Book 9 Flashcards
(22 cards)
‘No more of talk where God or Angel guest with man’
-Beginning of book 9 starting with an argument
-Shows the separation of God and the Angels
-Negation (denial)
‘World a world of woe’
-Aspirant alliteration sounds like a sigh
-shows that the narrator doesn’t want to tell the story of Adam and Eve
‘Sin and her shadow death, and misery Death’s harbinger’
-shows the infiltration of Earth
- possibly shows Milton’s misogynistic view of women as he personifies sin as a female maybe due to his puritan upbringing.
‘Not less but more heroic than the wrath of stern Achilles’
- Milton comparing his stories to other epics showing his arrogance within his writing.
‘My celestial patroness’
- referring to the muse of the poem, Urania the muse of astronomy.
-Spiritual inspiration of the epic form
‘My unpremeditated verse’
- does need a draft as it’s perfect
-again shows his hubris
‘this subject for heroic song pleased me long choosing, and beginning late’
- explains his reasoning for writing the epic
- shows his beliefs
‘Me of these Nor skilled nor studious, higher argument remains, sufficient of itself to raise that name’
- he’s not claiming to be great
-contradicting of his past proclamations - false sense of modesty
‘Most opportune to serve his wiles’
-referring to Satan
-his wiles are his evil intentions
‘The serpent subtlest beast of all the field’
-KEY QUOTE
-Referring to Satan
-Sibliance ‘serpent subtlest’ = makes it sound snake like
-Superlative ‘subtlest’ juxtaposes Satan’s serpent form as there’s nothing subtle about it
-Shows that Satan never does Evil acts as Satan only in a different form (could link to identity)
‘Fittest imp’
- An imp is a male version of an nymph which means to be mischievous and playful
‘Wily snake’
-shows that Satans intentions as the snake are not pure and are to be deceitful
‘and the more I see pleasures about me, the more I feel torment within me’
-Key Quote
- shows malcontent attitude
- binary opposition of abstract nouns ‘pleasures’ and ‘torment’
-makes it seem like he’s trying to evoke pathos
‘For only in destroying I find ease to my relentless thoughts’
-KEY QUOTE
-binary opposition of adverbs ‘destroying’ and ‘ease’
-shows his necessity in destruction
‘Whom us the more to spite his Maker raised from dust: spite then with spite is best repaid’
-Repetition of ‘spite’ making it sibilant alliteration which also makes it sound seductive emphasising the alluring nature of Satan’s speech
-Monosyllabic sentence similar to ‘eye for an eye’ quotation = poetic justice ( a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished)
‘Subtle wiles: not yet in horrid shade or dismal den’
-Dental alliteration ‘dismal den’
- He’s a non-entity which means he’s not innocent or good either
‘The devil entered’
- Moniker ‘devil’
-First time Satan’s referred to as the devil
‘Then commune how that day best may ply their growing work’
-shows that their main purpose on earth is to carry out labour
- sense of stewardship
‘Our labour grows’
- foreshadows disagreement to God’s orders and rebellion
‘Let us divide our labours’
-Shows Eve’s practical mindset but also her curiosity to try new things out = foreshadows hamartia
- Suggestion of separation is similar to what the Duchess does when she tells Antonio to go on a pilgrimage
‘Casual discourse’
-shows that Eve finds Adam distracting
-possible reason for separation not just to split the labour
