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Paradise lost is regarded as Milton's masterpiece and the greatest epic poem in the Egnlish language. The theme of the poem is the tragedy of the “Fall of Man" against the backdrop of Satan's rebellion against God and expulsion from heaven. The poet's announced aim was to "assert enteral Providence and justify the ways of God to men". Despite its bibilcal story content and its declared purpose, the epic at places reflects Milton's revolutionary spirit, chiefly through his sympathetic treatment of the revolt of Satan and his followers against God in the first two books. Here we see the poet's dual rule as a Puritan and as a republican, for in accordance with his religious convictions the poet was naturally on the side of God, but with his revolutionary sentiments be could not refrain from uttering fiery words of batred and rebellion against the restored monarch at the time, even in the outcries of Satan and his adherents ahgainnst God. Yet we must not believe that Milton as a Puritan could actually share Satan's accusations of God for holding "the tyranny of heaven", nor should we obiliterate the throughly religious temper of the epic as a whole, in which the characters of Satan and his followers are condemned.
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发表于 2022-11-15 15:46:32
