Essay on John Milton’s Paradise Lost - Defense for the Allegory of Sin

Defense for the Allegory of Sin and finale in promised land Lost Milton claims his epic meter nirvana Lost exceeds the work of his civil predecessors. He argues that he tackles the most difficult task of recounting the business relationship of not just nonpareil hero, but the entire human race. However, he does not appear to follow the conventional rules of an epic when he introduces an fable into Paradise Lost through his portrayal of Sin and Death in Book II. Some readers denounce his work for this inconsistency, but differents justify his exercise and uncover extremely important symbolism from this forbidden literal device. Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary defines an epic a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a fabled or historical hero (epic, def. 1) and allegory as the expression by means of symbolic fictitious figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human public (allegory, def. 1). Based on these definitions, it is unc lear whether allegories fit into a true epic. From one perspective, such(prenominal) extended symbolism is not appropriate because it relies on fictional figures whereas an epic is based on a historical hero. For this reason, some readers may dislike Miltons extended symbolism of Sin and Death since it violates the traditional form of an epic. However From another point of view, an allegory is an delicious literary component to an epic because it is considered an element of elevated style. Therefore, other readers may see nothing wrong with Miltons literary decision. Miltons poetic license entitles him to write as he pleases and therefore justifies his fitting of an allegory into his epic. It is clearly apparent that Milton recognizes this privilege when... ...ilton relies heavily on the parole for much of his information. With Miltons timeframe and era for writing Paradise Lost in mind, we can justify his choice to incorporate an allegory into his epic. Allegories present mea nings on two levels, one literal and the other hidden, which often expresses a righteous or idea produced by the author. With this in mind, the allegory is key to discretion many parts of Paradise lots since Milton addresses so many issues in this one scene. Within the allegory alone, we discover extensive symbolism and interrogate if there are more details to be uncovered distributively time we study the epic. Milton effectively elicits his readers attention by raising such controversy and holds our fascination with his intriguing hidden ideas, meanings, and symbolic relationships. Works Cited Milton, John. Paradise Lost. New York W.W. Norton, 1993.