Discussion Topic

Persuasive Techniques and Arguments in Paradise Lost

Summary:

In Paradise Lost Book IX, Milton uses persuasive techniques to convey the Fall. Satan, disguised as a serpent, employs logic, flattery, and deception to convince Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. He appeals to her vanity by praising her beauty and suggests that God intended for them to break the rule to become godlike. Satan's arguments rely on ethos, pathos, and logos to distort Eve's perception of God, ultimately leading her to disobedience and the Fall.

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What techniques of argument and persuasion are used in Book IX of Paradise Lost?

In the opening of Paradise Lost, Milton asks his muse for poetic assistance:

That to the highth of this great Argument
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justifie the wayes of God to men.

Here, Milton uses "argument" to mean "subject" or "theme." He asks his muse to help him explain his subjectthe Biblical story of the Fallin a way that "justifie[s] the ways of God to men."

The word "argument" ends up being a pun, however, since one of the main ways Milton builds on his theme of the Fall is by weaving argumentative and persuasive techniques into the scene in which Eve accepts the serpent's deception and eats the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This scene appears in Book IX.

Book IX actually encapsulates several "arguments." The first is Satan's assertion that he will find a...

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way to deceive and undermine Adam and Eve, which ends with Satan's occupying the form of the serpent in lines 180–185.

When looking for evidence on argument and persuasion in Book IX, studying Satan's various arguments carefully is a must; Milton has made him a master of persuasion, using logic (logos), influence (ethos) and emotion (pathos) in turn to make his case and get his way.

Meanwhile, Eve is also practicing the art of persuasion. Eve suggests that she and Adam work on their gardening tasks in separate parts of the garden. Adam objects, fearing that something bad will happen to Eve if she's off alone; but Eve persuades him to let her go, on the grounds that she wants to test her own ability to work and resist temptation without Adam around to help her.

Even before the serpent and Eve meet, Book IX is already aligning Eve with the serpent/Satan by making them both the "arguers." They both assert a specific position, defend it, and ultimately win their arguments by getting to do what they argued in favor of doing.

Starting at about line 455, Satan focuses all his attention on persuading Eve to eat from the tree. One way to approach this subject would be to compare the argument between Satan and Eve with the argument between Eve and Adam. With Adam, Eve was the one asserting a point; with Satan, she's the one playing defense.

In particular, look at Satan's words from lines 582-610, as well as Eve's reply following. These lines contain a wealth of examples of persuasive techniques and counterarguments in Paradise Lost.

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What are Satan's arguments and techniques in Book IX of Paradise Lost?

It is in Book IX of Paradise Lost that the disguised Satan achieves his end in seducing Eve, persuading her to taste the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He praises her beauty, then claims he gained the ability to speak by eating the forbidden fruit.

Satan's arguments largely center around distorting Eve's perception of God and flattering her vanity, calling her a "goddess" or "Queen of this Universe." He tells her God intended for both her and Adam to break the rule all along because in that way they will prove themselves independent and brave. He links disobedience with virtue, which Milton spells out as a warped notion of true heroism (recall at the beginning of Book IX when he mocks the violent idea of heroism espoused by the ancient Greeks and Romans, comparing it with moral heroism as encouraged by Christianity).

Satan also questions the technicalities of God's warnings. When Eve claims they shall die if they eat the fruit, Satan questions if the term death is meant to be metaphorical or physical:

So ye shall die perhaps, by putting off
Human, to put on Gods, death to be wisht,
Though threat'nd, which no worse then this can bring.

Once again, he is distorting Eve's idea of God: instead of painting God as a loving father figure, Satan is claiming God is a fearful hoarder of power, a description which ironically suits Satan more than anyone else in the story.

Overall, Satan's main argumentative techniques are an appeal to reason or logos, but it is a warped version of reason. The serpent appears to be logical in his arguments, but the naive Eve has to make a lot of assumptions about God's intentions in order to accept them. Therefore, Satan's arguments are just as dependent upon their intended audience as they are on their actual content.

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What are Satan's arguments in logic, influence, and emotion in Paradise Lost?

In his speech to Eve, Satan uses every rhetorical means at his disposal to persuade her to defy God and eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. First of all, he uses ethos, an ethical appeal, in an attempt to establish his credibility and honesty as a speaker. He does this by approaching Eve in a respectful, even flattering manner:

Wonder not, sovereign mistress, if perhaps
Thou canst, who art sole wonder, much less arm
Thy looks, the heav’n of mildness, with disdain (532-534).

Satan knows that he has to establish a bond of trust with Eve if he's going to get her to do his bidding, so it's all important that he comes across as modest, humble, and morally sound.

Playing on Eve's vanity, Satan proceeds to flatter her in an attempt to to gain her trust:

Fairest resemblance of thy Maker fair,
Thee all things living gaze on, all thing thine
By gift, and thy celestial beauty adore. (538-540)

Now that Satan's got his hooks into Eve, it's time for his next rhetorical strategy: pathos, an appeal to the emotions. Satan attempts to make Eve feel angry and resentful at the fact that she is only ever seen by wild beasts and a man, Adam, who does not recognize her remarkable beauty:

Beholders rude, and shallow to discern
Half what in thee is fair, one man except,
Who sees thee? (544-546)

In other words, Eve has this extraordinary beauty and no one to appreciate it. Surely such a beautiful woman, a "goddess among gods" no less, should be admired by divine beings?

Satan's rhetoric is clearly working, as can be seen from the following line:

Into the heart of Eve his words made way (550).

But Satan's not done yet; he's going to seal the deal by using logos, an appeal to logic. He does this by proceeding to give Eve good reasons why she should defy God and eat of the Tree of Knowledge. He tells her that he was once just a common beast, but then one day he came across the forbidden fruit:

[O]n a day roving the field, [he] chanced
A godly tree far distant to behold
Loaden with fruit of fairest colors mixed (575-577).

Unlike Satan's use of ethos and pathos, there's a relative lack of ornamentation in the language used here. Satan is simply stating what he wants Eve to believe are the pure, unvarnished facts. So he uses appropriately factual language in telling Eve how he came to talk, how he was

[Q]uickened at the scent
Of that alluring fruit and ate until he was full. (587-588)

He then gives Eve sound logical reasons why she should eat the forbidden fruit. As humans are the only animals physically able to eat the fruit, then they must try it:

For high from ground the branches would require
Thy utmost reach or Adam’s. (590-591)

The implication here is that if God had really wanted Adam and Eve to avoid the forbidden fruit, he wouldn't have put it within their reach.

Satan then uses another powerful logical argument to convince Eve to defy God. He ate the forbidden fruit, and yet look at him; he's perfectly fine:

Look on me,
Me who have touched and tasted, yet both live (687-688).
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What techniques and arguments does Satan use to tempt Eve in Paradise Lost?

Satan returns to Earth and tempts Eve in book IX of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. Before Satan approaches her, Eve puts herself in danger by insisting that she and Adam can get more done by working individually, instead of together. Adam disagrees, arguing that the archangel Rafael has warned them of danger. However, Adam finally gives in and allows Eve to go off by herself. This makes her more vulnerable to Satan's enticements and arguments.

Satan appears to Eve in the form of a serpent, so his first technique is disguising himself. He piques her interest by using the technique of flattery, complimenting her on her beauty. He tells her that she should be "a Goddess among Gods, adored and served by angels numberless." Eve is surprised at the serpent's ability to speak, and Satan says that he attained this gift by eating from a special tree. He then takes her to the Tree of Knowledge.

When Satan suggests that Eve eat the fruit of the tree, at first she protests, telling the serpent that God has forbidden them from eating from this tree—if they do, they will die. Satan then uses the technique of deception, saying that eating the fruit of the tree will not kill Eve or Adam. In fact, says Satan, God told them not to eat from the tree because he knew that it would cause Adam and Eve to become gods themselves and live forever.

...he knows that in the day
Ye Eate thereof, your Eyes that seem so cleere,
Yet are but dim, shall perfetly be then
Open'd and cleer'd, and ye shall be as Gods,
Knowing both Good and Evil as they know.

So Satan also uses the technique of playing upon Eve's greed and pride, offering her a position of godhood equal to God himself if she will only disobey God and eat the fruit. She does eat it, and offers it to Adam, and then they are forced to leave the Garden of Eden.

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