John Milton's "Paradise Lost"
John Milton's poem "Paradise Lost" tells the cautious tale about being content with what God says through the theme of the book of Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve. He argues that the a dominate institutions such as God and his angels in Heaven to infantilize human beings and to tell them where their mind can and cannot go. The poem creates the idea of freedom to practice one's own relationships in nature and its gifts, but also site religion as the inspiration of ethical behavior but has very little to say about the mystery of being.
Milton's "Paradise Lost" focuses on the fall of man, as does the painting. They both highlight how the 16th Century was defined by religion and understanding their purpose in the world and living in the manners in which they do. For Milton, this serves as the ultimate loss and source of sorrow within the world. Milton questions what is the purpose of being good if it means serving as the slave of God and his demands. Is that considered good or obedience by force? Through his poem, Milton enlightens us with new questions and perspectives that challenges the faith of good versus evil.
Milton's "Paradise Lost" focuses on the fall of man, as does the painting. They both highlight how the 16th Century was defined by religion and understanding their purpose in the world and living in the manners in which they do. For Milton, this serves as the ultimate loss and source of sorrow within the world. Milton questions what is the purpose of being good if it means serving as the slave of God and his demands. Is that considered good or obedience by force? Through his poem, Milton enlightens us with new questions and perspectives that challenges the faith of good versus evil.
The "Proem"
The proem of Paradise Lost, written by John Milton, is definitely a specific piece of literature that can be discussed with Michaelangelo’s “The Temptation and Expulsion From the Garden of Eden”. Simply put, lines 1-26 of Paradise Lost and the Temptation are both interpretations, artistic and literal, of what we have come to understand as the “Fall of man”. Ironically, Michaelangelo’s father was hesitant about allowing his son to pursue art; he was adamant about his son taking up scholarship and academia. Michaelangelo’s father had hoped that his son would find his calling in literature because “artist are laborers, no better than shoemakers.” Had he not allowed for his son’s skill to flourish and advance, we could be discussing two parts of literature during this time, rather than comparing literature and art together. Furthermore, the Sistine Chapel would not exist as it does today. The idea of the Fall of man is ideological and speaks to what religious expectations exist during this time. Neither men offer a different series of events; they just interpret th event differently through words and painting which is acceptable.
ART + LITERATURE
Both Paradise Lost and "The Temptation and Expulsion From the Garden of Eden" represent the 16th Century obsession with "the fall". They Illustrate an attempt to understand their God and their place in the world. The painting illustrates visually what Paradise lost discusses through literature and defines as "man's first obedience". It can be assumed that in Europe most 16th Century Christains were familiar with "the fall" and understood it as the begining of a world of sin. Milton says that this act brought "death to into the world", Michelangelo expresses this same sentiment in his painting; the look on the faces of Adam and Eve along with their posture convey the same anguish that Milton refers to in Paradise Lost.