Lust, Violence, and Death in John Miltons Paradise Lost :: Milton Paradise Lost Essays

Lust, Violence, and Death in Paradise Lost Images and allusions to turn on and demise are intermingled throughout John Miltons 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 disposition 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, insistence lust leads to sin, violence and death. There is no reason to apply modern theories to Milton if we do not care whether Milton remains alive. However, if we regard him to be more than a historical artifact, we must do more than just study him a gainst the background of his time. We must reinterpret him in light of the germane(predicate) thought of our own age.-James Driscoll Images and allusions to sex and death are intermingled throughout John Miltons 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 be havior. Yet, despite his reasoning to seek strike back 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 imbibe 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 joyousness nor love, but fierce desire, / Among our other torments not the least, / Still unfulfilled with pain of longing pine (Book IV, 509-11).