Paradise Lost: Miltons Approach To Lust, Sex, And Violence

Below is a free term papers summary of the paper "Paradise Lost: Miltons Approach To Lust, Sex, And Violence." If you sign up, you can be reading the rest of this term papers in under two minutes. Registered users should login to view this term paper.

Term Paper Title	Paradise Lost: Miltons Approach To Lust, Sex, And Violence
# of Words	2778
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	11.11

Paradise Lost: Milton's Approach To Lust, Sex, and Violence

Paradise Lost: Milton's Approach To Lust, Sex, and Violence

There is no reason to apply modern theories to Milton if we do not care whether
Milton remains alive. However, if we wish him to be more than a historical
artifact, we must do more than just study him against the background of his time.
We must reinterpret him in light of the germane thought of our own age.
                                      -James Driscoll
                              The Unfolding God Of Jung and Milton

Images and allusions to sex and death are intermingled throughout John Milton's
Paradise Lost . The character of  Satan serves as not only an embodiment of
death and sin, but also insatiated sexual lust. The combination of sex and lust
has significant philosophical implications, especially in relation to themes of
creation, destruction, and the nature of existence. Milton, in Paradise Lost,
establishes that with sex, as with religion, he is of no particular hierarchical
establishment. However, Milton does not want to be confused with the
stereotypical puritan. Milton the poet, seems to celebrate the ideal of sex; yet,
he deplores concupiscence  and warns against the evils of lust, insisting  lust
leads to sin, violence and death.

From the beginning, Satan, like fallen humanity, not only blames others; but
also makes comic and grandiose reasons for his evil  behavior. Yet, despite his
reasoning to seek revenge against God, "his true motivation for escaping from
hell and perverting paradise is, at least partly, something more basic: Satan
needs sex" (Daniel 26).

In the opening books of the poem, Satan is cast into a fiery hell that is not
only is miserable, but devoid of sex. As Satan describes when he has escaped to
Eden, in hell: "neigh joy nor love, but fierce desire, / Among our other
torments not the least, / Still unfulfilled with pain of longing pine" (Book IV,
509-11).  The phallic implications of  "pain of longing pine" is quite clear. In
this metaphor, Milton expresses that sex itself is not a sin; to be without it
is a "hellish" punishment. However, Milton rejects the morality of  lusting for
sex, equating it with: death, sin, violence and Satan. Milton elucidates the
lustful desires of Satan throughout the first  few books. For example, liquid, a
common symbol of femininity is depicted seven times in the first two books in
the form of a "lake" (Daniel 26). The  "lake" serves as a metaphor to the water...

This is not the end of the termpaper! Register below to see the complete version of this term paper.

Membership Plans	Credit Card	Check

1 month membership

3 month membership (You Save 50%)

6 month membership (You Save 67%)

Copyright © 2002-2007 Mid Term Papers. All rights reserved. This term papers website is used for research purposes only.
If you have forgotten your username or password, please click here.
If you like to cancel your account, please click here.

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22