In metaphysics, Aristotle creates a series of dualities that are inherently “masculine” or “feminine.” This original set of oppositions includes light and darkness, good and evil - the first of each duo being intrinsically associated with the male, and the second with the female. In many of his works, including Paradise Lost, John Milton not only draws inspiration from these opposing dualities, but creates a relationship between them. In his first prolusion, “Whether day or night be more excellent,” Milton clearly associates light with both God and goodness: “I regard the day as the first daughter of heaven, or rather its son , whom he would have generated to be the consolation of humanity and the terror of the deities of hell. » Day is not only in relation to Heaven, but also terrorizes the "deities of hell", so that day (and therefore light) must be good, as opposed to Night (and therefore darkness), which must not only be evil, but also linked to the occupants of Hell. In Paradise Lost, Milton expands this relationship between light and good, and between darkness and evil, to include the human faculty of vision as it relates to early humans' relationship with good and evil, which are embodied respectively in God and in Satan. The human ability to see is a thematic centerpiece in Milton's epic tale and, closely linked to the presence of light (or lack thereof) insofar as such a presence is linked to God, this narrative creates a motif that connects the books through the work as a whole. As the epic poem progresses, the abundance of light and vision that the reader encounters at the beginning of Book III becomes obscured when Satan enters the Garden of Eden and prevents Eve from being able to "see" her true self. intention ; in the later books, Adam and Eve's sight is restored when Michael physically lifts the barrier from Adam's eyes, which prevented him from fully seeing the implications of original sin. Adam and Eve's ability or inability to see therefore reflects the general course of action in Paradise Lost as a whole and, in examining the motif of the human faculty of sight, the broader theme of the relationship between light and darkness. to good and evil appears as a route by which the epic narrator connects separate books within the poem as a whole. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The invocation and the following text from Book III serve as an introduction to God and His role in the light-dark duality that is important in the sequel. foreshadowing the fall of Adam and Eve. Known as the "Book of God," Book III begins with the epic narrator's invocation of the muse of Light, which reaffirms Milton's relationship between light and God: "Hail, holy Light, offspring of the first -born of Heaven,/Or of the “eternal co-eternal Ray/ Can I express to you without reproach? since God is Light, / And never except in an inaccessible Light / Inhabited since eternity, then dwelt in you” (PL III, 1-5). After the first two Paradise Lost books set in Hell, this immediate and unwavering proclamation from the epic narrator that Light is "the offspring of Heaven's firstborn", leaves no doubt that since "God is Light » and God is good, then the light is good. The epic narrator also introduces the faculty of sight in Book III, foreshadowing its relationship to the fall of Adam and Eve in the epic narrator's personal experience. Whether or not Milton created the epic narrator as a reflection of himself, the narrator is blind and uses his blindness tocreating a strong relationship between sight and goodness before Adam and Eve are introduced into the poem. The first time the narrator establishes his inability to see, he says to the Muse “thou/do not revisit those eyes that roll in vain/to find thy piercing ray and find no dawn” (PL III, 22-24). By rolling his eyes "in vain to find thy piercing ray", the narrator expresses his desire to find the light but also recognizes his inability to do so. However, the narrator also recognizes that his physical sight is not necessary to relay the story of Adam and Eve: "All the more since you are rather Heavenly Light/ Shine inward, and the spirit through all his powers / radiates, sets eyes there, all mist from there / Purge and disperse, so that I can see and say / Things invisible to mortal sight” (PL III, 52-56). By requesting that the Muse's "heavenly light" "shine inward," she can be inspired without the physical faculty of sight, and the epic narrator can recount the fate of Adam and Eve and the consequences of the trickery of Satan, “things invisible to the eyes.” deadly sight. » By emphasizing the motifs of sight associated with light and goodness, the epic narrator creates a central relationship in the poem, such that when Adam and Eve are later introduced, the theme transitions seamlessly to apply to the characters. to the Garden of Eden in Book IX not only brings the darkness that prevents Eve from "seeing" good from evil, but also reaffirms the centrality of the light-dark duality in the poem. Although Satan was previously introduced in Paradise Lost as an evil entity, in Book IX's invocation the epic narrator draws on his own suffering and blindness to create an invocation for a tragic, not epic, poem. In doing so, the narrator reiterates Satan's mission and associates him with darkness: "At night he fled, and at midnight he returned from around the Earth, distrusting the day" (PL IX, 58-59) . Comfortable with night, Satan's caution toward day—and thus light—clearly serves as an early indicator in the book that the epic narrator intends to maintain the relationship between God and Satan in the duality of light and darkness. Satan's very existence is framed by a series of extremes, just like authoritarian dualities: “the more I see/Of pleasures around me, the more I feel/Torments within me, like a hateful siege/Of opposites; everything is good for me. becomes/Scourge" (PL IX, 119-123). For Satan, everything good in his immediate vicinity fuels his rage and confirms his own inability to see the implications of his expulsion from Heaven. In Satan's perverse mentality, everything good turns sour, so his resolve to take all of God's remaining creation with him to hell makes sense. Milton's genius, however, is clear in the way he guides Satan to do so. because it relies on a character who thinks in purely visual terms Throughout Paradise Lost, Eve establishes herself as a character who thinks in visual terms and relies on sight to understand her surroundings. to see his true intention, Satan covers his eyes with a metaphorical veil of darkness, so that his own flaws ensure his victory. By incorporating the motives of light and darkness with good and evil, Milton transfers these. themes - previously reserved only for God and Satan - to Adam and Eve, and incorporates the frail faculty of human sight as a vehicle through which humans can understand why light is present. good and darkness are evil. Satan understands the importance of human sight and uses the body of a serpent to hide because "his dark suggestions hide from plain sight.".