In this tragedy Shakespeare created the brilliant characters that realize their mistakes. But they do so too late to prevent their destruction and that of the people around them.

King Lear. This is a play with one central character: King Lear. His character is complex. During the play Lear changes in a deep and radical way. Through great torment and the endless jar of right and wrong, he comes to'a better knowledge of himself and the world. His most complete moment of happiness occurs when he is recon­ciled with Cordelia and looking forward to being with her. It is fol­lowed almost immediately by his most profound moment of sorrow, when his new understanding with Cordelia comes to an abrupt end with her murder. He dies of a broken heart.

The energy of his speeches makes it possible to forget that Lear is a very old man. He is over 80, and it is under the pressure of grow­ing old that he decides to divide his kingdom. He wants to unburden himself of the cares and business of government and keep only the prestige, honours, titles and ceremonies. This is a tragic mistake. This fatal decision is very much Lear's free choice, determined not by any outside force, but by his character. Lear even ignores all .the warn­ings of others. This is not simple stubbornness', but a denial of real­ity that is the beginning of his madness.

For Shakespeare, the division of a kingdom means civil war and is an image of chaos. Power cannot be separated from responsibili­ty. Lear seeks to enjoy the pleasures of power without accepting its pains. This is an indication of his selfishness.

King Lear is self-centred, pre-occupied throughout the play with his own predicament and his own feelings. He is child-like in his manner of wanting his own way and in wanting to destroy the world When it does not conform to his wishes. Only after his madness, he begins to show concetti for other people, he urges Kent and the Fool to go into the hovel before him, behaviour rare in a king. Nevertheless, even when he is at last reconciled with Cordelia, he has difficulty in saying that he is sorry.

Lear has a desperate need to be loved. It is his daughters' ingrat­itude that he finds most bitter. The private fact of love is not enough for.him; he demands a public statement of his daughters' affections and even wants them to compete with each other in their declara­tions. He does not offer affection to them, only the command: love me. As it is in the nature of love that it can only be freely given, it is not surprising that all three daughters; in their different ways, evade his command.

Lear's need to be loved is so great that he not only threatens, cajoles and pleads with his daughters to care for him, but also stu­diously ignores the true nature of their behaviour. He pretends that the world is other than it is.

Shakespeare shows us in "King Lear" the full sense of the word madness, which means both anger and insanity. After going mad, Lear gradually begins to re-absorb the world. He starts to see his daughters as they are.

Despite all his weaknesses, Lear inspires great loyalty, not only in Cordelia, but in the Fool, Kent and Gloucester. All risk their lives to aid Lear, they stand by him even when he rejects them. They rec­ognize the good in him and serve to remind us of it. That Lear is not betrayed by his friends, that throughout the play he is surrounded by people ready to help him, shows us that his struggle is primarily with himself. He is responsible for his fate.

His madness causes Lear to question his own nature and that of the world. When in the first scene of the play Cordelia refuses to say anything, Lear does not inquire into her motives, but only asks if she means it and then, when she says she does, denounces her. Later, as he feels what it is to be without power, he changes. As part of his search for self-knowledge, Lear re-examines the society in which he lives.

Goneril and Regan. The author does not distinguish much between the.characters of Goneril and Regan. They are very alike. Regan defines herself in terms of Goneril: "/ am made of that self metal as my sister", and her behaviour often copies Gondii's. .

Goneril, Lear's eldest daughter, appears stronger than Regan. It is she who at the end of scene 1 approaches Regan and suggests that they work together against Lear. Goneril is the leader of those allied against Lear, at least until Edmund takes command. She orders Oswald to provoke Lear. She meets her father squarely without hes­itation, and bears the brunt of his anger and his terrible curse with­out flinching. When Lear leaves her, she writes at once to Regan telling her what to do and Regan follows her directions.

At the beginning of. Lear's visit Regan is milder with her father than Goneril has been. She becomes direct and ruthless only after Goneril arrives, as if taking courage from her sister's presence, and it is she who orders that the gates of Gloucester's house be closed, shutting Lear out in the storm. After this, the pace at which the two sisters become more arid more savage seems to quicken. Goneril remains the more ferocious. When Gloucester's treason is discov­ered, Regan cries: "Hang him instantly", it is Goneril who says: "Pluck out his eyes". Regan, however, pulls Gloucester's beard when his arms are tied and encourages Cornwall and taunts Gloucester while Cornwall blinds him. She is not completely unmoved by this, but she still feels vindictive.

Goneril and Regan are jealous and greedy. As they are jealous of Cordelia because she had. most of their father's love, because of Edmund they become jealous of each other. Each seeks to prevent the other from enjoying Edmund's love, not so much for Edmund's sake as for spite.

For Goneril and Regan love is matter of intrigue and falsity. They pretend to love their father in order to gain control of the kingdom. They pretend to love each other in order to obtain Edmund's love. The unnatural daughters are attracted to the unnatural son. They are greedy in that they want everything now. Despite Lear's age, they cannot wait to enjoy his power. Albany says that they are: " Tigers, not daughters". These are images of greed. Shakespeare sees Goneril and Regan turning upon their father in a savage and cannibalistic rage.

GoneriPs behaviour is more extreme than Regan's. Regan's interest in Edmund may be unseemly so soon after her husband's death, but Goneril*s.passion for him is adulterous and she goes even further in urging Edmund to kill her husband. She poisons her sister and kills herself. Thus Goneril violates most of the closest human relationships (those of daughter, sister and wife) and she is unable to respect even her own self.

Cordelia. Cordelia is Lear's favourite daughter. If Goneril and Regan embody their father's selfishness, Cordelia has his wilfulness, in her stubborn refusal to speak of her love, she is very much her father's daughter. The scrupulousness involved in this refusal suggests her youth and inexperience, but she is unable to bear her sisters' falseness and is concerned to differentiate herself from them.

Cordelia's love for her father is unchanged by the break. She does not answer anger with anger. Her desire to aid her father caus­es her to engage a French army in England.'She cries whep she hears the news of him in France and she cries when she reads Kent's let­ter. Her ready tears can be contrasted with Lear's struggle against his sorrow. All Cordelia's energies are devoted to the restoration of Lear. To this end she is prepared to give all that she possesses. Her last speech expresses the same selflessness. She is indifferent to her defeat except as it may affect Lear.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. Read the extract using the Glossary.

2. Answer the questions given below.

Щ KING LEAR

On a wild heath, in a storm, Lear begins to go mad. Nevertheless, this ego­istic man has new moments of pity for others — and, perhaps for the First time in-his life, a sense of justice. He addresses the poor and then the rich:

Poor naked wretches, wheresoe'er you are, That bide the pelting of this pitiless storm, How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides, Your looped and windowed raggedness, defend you

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From seasons such as these? О,1 have ta'en Too little care of this! Take physic, pomp, Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel, That thou mayst shake the superflux to them, And show the heavens more just.

Glossary

bide — endure;

pelting — heavy rain;

looped and windowed — full of holes;

Take physic, pomp — take this medicine to cure yourself, you who

live in a world of luxury and ceremony; wretches unfortunate people;

shake the superflux to them — give them everything over and above what you need.

• Where does Lear begin to address the rich?

• What do you think the words eI have ta'en ... this* refer to?

SONNETS

In the late 1500s, it was fashionable for English gentlemen authors to write sequences of sonnets. Some sonnet sequences followed a narrative pattern that was autobiographical in vary­ing degrees. For this reason, scholars have tried to learn about Shakespeare's life from his sonnets. But they have reached no general agreement on autobiographical information that the poems might contain.

Scholars generally do agree, however, that Shakespeare addressed the first 126 sonnets to a young nobleman and that the next 26 concentrate on a woman. But they have not been able to identify either person. They have long debated over the nature of Shakespeare's relationship with the young man and have come to no general conclusion. Many scholars believe that Shakespeare had a passionate but somewhat reluctant love affair with the woman. Because the poems describe the woman as a brunette, she has become known as the "dark /ady" of the sonnets. Sonnets 153 and 154 seem unrelated to the others, and some scholars doubt that Shakespeare wrote them.

Shakespeare probably wrote the sonnets over a period of sev­eral years, though their dates are not clear. He wrote the poems in three units of four lines each with a concluding couplet (two-line unit). Shakespeare's sonnets rhyme ababcdcd efefgg.

Two of the sonnets originally appeared in a book of poetry called The Passionate Pilgrim" (1599). Thomas Thorpe published the sonnets as a collection in 1609. Thorpe dedicated the book to

Mr. W.H., whom he called "the only begetter of these ensuing sonnets." Scholars do not know who Mr.W.H. was or. even if he inspired the poems or merely collected them for the publisher. The individual poems have no title. Scholars refer to them either by their first line or by the number Thorpe assigned to them.

In the sonnets addressed to his aristocratic friend, Shakespeare treated a variety of subjects. "Shall I compare thee to a summer day ?* (sonnet 18) praises physical beauty. "When, in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes" {sonnet 29) describes the power of friend­ship to cheer the poet. Some of the sonnets are particularly notable for their wit, as in That time of year thou mayst in me behold" (son­net 73). In several of the first 126 sonnets, Shakespeare referred to another poet he considered a rivel for his young friend's affection and support. Scholars* have called this person the "rivalpoet". They do not know who he was or if he even existed. The sonnets' most common themes concern the destructive effects of that time, the quickness of physical decay, and the loss of beauty, vigour, and love. Although the poems celebrate life, it is always with a keen awareness of death. This awareness of death is perhaps best expressed in "Poor soul the center of my sinful earth" (sonnet 146).

A distrust of love and human nature runs through the "dark lady" sonnets. Sonnet 138, which appears below, reflects this attitude. In addition, the poem is representative of the entire sequence in two ways. The sonnet tells of the poet's concern over the passing of time, and it shows his strong emotion con­trolled by his highly intellectual wit.

ASSIGNMENT

Read the sonnets and be ready to answer the questions. Give rea­sons to, prove your answer.

• Time is a cruel destroyer: a theme which has its roots on the classical poetry of Greece and Rome, in Elizabethan poetry the theme is expressed frequently and powerfully. Does this suggest to you anything about the period in which Shakespeare lived?

• What can you say about the rhyme arid rhythm of the son­nets?

SONNET 138

When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies, That she might think me some untutored youth, Unlearned in the world's false subtleties. Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,

Although she knows my days are past the best, Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. But wherefore says she not she is injust ? And wherefore say not .1 that і am old ? . O, love's best habit is in seeming trust, And age in love loves not to have years told. Therefore I lie with her and she with me, And in our faults by lies we flattered be.

SONNET 65

Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,

But sad mortality o'ersways their power,

How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,

Whose action is no stronger than flower?

О how shall summer's honey breath hold out

Against the wrackful siege of battering days,

When rocks impregnable are not so stout

Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays?

О fearful meditation! where alack

Shall Time's best jewel from Tune's chest lie hid?

Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?

Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?

О none, unless this miracle have might,

That in black ink my love may still shine bright.

Glossary .

Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea, but sad mor­tality o'ersways their power — since the power of all of these things is destroyed by death;

How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea — how can beauty sur­vive;

action — case (in law)', hold out — last;

wrackful siege — destructive attack; impregnable — indestructible; stout — strong;

Nor gates of steel so strong, but Time decays — and there are no

steel gates which Time doesn't destroy; fearful meditation — terrible thought; alack — (a cry of regret) (archaic);

from Time's chest lie hid — hide to prevent itself from being shut

in Time's strong box; spoil of beauty can forbid — can prevent his destruction of beauty; might — power;

in black ink — through my words in poems; love*— beloved.

THE NEOCLASSIC PERIOD 1660-1798

The period in English literature between the return of the Stuarts to the English throne in 1660 and the publication of "Lyrical Ballads" by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798. It includes the Restoration Age (1660-1700), the Augustan Age (1700-1750), and the Age of Johnson (1750-1798).

The Restoration Age. The Puritan rule ended in 1660, when Parliament restored the monarchy under Charles II. Charles reigned until his death in 1685. The Puritans had attempted to enforce a strict moral code during their years in power. The Restoration brought a strong reaction against this code. The nobility and upper class in par­ticular became known for carefree and often morally loose living. Restoration writers, especially comic playwrights, reflected this relaxed morality in their works.

John Dryden became the outstanding literary figure of the Restoration after Milton's death in 1674. He wrote poetry, popular dramas, and literary criticism.

Dryden shifted his support from the Puritans to the restored monarchy. Late in life, he was converted from Anglican faith to Roman Catholicism. Many of Dryden's poems reflect these politi­cal and religious shifts. For example, his political satire "Absalom and Achitophel"attacks the enemies of the future James II. In "The Hind and the Panther" Dryden justified his conversion to Catholicism.

Dryden's best plays include "Marriage a la Mode" (1672), a comedy, and "Allfor Love"(1677), a tragedy. In addition, Dryden wrote some of the finest literary criticism in English literature. One example is "An essay of Dramatic Poesy" (1668), which contains a brilliant analysis of Shakespeare's work.

Restoration drama. After Charles II became king in 1660, the theatres were reopened and an important period in English drama began. Two types of plays rapidly dominated Restoration stages: (1) the comedy of manners and (2) the heroic tragedy.

The comedy of manners was witty, sometimes cynical, and occa­sionally indecent. It treated love and romantic intrigue in a light, often broadly humorous way. The best comedies of manners includ­ed "The Country Wife" (1675) by William Wycherley and "The Way of the World" (1700) by William Congreve.

The heroic tragedy had a complicated plot that dealt with the conflict between love and honour. Most of these plays were set in faraway lands. Little action took place on the stage, and the charac­ters spoke in elegant, noble-sounding heroic couplets. A heroic cou­plet is a verse form consisting of two rhymed lines of 10 syllables each. Dryden wrote several typical heroic tragedies, such as "The Conquest of Granada " and "Aureng-Zebe ".

Restoration prose. During the restoration prose became less elab­orate than had been fashionable earlier in the 1600s. Writers tried to express themselves clearly, simply, and directly.

John Bunyan used especially simple, vivid language in "The Pilgrim's Progress ", a popular Christian allegory (story with a literal and a symbolic meaning). The diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn are also vividly written. They provide a delightful and highly detailed view of English life during the late 1600s. Pepys's work includes a particularly fascinating account of the Great Fire that destroyed much of London in 1666.

The Augustan Age. This term comes from the name given to the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus. During his reign, which lasted from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14, Latin literature reached its height with such great writers as Virgil, Horace, and Ovid. English authors tried to imitate or recapture many of the philosophic and literary ideals of this period of Roman history. Like the ancient Romans, they believed that life and literature should be guided by reason and common sense. They strove for balance and harmony in their writings.

Swift and Pope. Satire was one of the most common types of lit­erature during the Augustan Age. In spite the Augustan emphasis on reason, many of the satires were extremely bitter and personal, and thus hardly reasonable. The leading satirists of the period were Jonathan Swift in prose and Alexander Pope in poetry.

Swift satirized different interpretations of Christianity in "A Tale of a Tub" (1704). In "The Battle of the Books" (1704), he ridiculed a literary dispute of the day. The dispute was between scholars who preferred ancient authors and those who thought that modern authors were superior. Swift attacked the hypocrisy he saw in kings, courtiers, and teachers in "Gulliver's Travels" (1726), the most famous satire in the English language.

Pope ridiculed the behaviour of fashionable society in "The Rape of the Lock "(1712,1714). He wrote with cutting wit about the authors of his time and their dull books in "The Dunciad" (1728-1743).

Pope perfected the heroic couplet in "An Essay on Man " and in "Moral Essays". Pope advised readers to take the middle way — avoiding extremes — in all things. He discussed the nature of men and women and the uses of wealth.

Addison and Steele. Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele were the outstanding essayists of the Augustan Age. They published their essays in two periodicals, "77ге Taller" and "The Spectator". Both writers described and criticized the social customs and atti­tudes of their day. Their essays helped form middle-class tastes in manners, morals, and literature. In addition, Addison's pure and elegant prose style served as a model for other English writers throughout the 1700s.

The rise of the novel. The development of the novel is one of the great achievements of English literature. The roots of the novel can be found in the books of Daniel Defoe. Defoe wrote realistic stories consisting of loosely connected incidents that were presented as actu­al happenings. His "Robinson Crusoe" (1719) and "Moll Flanders" (1722) resemble novels, but they lack the unified plot typical of that literary form.

Many scholars consider Samuel Richardson's "Pamela" (1740) to be the first true novel in English. The book is highly moralistic and somewhat rambling. In contrast, the novels of Henry Fielding and Tobias Smollett emphasize vigorous humor and satire. Fielding ridiculed "Pamela" in "Joseph Andrews" {MAT). Fielding's "Tom Jones"-{\749) is perhaps the greatest comic novel in the English lan­guage. Critics consider "The Expedition of Humphry Clinker" (1771) to be Smollett's best novel. Laurence Sterne was another leading novelist of the period. His "Tristram Shandy "has almost no story but is full of delightful jokes and puns. The book inspired many experi­mental novelists of the 1900s.

The Age of Johnson. Samuel Johnson dominated English litera­ture in this period. He was as famous for his conversation — in which he sometimes voiced outrageous opinions — as he was for his writings.

Johnson's literary achievements are remarkable. His "Dictionary of the English Language" (1735) is noted for its scholarly definitions of words and the use of excellent quotations to illustrate the defini­tions. In "The Lives of the English Poets" (1779-1781), Johnson crit­ically examined the work of 52 poets and did much to establish lit­erary criticism as a form of literature. Johnson also wrote articles, reviews, essays, and such poems as "London" and "The Vanity of Human Wishes". His prose work "Rasselas"\s a philosophical attack on people who seek an easy path to happiness.

Johnson's friends were the most important writers of the late 1700s. They included Oliver Goldsmith; Richard Brinsley Sheridan; Edmund Burke; and Johnson's biographer, James Boswell.

Goldsmith is best known for three outstanding works — a novel, a long poem, and a play. The novel, titled "The Vicar of Wakefield",

42

tells about the misfortunes of a kindly clergyman and his family. The poem called "The Deserted Village", movingly describes, the decline of an English village. Goldsmith's great play is the classic comedy "She Stoops to. Conquer". Sheridan wrote two clever comedies of manners, "The Rivals" and "The School for Scandal" Burke com­posed essays oi) government, history, and beauty.

Boswetl brilliantly recorded Johnson's eccentricities and witty co.nyej^actiQns ід "The. Life of Samuel Johnson", one of the great biographies щ worfd iiterati^e. Many of B.oswell's journals and private papers, have been discovered in the i:900s. Like his biog-rapky, they prd^kte $ vivid picture of the times in which he arid Johnson lived.

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674)

Jjfe The English great poet, John Milton, was born in

London on December 9, 1608. The family had descended from the English yeomen. Milton's father had received an education and was a prosperous scrivener (a clerk who copied doc­uments) in London. He was a great lover of music arid also a com­poser of the time. The mother of the poet is said to have been 'a woman of incomparable virtue and goodness'.

Milton's childhood was very different from that of other chil­dren of his time. He was little interested in games and outdoor amusements. His father took care of his early education. John learned to love music and books; he read and studied so intensely that at the age of twelve he had already formed the habit of work­ing until midnight.

At first Milton attended St. Paul's school. His progress in every department of knowledge was very rapid, and at the age of і6 he went to the University of Cambridge. He obtained his "Bachelor" degree in 1629, and his "Master of Arts" in І632. On graduating MHton was asked to remain at the University as an instructor, but he refused because this meant he would have to take Holy Orders (to* become a clergyman of the Church of England). He left the University and retired to his father's coun­try place, Horton, in Bupkinghamshire. There he gave himself up to study and poetry.

Milton had long wished to complete his education by travelling, as was the custom of the time. He longed to visit Italy. The death of his mother in 1637 seems to have removed the strongest family tie he had. Having obtained his father's consent, Milton left England for a European tour. He visited Paris and the cities of Nice, Genoa and Florence. The many interesting men of literature that he met there, gave him much opportunity to satisfy his thirst for knowledge. He spent much time in the library of the Vatican, in Italy, he visited and talked with great Galileo who, no longer a prisoner in the Inquisition, was still under the supervision of Catholic churchmen. Milton suc­ceeded in getting into the house where Galileo was kept. His meet­ing with the great Martyr of science is mentioned in "Paradise LosF and in an article about the freedom of the press. After visiting Naples he wanted to .go to Sicily, but news of the state of affairs in England hastened his return. He returned to England in 1639, just when the struggle between the king and the.Puritan bourgeoisie began. For some time Milton had to do education work, and the result of his educational experience was a treatise on education.

At the age of 34, Milton married Mary Powell, the daughter of a wealthy royalist. The union proved unhappy. She was a young and frivolous girl, little fitted to be the companion of such a serious man. They had only been married a month, when the young bride sought permission to visit her parents and did not return.

Milton did not see his wife for four years. During this time he reflected much on marriage and divorce. As a result, a treatise on divorce appeared, in which, with no mention of his personal drama, Milton regarded marriage and divorce as a social problem. An unex­pected turn in the political situation of the country brought about the reconciliation of the couple and Mary returned.

When a Republican Government was established in the year 1649, Milton was appointed Latin Secretary of the Council of State. The work consisted chiefly of translating into Latin and from Latin diplomatic government papers. Milton had had poor eyesight even as a child, and now his doctors warned him that unless he stopped reading and writ­ing entirely, he would lose his sight. To this Milton replied that he had already sacrificed his poetry and was willing to sacrifice his eyes, too, for the liberty of his people. He lost his eyesight in І652. In the same year Milton's wife died in child-birth. Milton was left with three young daughters. Four years later he married Catharine Woodcock, the t daughter of a republican, but their happiness was not long. She died

within a year of their marriage. During the years of his work as Latin Secretary and journalist, Milton wrote only a few sonnets.

The death of Cromwell in 1660 was followed by the restoration of the monarchy. The son of the executed king, Charles H, was made king of England. With the restoration of the monarchy Milton was discharged from his office. The work of all his lifetime was destroyed. He and his family moved to a small house not far from London, and Milton again began to write poetry.

The years of Milton's retirement became the third period in his literary work. During this period he created works that made him one of the greatest poets of England. These were "Paradise Lost " and "Paradise Regained ". Milton's third wife was Elizabeth Minshel. She was not very well educated but she willingly wrote for her blind husband, and he dictated his last great works to her. Milton died on November 8, 1674, and was buried in London. Many years afterwards a monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey.

PARADISE LOST A general summary

This great epic poem (first printed in 1667) was planned in 10 books, but written in 12. The scene is the whole universe, including Heaven and Hell. Milton's splendid voice can be heard here at its best, in the great blank verse, strengthened by his immense learning and ornamented by all the skill of a master poet.

Book 1

The argument of the poem concerns the Fall of Man, the origins of his disobedience to God's laws being traced to Satan's efforts to exact revenge for his expulsion from heaven. Satan and the rebel angels are first shown lying in the burning lake. He rouses his followers and tells them there is hope of regaining Heaven. He orders them*into legions, naming the leaders and telling them a new world being created some­where in the utter darkness of Chaos. Then he summons a council and the palace of Satan, Pandemonium, is built.

Book 2

Satan and his followers debate where or not to wage another war at once to regain Heaven. They finally decide to investigate the new world: Satan himself will go. He passes through Hell gates past the twin sentinels, Death and Sin, and a journey through the realm of Chaos.

Book 3

God observes Satan's journey to the newly created world and fore­tells how Satan will succeed in bringing about the Fail of Man and how God will punish Man for yielding to temptation. The Son of God offers himself as a ransom for Man, to answer for the offence and undergo his punishment. To rejoicing in Heaven, God accepts and ordains his incarnation on a future day. Satan meanwhile has reached the outer rim of the Universe; he passes the Limbo of Vanity and arrives at the Gate of Heaven, where he changes his form to deceive Uriel, Guardian of the Sun. From him he learns the whereabouts of the new. world, and Man, the Creature God has placed there.

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Book 4

Satan arrives on earth and finds the Garden of Eden, where he observes Adam and Eve. They speak of the Tree of Knowledge and Satan decides to concentrate his temptation on this. Meanwhile Uriel has heard that one of the fallen has escaped from Hell, and warns Gabriel, who in Eden finds Satan at Eve's bower, trying to tempt her in a dream. The tempter is ejected.

Book 5

Eve awakens, troubled by her dream of temptation, and is comfort­ed by Adam. God sends Raphael to Adam: so that Man may know the nature of his enemy and the need for obedience to God, Raphael tells him of Satan's revolt in Heaven. Satan had gathered many to hear him and had proclaimed his resistance to the supreme author­ity of God.1 '

Book 6

Raphael continues his narrative. Michael and Gabriel command the hosts of Heaven but it is the Son of God who decides the outcome. He orders his angels to hold them from the centre he charges straight into Satan and his legions, driving them to the wall of Heaven, and down from there into the Deep of Hell. The passage where the Son mounts his attack on the rebels is the literal and the­matic centre of the poem, Man's future disgrace being the indirect consequence..

Book 7

The archangel tells Adam that God, after the defeat of Satan, decid­ed on another world, from which Man may aspire to Heaven. He sends his Son to perform the Creation in 6 days.

Book 8

Adam asks for knowledge of the celestial bodies and Raphael tells him that his first need is for knowledge of his own world. Adam then talks to him of Eve and of the passion she arouses in him. The archangel warns him to attend also to his higher instincts, lest he sub­ordinate these to his love for Eve. Then Raphael departs.

Book 9

Satan meanwhile has returned to Eden as a mist by night and has entered into a sleeping serpent. He finds Eve working alone and speaks flatteringly to her, extolling her beauty. Eve is curious that the creature has the gift of speech. He tells her he gained it by eating the fruit of a certain tree in the garden which he shows her, the Tree of Knowledge. At length he weakens her resolve and she eats the fruit. Satan slips out of the garden and Eve, feeling transformed in aware­ness, takes more of the fruit and goes with it to Adam who sees at once that she is lost. He eats the fruit also in order to share her trans­gression: they will fall together. Their innocence departs: they look for cover from their nakedness and the seeds of a dissension are shown.

Book 10

After the transgression, the guardian angels return to Heaven. The Son of God goes to Eden to deliver the judgement to Adam and Eve. Before he leaves the Garden he closes them, out of pity for their shame in their nakedness. Satan has returned triumphant to Hell; henceforth a path is open for Sin and death to enter the world of Man. Adam and Eve approach the Son of God in supplication, beg­ging for mitigation of the doom pronounced upon their children.

Book 11

The Son of God intercedes with the Father, but God declares that Adam and Eve must be expelled from Paradise. Michael descends to the Garden and tells them they must go out into the world, which he shows Adam from the summit of the hill. Adam is also shown what will happen in the world until the time of the Flood.

Book 12

Michael continues his account of the World, telling of Abraham and of the Messiah promised in the Son's intercession. Adam is com­forted by these revelations; he wakes the sleeping Eve and Michael leads them from the Garden.

Both Adam and Eve are archetypes with whom a reader can identi­fy as humans, and the network of abstract influences surrounding their central transgression rarely threatens to obscure their essential characteristics. As an embodiment of malicious cunning, Satan is a dramatic and almost recognizable character.

ASSIGNMENTS