Paradise Lost Literary Elements

The third-person narrator of Paradise Lost has often been equated with Milton himself, especially as he announces at the beginning of the poem that he strives to use the epic as a way of justifying God's ways to men.

Blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter)

Because Paradise Lost is written in the style of the epic, Milton makes frequent use of the epic simile throughout the poem. In Book I, he compares Satan's enormous size to the sea creature Leviathan. He also compares the fallen archangels to the barbarians landing on Rome, underscoring the chaotic nature of their fall. Numerous other examples occur throughout the text, and these epic similes help underscore the mythological import of the Christian narrative Milton is telling.

While Milton showcases his masterful poetic skill throughout the poem, one particular instance of alliteration stands out among readers and scholars alike. When Milton describes the movement of Satan as the serpent, he infuses the text with repeating "s" sounds to mimic the slithering nature of the snake. This particular moment of alliteration helps create a sense of impending doom and destruction as Satan leads Eve to the Tree of Knowledge.

The central irony in the epic is dramatic irony, when Adam and Eve live blissfully in Paradise, unaware that Satan is plotting to catalyze their fall and that they will succumb to his temptation. God, the Son, and the angels in Heaven are all aware of Satan's plan, it is the Son (later to become Jesus Christ) who intervene's on man's behalf.

Epic

Eden/Paradise, Heaven, Hell

Tragic, predetermined, desperate

Protagonist: God, Adam, Eve; Antagonist: Satan

The central conflict of the poem is between Satan and mankind, and by extension Satan and God. After he is expelled from Heaven, Satan plots revenge against God by tempting Adam and Eve to disobey God's commands. This original sin leads to their "fall" and expulsion from Eden, which is not rectified until the Son comes to earth as Jesus Christ and sacrifices himself for mankind.

The climax of Paradise Lost occurs in Book IX, when Satan leads Eve to the Tree of Knowledge. He appeals to her vanity, complimenting her for her beauty and eventually convinces her to eat the forbidden fruit. This action sets in motion the beginning fo the Fall, as Eve convinces Adam to join her and the two are eventually overcome with shame and expelled from Eden.

Eve's dream that she shares with Adam foreshadows their eventual fall into temptation. Eve dreams, through the manipulation of Satan, that a voice leads her to the Tree of Knowledge. This dream predicts the events of Book IX and the fall of man.

The most notable example of understatement in Paradise Lost occurs in Book IX, when Eve eats from the Tree of Knowledge. The narrator says, "she plucked, she ate" (9.781). The simplicity of this statement compared to the enormity of its consequences showcases how easy it is for man to be led astray into sin.

There are numerous social, historical, mythological, and literary allusions throughout Paradise Lost. Indeed, it is perhaps one of the most allusive texts in the history of English literature. These allusions help paint a more robust portrait of the events detailed in the Christian Bible, but they also, most notably, showcase Milton's skill as a poet. From the very beginning of his career, Milton was interested in carving out a place for himself as a professional and preeminent poet. He even subtly compared himself to the Roman poet Virgil, whose career was defined by a move from pastoral poetry to the epic The Aeneid. Paradise Lost is in many ways the culmination of Milton's career as a writer, and he uses hundreds of allusions throughout the poem to demonstrate his mastery of the genre.

Milton uses metonymy and synecdoche frequently throughout the poem, and most frequently when inhabiting Satan's perspective. In Book I, for example, Satan says, "I laugh, when those who at the Spear are bold / And vent'rous, if that fail them, shrink and fear / What yet they know must follow, to endure / Exile, or ignominy, or bonds, or pain" (1.204-207). Here, Satan uses the term "spear" to denote any military or martial actor. This instance of metonymy, like others throughout the poem, helps keep the poem firmly in the genre of epic, as characters describe people and things in exaggerated and figurative ways.

The most notable instance of personification in Paradise Lost is the human characteristics attributed to the serpent (Satan) who leads Eve to the Tree of Knowledge. The serpent can, of course, speak, and it is a master rhetorician, swiftly convincing Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The narrator also emphasizes that the serpent makes the intricate path to the tree appear straight, mirroring Milton's political treatises in which he argues that demagogical leaders will offer easy solutions to problems that actually require labor, time, and strategy.

The entire text can be considered an exercise in hyperbole, as the genre of epic requires exaggerated, larger-than-life descriptions of people, places, and things. Milton's particular subject – God and the creation of man – requires even more hyperbolic description, as the concept of the Divine is fundamentally incomprehensible to humans. Indeed, Adam cannot comprehend Raphael's over-the-top description of Heaven and angelic sexual union, suggesting the transcendent nature of Heaven and therefore the pure despair of Hell.

While there are few instances of explicit onomatopoeia in Paradise Lost, Milton often uses consonance, assonance, and alliteration to help paint a portrait of what is being described. The fallen angels and Hell are often associated with chaotic words like "gabble" and "jangling," while the serpent's movements are described using frequent "s" words (I, IX). These sounds often mimic the events of the poem in a way that showcases Milton's profound poetic skill.