Milton: Paradise Lost and The Kings James version of the Bible compare numerous stories and events that happened signifying the symbolic nature in depth. Specifically, in Genesis Chapter 3 the story of Adam and Eve is written in a sense that we do not get the full point of views of Adam or Eve. However, the poem Milton: Paradise Lost really gives the reader a great sense of how Adam and Eve were feeling in the situation and what prompted their choice to eat the apple from the tree. Also it delves into the true meaning of being disobedient within the sense as God being the leader. In the King James Bible it lacked to describe the ultimate point of view of Adam nor Eve as this text was made to make the reader think of how they would feel if they were in Adam or Eve’s situation. The poem does a great job exemplifying the mental processes Adam was going through when faced to talk to the serpent.
Starting off with The King James Bible, chapter three Genesis, “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the Garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch of it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die. (Genesis 3:2-4). This demonstrates the scene where Eve interacts with the Serpent and is deceived to eat the fruit from the tree of the Garden. The feelings and thoughts of Eve are not explicitly shown here and even further into the text. However in the poem, Paradise Lost these intrinsic feelings are further seen from the main characters within the scene, Adam and Eve. According to the poem, “How much more, if we pray him, will his ear Be open, and his heart to pity incline, And teach us further by what means to shun Th’inclement seasons, rain, ice, hail, and snow, Which now the sky with various face begins[.] (Paradise Lost X, 1060–1064). This signifies that Adam and Eve truly felt bad for their sins and illustrated signs of regret. Adam and Eve even consider taking their own lives due to being so hurt from their sin. This compares to the King James Bible due to the fact that it does not go much in to depth about the intrinsic feelings of Adam or Eve.
Furthermore, connecting the “Paradise Lost” to “The Old Testament and Rationalistic Biblical Criticsm” gender roles were critiqued from the poem. When Eve was created she was content with being a women until she ate the apple, she suppressed sudden regret. As Eve argued with herself in her head, “So to add what wants In female sex, the more to draw his love, And render me more equal, and perhaps, A thing not undesirable, sometime Superior; for inferior who is free? (Paradise Lost IX, 816–825). This symoolizes that Eve feels she is stuck with Adam and has no freedom from him. This is criticised within “The Old Testament and Rationalistic Biblical Criticsm” when Pomazansky states, “After woman was created for him, Adam said: “She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband.” It would seem that such details, e.g., the giving of names, indicated in the history of the creation of the world, are unessential” (Pomazansky par. 48). The author means that there was not much thought into naming a women, when he said the giving of a name was unessential. The story of Adam and Eve is definitely relevant and comparable to newer texts as seen in the poem and literature.
Leave a Reply