Jan 6, 2010

Paradise Lost | Topics for Further Study

Milton presents the political consequences of the Fall in Michael's preview of human history (Book XII). Discuss this presentation in light of the Restoration of the monarchy in England and the political controversies surrounding the debate concerning the merits of monarchy vs. republic.

Discuss Raphael's admonition to Adam concerning the limitations of human knowledge and his discouragement of Adam's inquiries into the movements of the heavenly spheres (Book VIII) in light of the advancements in science and the new "scientific" attitudes towards knowledge in the seventeenth...