things.

143
00:06:04.465 --> 00:06:06.755
Um, so the central point

144
00:06:07.015 --> 00:06:11.275
or the central argument, is that both Satan

145
00:06:11.415 --> 00:06:15.275
and Eve in Paradise Loss, they both rebel against God

146
00:06:15.435 --> 00:06:17.635
and they rebel against God for the same reason.

147
00:06:18.775 --> 00:06:22.875
In both cases, they've been,

148
00:06:22.935 --> 00:06:25.555
an artificial hierarchy has been introduced by God,

149
00:06:25.855 --> 00:06:27.275
and they've been reg relegated

150
00:06:27.275 --> 00:06:29.315
to an inferior position in that hierarchy.

151
00:06:29.695 --> 00:06:34.315
And, and both of them, instinctively rebel against

152
00:06:34.315 --> 00:06:36.415
that, resent it.

153
00:06:36.995 --> 00:06:41.855
Um, so it's true that, that Eve, eats

154
00:06:41.855 --> 00:06:44.815
of the Apple and the famous sort of, scene from,

155
00:06:44.885 --> 00:06:47.095
from Genesis, and she, does it be partly

156
00:06:47.095 --> 00:06:48.775
because she's being tempted by Satan.

157
00:06:48.775 --> 00:06:52.055
But the really striking thing is that she is, he is able

158
00:06:52.055 --> 00:06:54.015
to tempt her precisely

159
00:06:54.015 --> 00:06:56.975
because she's already resentful,

160
00:06:57.145 --> 00:06:59.615
about the inferior station in which she's been placed.

161
00:07:00.355 --> 00:07:05.095
Um, and he exploits that quite explicitly,

162
00:07:05.815 --> 00:07:07.895
encouraging her in the thought that if she eats from the

163
00:07:07.895 --> 00:07:10.295
Apple, from the Tree of Knowledge,

164
00:07:10.805 --> 00:07:13.695
that she might actually be able to become more equal

165
00:07:13.695 --> 00:07:16.135
with Adam, her husband, you know, her husband,

166
00:07:16.355 --> 00:07:17.415
in, in Paradise.

167
00:07:17.555 --> 00:07:20.215
So not only does he tempter with that particular line

168
00:07:20.215 --> 00:07:23.455
of argument, it's after the fact when she explains

169
00:07:23.555 --> 00:07:25.015
or reflects on what she did,

170
00:07:25.015 --> 00:07:26.455
that's the language she uses too.

171
00:07:26.475 --> 00:07:29.815
So the, the poem is quite explicit about the fact,

172
00:07:30.725 --> 00:07:34.695
that her sin is a product of,

173
00:07:35.125 --> 00:07:36.615
herb having been relegated

174
00:07:36.615 --> 00:07:39.215
to an inferior position in an artificial hierarchy.

175
00:07:39.345 --> 00:07:42.015
Satan rebel's initially against God for the same reason.

176
00:07:42.635 --> 00:07:45.215
Um, you know, the text doesn't spend as much time on that,

177
00:07:45.215 --> 00:07:48.495
but there are, flashback scenes that, that discuss

178
00:07:49.155 --> 00:07:52.815
the re rebellion of the, of the angels in the distant past.

179
00:07:53.355 --> 00:07:56.055
And there too, it's pretty clear that,

180
00:07:56.715 --> 00:07:59.935
God introduced a new artificial hierarchy,

181
00:08:00.155 --> 00:08:02.935
placed Satan in a lower position in that hierarchy.

182
00:08:03.155 --> 00:08:05.695
Um, and Satan objected

183
00:08:05.695 --> 00:08:08.615
and rebelled against it, as did his Confederates.

184
00:08:08.755 --> 00:08:10.815
The overall message is quite straightforward,

185
00:08:10.915 --> 00:08:13.935
and it's a very much a, a classic Republican argument

186
00:08:13.935 --> 00:08:16.815
and an argument that Milton himself made in his own

187
00:08:16.815 --> 00:08:18.055
political writings.

188
00:08:18.515 --> 00:08:21.035
Um, and that is that

189
00:08:21.035 --> 00:08:23.515
that political institutions like monarchy

190
00:08:23.705 --> 00:08:28.115
that are hierarchical, are unjust illegitimate

191
00:08:28.115 --> 00:08:31.435
because they're being imposed over against a sort of natural

192
00:08:31.995 --> 00:08:33.155
equality of human beings.

193
00:08:33.345 --> 00:08:37.715
What is often said, about Milton is that he had sort

194
00:08:37.715 --> 00:08:39.475
of two stages, that he was a,

195
00:08:39.555 --> 00:08:40.995
a political writer when he was younger,

196
00:08:41.895 --> 00:08:45.235
and that he became dis somewhat disillusioned with politics

197
00:08:45.655 --> 00:08:47.475
and turn to poetry later in life.

198
00:08:48.055 --> 00:08:50.875
Um, and there's always been some complications with that

199
00:08:50.875 --> 00:08:52.475
because he actually wrote poetry early

200
00:08:52.575 --> 00:08:54.555
on as well, and so on. Um,

201
00:08:55.425 --> 00:08:58.925
But I, I think this reading really challenges that,

202
00:09:00.075 --> 00:09:04.285
because, the argument in Paradise Lost, in a way,

203
00:09:04.345 --> 00:09:05.445
is a continuation

204
00:09:05.585 --> 00:09:08.845
of the political arguments he made earlier in his career.

205
00:09:09.025 --> 00:09:10.325
So it's quite clear, I think,

206
00:09:10.505 --> 00:09:12.885
if the interpretation is correct,

207
00:09:13.515 --> 00:09:15.365
that not only did he not change his mind

208
00:09:15.365 --> 00:09:18.965
or turn away from politics, at be,

209
00:09:19.105 --> 00:09:22.605
but he was reaffirming his central political ideals even

210
00:09:22.675 --> 00:09:24.965
late in his literary career, even

211
00:09:25.015 --> 00:09:27.925
after the restoration of the monarchy in 6 16 60.

212
00:09:28.385 --> 00:09:29.405
Um,

213
00:09:29.465 --> 00:09:33.125
and in his most famous work, paradise Lost is a continuation

214
00:09:33.125 --> 00:09:34.405
of that political argument.

215
00:09:34.945 --> 00:09:37.245
Um, it, you know, the most that can be said is

216
00:09:37.245 --> 00:09:38.765
that he's changing his approach instead

217
00:09:38.765 --> 00:09:40.405
of writing political tracks,

218
00:09:40.405 --> 00:09:43.565
which would've been very dangerous for him in,

219
00:09:43.565 --> 00:09:45.125
restoration England,

220
00:09:45.545 --> 00:09:47.885
he is now presenting those arguments in a different form.

221
00:09:49.085 --> 00:09:51.775
There's another complication with that traditional story,

222
00:09:51.775 --> 00:09:54.175
of course, which is that he actually started writing

223
00:09:54.455 --> 00:09:57.375
Paradise Loss before the restoration and finished it

224
00:09:57.375 --> 00:10:01.815
after, and at at the same time was writing,

225
00:10:02.175 --> 00:10:04.655
Republican political tracks, including a very famous one,

226
00:10:05.115 --> 00:10:06.375
called the Ready

227
00:10:06.395 --> 00:10:08.535
and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth.

228
00:10:08.755 --> 00:10:11.615
And that he wrote was writing that at the same time

229
00:10:11.615 --> 00:10:12.975
that he was writing Paradise Lost.

230
00:10:13.395 --> 00:10:15.815
Um, and it expresses many of the same ideas

231
00:10:15.955 --> 00:10:17.855
as you find in Paradise Lost,

232
00:10:17.875 --> 00:10:19.375
and they were being written around the same time.

233
00:10:19.555 --> 00:10:21.775
So, I think it's pretty clear

234
00:10:21.775 --> 00:10:23.935
that Paradise Lost is a continuation rather than a

235
00:10:23.935 --> 00:10:26.455
withdrawal from politics, rather than a change of heart

236
00:10:26.455 --> 00:10:29.575
or change of mind about his central political ideas.

237
00:10:29.875 --> 00:10:34.135
The one curious thing about Paradise Lost, is that,

238
00:10:34.715 --> 00:10:38.735
its initial reception was, a, a little lukewarm,

239
00:10:39.805 --> 00:10:42.905
and in fact,

240
00:10:44.665 --> 00:10:48.065
a friend of his, wrote a,

241
00:10:50.235 --> 00:10:54.285
a dramatic adaptation called the State of Innocence.

242
00:10:54.905 --> 00:10:56.805
Um, this was John Dryden

243
00:10:57.305 --> 00:10:59.405
and the state of innocence was very popular.

244
00:11:00.185 --> 00:11:01.525
Um, nobody reads it anymore.

245
00:11:02.145 --> 00:11:04.965
Uh, you know, a hundred years later, the state

246
00:11:04.965 --> 00:11:08.045
of innocence was forgotten about in Paradise Loss

247
00:11:08.265 --> 00:11:09.405
was, was elevated.

248
00:11:09.865 --> 00:11:13.885
Um, but at the time in the initial reception,

249
00:11:13.885 --> 00:11:15.525
the state of innocence was actually quite popular

250
00:11:15.625 --> 00:11:17.685
and the Paradise Lost was quite muted.

251
00:11:18.145 --> 00:11:20.405
And the striking thing about this adaptation

252
00:11:20.405 --> 00:11:23.405
that Dryden did, is that he takes out all

253
00:11:23.405 --> 00:11:26.845
of the Republican political arguments in Paradise Law.

254
00:11:26.845 --> 00:11:28.765
So it's sort of stripped down Paradise laws.

255
00:11:29.305 --> 00:11:33.325
Um, and I think my interpretation can help explain why in

256
00:11:33.325 --> 00:11:35.405
restoration England state of innocence,

257
00:11:35.615 --> 00:11:37.285
which is basically the same story,

258
00:11:37.495 --> 00:11:40.845
minus the political argument, was more acceptable

259
00:11:40.845 --> 00:11:42.165
to the restoration audience.

260
00:11:42.785 --> 00:11:44.965
Uh, whereas Paradise Lost, which was,

261
00:11:45.285 --> 00:11:49.245
I think at the time I suspect, you know, quite easily seen

262
00:11:49.305 --> 00:11:53.365
as a Republican text, was sort of sidelined.

263
00:11:53.545 --> 00:11:56.845
And it was only later as sort of political passions cooled,

264
00:11:57.225 --> 00:11:59.805
that people started rereading Paradise Lost.

Interpreting Milton: Satan as a Republican Character

00:00:00 - Course is one of the most famous, contributions to English literature. and one of the most famous, or maybe I should say, notorious, aspects of the poem, is that the most interesting character in the poem, is the character of Satan Lake, famously equipped that, Milton is of the Devil's party, but doesn't know it. and a lot of the interpretive debate around Milton and Paradise Lost in particular, has, focused on this sort of problematic aspect of the text.

00:00:36 - a somewhat different point of view. I'm not a literary scholar. I'm a a historian of political ideas. and so I'm coming at approaching Milton through his political writings. and Milton was a known, in his own day as a a, a famous, political notorious political writer. He was considered a Republican, which in the context meant that he was against monarchy. He thought England should be a self-governing, republic,

00:01:05 - If you are, immersed in Milton's political writings, and are familiar with his Republican ideas, and then look at Paradise lost, the thing that immediately strikes you, as quite extraordinary, is that, it's not merely that, that, Satan is a sympathetic character. lots of people. There's lots of cases in literature of sympathetic villains. It's a sort of classic trope actually. but what's more remarkable is that much of

Interpreting Satan: Milton's Republican Language and Challenges in Analysis

00:01:38 - is actually in Republican language, very similar to the political language Milton himself had used earlier. and so that presents, that changes the puzzle quite dramatically. It's not simply that Satan is a, potentially sympathetic character, but he actually seems to be a Republican, which is what Mill's own political position was. and that raises a whole host of, challenges in interpreting, interpreting the ply, interpreting the poem. Milton has been studied by literary scholars

00:02:09 - and so not being familiar with, Republican ideas. you know, they're reading the text simply as a, a literary artifact. and so many of them have simply not noticed the connection between, the portrayal of Satan and, and Milton's political ideas. so there are exceptions to that. And so the few people have noticed this particular problem have really struggled to address it. And the the typical, approach is to try

00:02:43 - and often that's by resort to some sort of esoteric reading of the play. so you try, they try to read between the lines and they try and, and, and come up with a, a sort of symbolic interpretation. For example, you know, the people Have tried to suggest that the play is supposed to be a, a warning to its reader. So you read it, you sympathize with Satan, and then sort of realize that, I need to be on guard against the dangers of political rhetoric or something like that.

Contextualizing Milton: An Intellectual Historical Approach

00:03:13 - can be interesting in their own right, but, you know, essentially what they're trying to do is explain away the problem, or avoid the problem through a very complicated, symbolic, metaphorical esoteric reading of the text. I'm approaching Milton from the point of view of intellectual history, and as an intellectual historian, I think that there are certain ways that you ought to approach texts. And particular, I think it's really important to, read a text, in full appreciation of the context in which it was written and published.

00:03:46 - immersing yourself in the literature of the time period and trying to understand how his immediate readers, the people he, you know, was, had in mind when he was writing, how they would've encountered the book, knowing what they knew at the time, and understanding the way, what the sort of discourse was like at that time. and so from the point of view of his immediate readers, they would've had a very firm and clear idea of his politics. 'cause he was quite, he was not an

00:04:16 - He wrote many, many, political pamphlets. He was, his ideas were considered very controversial and very public. and so the initial readers of Paradise Loss would've had a very clear understanding of his politics. And so the thing that struck me in reading Paradise last almost certainly would've struck them, right off the bat. And so I think in, in trying to understand it from the point of view of intellectual history, it's very important to understand the context in which it was written and approach it from that point of view. and I should say, I should stress again that, you know,

Interpreting 'Paradise Lost': Authorial Intent and Republican Themes

00:04:50 - depending on what your aims are. texts often escape the purposes of their authors and can mean things to us that they may not have met to their, the writer of that, that text. And that's, that's fine, and that could be a very enriching way of reading a book. But from the point of view of intellectual history, I'm mainly interested in what Miling was attempting to do and what he was attempting to say, and what his immediate audience would have heard on reading Paradise Loss in the context in which it was written.

00:05:21 - to really examine Paradise loss carefully, one, what you also notice is that the Republican, the Republicanism expressed in the book is not confined to Satan's speeches. and this is sort of the Achilles heel of attempts to interpret it as simply a warning about the dangers of rhetoric or something. I think that there is actually a Republican argument inherent in the story, the narrative itself. and that argument is consistent with what Satan

00:05:53 - and is consistent with what Republican views, including Milton's own views Actually were. and so that, I think that's very important to understand this sort of unity across those three, those three things. so the central point or the central argument, is that both Satan and Eve in Paradise Loss, they both rebel against God and they rebel against God for the same reason. In both cases, they've been,

Rebellion Against Hierarchy: Eve's Temptation and Satan's Influence

00:06:25 - and they've been reg relegated to an inferior position in that hierarchy. And, and both of them, instinctively rebel against that, resent it. so it's true that, that Eve, eats of the Apple and the famous sort of, scene from, from Genesis, and she, does it be partly because she's being tempted by Satan. But the really striking thing is that she is, he is able to tempt her precisely

00:06:57 - about the inferior station in which she's been placed. and he exploits that quite explicitly, encouraging her in the thought that if she eats from the Apple, from the Tree of Knowledge, that she might actually be able to become more equal with Adam, her husband, you know, her husband, in, in Paradise. So not only does he tempter with that particular line of argument, it's after the fact when she explains or reflects on what she did,

00:07:26 - So the, the poem is quite explicit about the fact, that her sin is a product of, herb having been relegated to an inferior position in an artificial hierarchy. Satan rebel's initially against God for the same reason. you know, the text doesn't spend as much time on that, but there are, flashback scenes that, that discuss the re rebellion of the, of the angels in the distant past. And there too, it's pretty clear that,

Milton's Republican Ideals in Paradise Lost

00:08:00 - placed Satan in a lower position in that hierarchy. and Satan objected and rebelled against it, as did his Confederates. The overall message is quite straightforward, and it's a very much a, a classic Republican argument and an argument that Milton himself made in his own political writings. and that is that that political institutions like monarchy that are hierarchical, are unjust illegitimate

00:08:31 - equality of human beings. What is often said, about Milton is that he had sort of two stages, that he was a, a political writer when he was younger, and that he became dis somewhat disillusioned with politics and turn to poetry later in life. and there's always been some complications with that because he actually wrote poetry early on as well, and so on. But I, I think this reading really challenges that,

00:09:04 - is a continuation of the political arguments he made earlier in his career. So it's quite clear, I think, if the interpretation is correct, that not only did he not change his mind or turn away from politics, at be, but he was reaffirming his central political ideals even late in his literary career, even after the restoration of the monarchy in 6 16 60. and in his most famous work, paradise Lost is a continuation

Shifting Political Expressions in Paradise Lost

00:09:34 - it, you know, the most that can be said is that he's changing his approach instead of writing political tracks, which would've been very dangerous for him in, restoration England, he is now presenting those arguments in a different form. There's another complication with that traditional story, of course, which is that he actually started writing Paradise Loss before the restoration and finished it after, and at at the same time was writing, Republican political tracks, including a very famous one,

00:10:06 - and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth. And that he wrote was writing that at the same time that he was writing Paradise Lost. and it expresses many of the same ideas as you find in Paradise Lost, and they were being written around the same time. So, I think it's pretty clear that Paradise Lost is a continuation rather than a withdrawal from politics, rather than a change of heart or change of mind about his central political ideas. The one curious thing about Paradise Lost, is that, its initial reception was, a, a little lukewarm,

00:10:44 - a friend of his, wrote a, a dramatic adaptation called the State of Innocence. this was John Dryden and the state of innocence was very popular. nobody reads it anymore. you know, a hundred years later, the state of innocence was forgotten about in Paradise Loss was, was elevated.

Political Themes and Reception of Paradise Lost

00:11:13 - the state of innocence was actually quite popular and the Paradise Lost was quite muted. And the striking thing about this adaptation that Dryden did, is that he takes out all of the Republican political arguments in Paradise Law. So it's sort of stripped down Paradise laws. and I think my interpretation can help explain why in restoration England state of innocence, which is basically the same story, minus the political argument, was more acceptable

00:11:57 - whereas Paradise Lost, which was, I think at the time I suspect, you know, quite easily seen as a Republican text, was sort of sidelined. And it was only later as sort of political passions cooled, that people started rereading Paradise Lost.

Faculti AI can make mistakes

Research

Policy

Analysis

Data

Originals

Explainers

Podcasts

Faculti

New on Faculti

Idea Explorer

Definition

News Context

Critical Questions and Answers

Research Summaries

Milton and the Republican Politics of Paradise Lost

Media Literacy Toolkit

Critical Questions to Consider ▼

Bias and Perspective Awareness ▼

Further Reading ▼