Chapter Characters of Paradise Lost - Study Guide by John Milton

epic can only be explained by his continued interest in the political developments of England. References to Milton’s blindness in Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes invoke a symbolic gesture; by discussing his blindness, explicitly or otherwise, Milton is stating that he maintains the beliefs he held during the Republic. The discussion of his blindness in the Second Defense of the English People outlines that Milton lost his sight writing for the Republic; he chose the reception of the inner light of God over the ability to see. In Puritan terms, this was Milton’s ‘calling’ or ‘vocation’ at a key moment in the history of the republican cause. His choice to follow God’s path has brought him greater inner spirituality.

However, it is important to remember that Milton’s life was in danger at the Restoration and throughout the 1660s. Because of the difficulties Milton faced in writing anything that could be construed as critical of the Stuart monarchy or celebrating the Republic, political themes in Paradise Lost are veiled. The length of Paradise Lost (in part, but not entirely) and the subtle allusions through which Milton makes his political comments were a safeguard the author deployed to protect himself from the censors. Milton’s vast knowledge of the Bible and classical sources allowed him scope to draw very subtle allusions, parallels and analogies to events and issues of his own times in Paradise Lost.

Allusions to the North and the English Civil War

Satan raises his standard in the north (V.685-93). In August 1642 Charles I raised the royal standard at Nottingham, marking the formal entry into conflict with Parliament (though in reality, for various reasons, it was increasingly becoming unavoidable from the beginning of that year). In a sonnet to General Fairfax, Milton spoke of ‘the false North’. It was from the ‘North’ that the Scottish Covenanters came to meddle in English affairs in 1648 and ’51; and further, from whence the architect of the Restoration, General Monck, originated. In Paradise Regained Satan emerged out of the north and west for the final temptation (IV.448-9).

During the war in heaven, about a third of the angels follow Satan (Milton’s figure is higher than the traditional one tenth), perhaps significant given that Charles I could rely on around the same number of MPs for the Royalist cause. The angels loyal to God show sentiments similar to that of the Parliamentarians during 1642; for the angels, as for the Parliamentarians,

"strange… it seemed

at first, that angel should with angel war

…who wont to meet

so oft in festivals of joy and love

Unanimous"

(VI.86-95)

And,

"Brutish that contest foul,

When reason hath to deal with force."

(VI.124-5)

The first battle of the war, like Edgehill, is inconclusive. The military stalemate and possibility of social chaos that ensues is all too familiar for the historian of the Civil War:

"War wearied hath performed what war can do,