Wednesday, Feb. 3

Today, we began discussing Milton and his epic work, Paradise Lost. We talked about epic as a genre and looked specifically at Books 1 & 2. We tried to listen to an NPR story on Milton (linked below), with marginal success. Darn technology!

The in-class activity and homework is noted below:

In-class Activity:
Moloch says, “My sentence if for open War” (Book 2, line 51). Belial, however, speaks out against Moloch, advocating avoiding war. What are his reasons?
1.
2.
3.
Which argument, in your opinion, is more convincing? Why?

Homework: The introduction says romantics saw Satan as a “dynamic rebel.” Renaissance readers, however, were more likely to see Satan as an Elizabethan hero-villain, with his many soliloquies and his tortured psychology of brilliance twisted toward evil” (920). One may also see Satan as a trickster, “a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore who typically makes up for physical weakness with cunning and subversive humor” (American Folklore). In a paragraph, explain how you see Satan, citing at least two quotes in your response.