book IX

In terms of the question of Milton's purpose in writing Paradise Lost, I have to say I think its mostly for entertainment value. Yes, there is a lot within the text that is considered truth, but his numerous references to Greek mythology seem to serve as a constant reminder that this is merely his embellishment of the story of original sin. As for the text of book IX, I found Satan's speech beginning on line 99 to be particularly intriguing. His reasoning here for corrupting man seems to be two fold: he appears to be incredibly envious of man and therefore punishes man not only as revenge against God, but out of spite for man being the favorite child so to speak. Satan states that "spite then with spite is best repaid." This spite is not only revenge in the form of his own spite for God, but also in the form of man's spite for God. Milton uses a combination of language and snake imagery to really emphasize the context of the speech. Lines such as "Revenge, at first though sweet,/Bitter ere long back on itself recoils," and the overuse of the word "spite" here were very amusing. The constant "s" sound here not only reminds us of his serpent form, but also enhances the passage's evil flavor.

The subject of free will, though only breifly touched upon in this speech, is one that made me think more than I would have liked. Satan's claim that "I in one night freed/From servitude inglorious well-nigh half/Th' angelic name..." seems to support the idea that free will does not exist. The fallen angels see themselves as escaped from forced worship and that only in their escape have they gained free will. However, God knows where they are and could easily force them back into Heaven to laud his name, yet he doesn't. The fact that they were able to make the decision to escape at all seems like enough proof of free will. Of course, considering the larger picture and the grand scale of eternity, who knows if God is merely allowing them the illusion of free will. Free will seems to have a slightly different application when it comes to mankind. Man is caught between God and Satan but since God created man, could he not create man in a way that would make him immune to the temptations of sin? Assuming that God is benevolent, why would he knowingly condemn his prized creation? He, being all powerful, could easily have made every one of us to love and worship him, yet is it really love if its not a choice? Since this is a debate that perhaps no one knows the answer to, maybe its futile to even think about it.