11. 1- 21:
In this passage, which begins book eleven, the narrator continues directly from the end of book ten with Adam and Eve in supplication to God. Milton evokes the concept of "prevenient grace" [11.3], the innate grace that exists outside human decisions and existence, as what allows them to pour out genuine pleas. Because of this grace, the prayers reach Heaven with ease, allowing the Son to present their case to the Father.
In this passage, Milton also references the Greek myth of Deucalion and Pyrrah, a myth similar to that of Noah’s arc — Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrah were the only humans to survive a great flood sent by the gods as revenge for mankind’s hubris, and restored mankind. Despite the myth’s roots and ancient Greece, Milton stresses, in an almost incongruous interruption, that Deucalion and Pyrrah are less ancient than Adam and Eve [11.11]—after all, he must stay with the doctrine that these are the original humans.
11. 22 - 44:
In these lines the speaker is the Son, and he is collecting the prayers of Adam and Eve and presenting them to God. He is trying to intercede on their behalf in order to ask God to forgive them. One part I found particularly interesting was "Fruits of more pleasing savor from thy seed / Sown with contrition in his heart, than those / Which his own hand manuring all the trees / of Paradise could have produc't, ere fall'n / From innocence" (11.26-30). To me, this means that the prayers Adam and Eve are sending to Heaven are actually being referred to as fruit, and are somehow better than before their fall. I think that the Son is arguing that the "fruit" is better because they feel remorse in their heart and are not worshipping him innocently. This kind of works in to what we were talking about in class, as Adam and Eve did not know before the fall what Death was, and only knew to fear it because God told them to. Now that they know, they are worshipping him with more purpose because they are so remorseful for having disobeyed him.
11. 45 - 71:
In this passage God agrees to the Son's request. He tells the Son about the changes that need to happen for the humans, including that they can no longer stay in Paradise because they are tainted and that world will not accept them. He adds that to make things easier on humans he will let Death into the world so that we don't have to live in misery forever and those humans who are faithful to him will be able to go to Heaven. I had to look up the meaning of ["]Synod["] and it means an assembly of clergy so I interpreted that as the people who make it to Heaven will be judged differently in comparison to how God is judging humans at present.
11. 72 - 83:
The speaker is speaking, in this section and what is described is the calling of a council "the Sons of Light" (80). Though the most intriguing part of this section is the clear refferance to the end of days, judgement day. As the trumpet the calls the meeting is seeming heard rarely, "His Trumpet, heard in Oreb since perhaps / When God descended, and perhaps once more / To sound at general Doom..." (74-76). The calling would then by implcation have to include the four harbingers of the apocalypse; War, Conquest, Famine and Death. If read in this way, then it would seem that the end of days would include an assault by heavenly hosts upon the world of mortals, thereby making it seem that we have more to fear from God than we do from Satan, as God is the one who holds the keys to our destruction. Satan merely wishes to corrupt us and see us sent to hell, rather than destroyed.
11. 84 - 125:
In lines 84-125, God is addressing the Archangels in heaven. He begins by recounting the
events of books 9 and 10 establishing that man, like the angels, now has a working knowledge of both good and evil. However, he wishes not for Adam to display “His knowledge of Good lost, and evil got” (11.87), as Adam was happier in knowing good on its own without any knowledge of evil at all. This passage is interesting given that in Areopagitica Milton argues that “the knowledge of good is so involv'd and interwoven with the knowledge of evill”. Yet, in Paradise Lost he seems to be suggesting that prior to the eating of the fruit, knowledge of good independent from knowledge of evil is the greatest form of knowledge. Nevertheless, God continues to discuss Adam’s prayers and concludes that Adam and Eve must be sent from the Garden of Eden. God then orders Michael to travel down to Eden with whichever angels he wishes to ensure that paradise is not claimed by Satan. Also, Michael must banish Adam and Eve from the Garden. In doing so, God is using extraordinary providence or a kind of direct intervention by sending the archangel to Earth as his representative so that he may carry out God’s will. God then informs Michael that should Adam and Eve accept their punishment and obey God’s decree, then “in future dayes, / As I shall thee enlighten, intermix / My Cov’nant in the womans seed renewd” (11.114-6). Following this sentencing God places guards at the entrance of Eden and around the Tree of Life.
11. 126 - 40:
Lines 126-40 of Book VI are spoken by the Speaker, who narrates the preparation for descent of Michael and his group of Cherubim. The Cherubim are described as each having four faces, "like a double Janus" (l.129), referring to the Roman god, Janus, who had two faces. The Cherubim also have many eyes, which emphasizes their watchful vigilance. Unlike the Roman character, Argus, whom they are compared to, it is said that their eyes can't be made to close by rod, reed or pipe (as is used by Hermes on Argus). The repeated references to Roman figures are notable as they acknowledge religious figures and gods other than the Christian God. While Michael is preparing to descend to Earth, Adam and Eve are waking up. By referencing Leucothea (l.135), the goddess of dawn light, the reader knows that the time frame is early morning. The speaker states that Adam and Eve have finished their morning prayers, or "Orisons" (l.137), and now feel rejuvenated: "Strength added from above, new hope to spring / Out of despair, joy" (11.139-140). While the pair still is not entirely happy - "with fear yet linkt" (l.139) - Adam's address to Eve in the upcoming passage is comforting.
11. 141 - 61:
The section begins with Adam speaking to Eve about their prayer and their new hope. He explains to Eve that even though they have lost the good that was given to them from heaven, their prayers have surely been passed on to God and he shall listen. He believes that their prayers will get to God and he will show pity on them. Adam continues by stating that the worst is over and the hardest part about death has passed. Adam ends with saying that Eve's seed (children) will hurt Satan because they shall continue to live through them. Eve shall be known as the Mother of all Mankind and of all living things which means that man shall survive and live. By having more children, the more Mankind and thus hurting Satan. I believe that with more children, it means that Satan will have to do a lot more to get everyone to disobey God. Basically, he would have to continuously work to get all of Mankind to fall.
It's nice to see the hope that comes from Adam in this section as well as his trust in God's love/justice. After everything that has happened, Adam still leaves his faith in God and thinks positively. However, we know that this isn't ignorance since both Adam and Eve have eaten the Fruit and have become ìhumanî. He is genuinely hopeful which is a nice new emotion for a change.
11. 162 - 80:
Here Eve is speaking in response to Adam telling her she may reclaim her honor through becoming the mother of all of mankind.
Eve states that she is undeserving of so kind a fate as to be beloved by her myriad descendants given it was her actions that brought death to mankind and ensnared Adam in the fall. She finally accepts her role however, beginning to feel a little better about the situation (11.162-70).
Eve sees that there is much work to be done in the garden despite how worn out she and Adam are. This weariness with the prospect of work is in stark contrast to the sunny outlook on the garden's maintenance she and Adam had in their introduction and foreshadows the backbreaking toil that will be humanity's fate from this point on (11.171-75).
Eve says she will always stay by Adam's side (perhaps this is supposed to be some sort of origin myth for traditional Christian gender roles and marriage?) in the garden, not yet aware that she and Adam will be expelled from paradise (Here the poem gets its title, obviously) (11.176-80).
11. 181 - 92:
Eve has just finishing speaking and the speaker begins to speak. Eve had hoped that she and Adam could live a content life but fate dictates their lives differently. The word ["]fate["] highlights mankind's powerlessness as they have no involvement in their future. Nature begins to deteriorate and signs of this are starting to occur. First there is an eclipse. The Bird of Jove (an Eagle) begins to stoopt (a hunting term) and hunt prey and a lion begins to gain its hunter instincts as well. This shows how nature is becoming corrupted as animals begin to fall to a more savage existence. Adam is witnessing these signs and begins to speak to Eve. [Late]
11. 193 - 207:
Adam is speaking and telling Eve that they were too hasty in thinking that they could have escaped punishment He believes, based on the afore-mentioned signs in nature, that God has another plan for them. Adam thinks that God has sent these signs to either explicitly warn them or just foreshadow their punishment. He is not sure how long it will be before they receive their punishment, nor does he know what their life will be like until that punishment occurs. He also is not sure that they might not be destroyed and returned to dust. He can think of no other reason why these natural signs are happening, revealing another one: darkness is clouding over at midday, and the light from the rising sun is now found in the west instead of the east. He believes it is heavenly power that is doing this.
11. 208 - 25:
In this passage, the speaker describes Michael’s arrival to the Garden of Eden. The speaker evokes biblical stories such as that of Jacob and Elisha, both which find their faith in God re-affirmed in moments of their lives that seemed hopeless. Jacob is led by God to hide his people from his evil brother, and finds safety in a place he names Mahanaim. Elisha is surrounded by mountains in Dothan, but is aided by God, who sends chariots of fire to help him escape from the Syrian army. Perhaps the speaker wishes to indicate that this moment is somehow similar, with God sending down one of his most trusted angels to bring news to Adam and Eve.
11. 226 - 37:
This is a conclusion section, where the speaker here is telling Eve directly that she is to expect great things. This can change the laws or rules of how they currently live. The speaker then states that Raphael is coming to meet him and must go. The speaker sets up the idea that an Arch-Angel will come to visit soon.
11. 238 - 50:
The Speaker is narrating the approach of the angel Michael to meet Adam after he has descended from Heaven. He is described as having the form of a man as opposed to that of an angel, and he is wearing a "military Vest of purple" (11.241) that is more magnificent than the dye from the town of Meliboea over his "lucid" arms (11.240) - "arms" probably meaning here the weapons he has on him, and "lucid" meaning bright or luminous (OED). The colours of his clothing are further described with various references to blue, purple, and the colours of dawn (footnotes). He wears a starry helmet and a sword (apparently the worst fear of Satan) in his belt or "Zodiac", and carries a spear. Adam bows low upon the angel's approach; Michael does not reciprocate due to his status, but instead calls out to Adam.
11. 251 - 62:
In these lines Michael addresses Adam. He tells Adam that his prayers were heard in heaven and that through good deeds, he may be saved by God[']s grace. He then says that despite this, Adam must leave Paradise. Michael has been sent down to Adam to remove him from paradise.
11. 263 - 85:
In this passage, it begins with the narrator explaining what is going on (Adam leaving Paradise). Everyone had heard about Adam's news and saw it as unexpected. There is a shift of who is speaking. Eve reflects on the news that she heard and compares it to death and is upset about what is going on. She questions about having to leave Paradise and relfects about her time there. She does not know how she will part from Paradise, probably because she is used to it and is comfortable there. She sees paradise as a higher world when she mentions the lower world that she will be downgrading to. She is unsure of how she will breath in a different air and less pure fruit. This passage is Eve acknowledging that she will leave paradise with Adam and how she does not know what to expect.
11. 286 - 92:
Here in a more piteous instance, Eve again eavesdrops on conversation between her husband and an Angel - this time, Michael. His comments to the still-hidden Eve are something of an aside; Adam quickly picks up the discourse while Eve is afforded no reply. Whether unwaveringly orienting Eve toward Adam is a consolation or a curse, the woman is effectively deprived of any property, or home of her own: "Thy Husband, him to follow thou art bound; / Where he abides, think there thy native soil" (11,291-2). Paradise "is not thine" (11.289), says the Angel; and it is only through Adam that Eve can maintain any sense of place at all once they are ejected from the Garden. Reading into the political and legal ramifications of these lines, the present day reader may discern an historical basis for unequal property laws in Milton's interpretation of divine justice. John Locke, writing only a few years after Milton's death, hearkens to Genesis when formulating his conception of proper government. For Locke, Adam's male offspring retain "the Power that every Husband hath to order the things of private Concernment in his family, as the proprietor of the Goods and Land there, and to have his Will take place before that of his wife in all things of their common Concernment" (Locke, The First Treatise, ß 48).
11. 293 - 333:
After Adam collects himself he addresses Michael, he says even though this news is awful that they must leave Paradise, Michael told them gently and in a nice way which made it less harsh. It is still a very frightening thought leaving, everywhere else seems “Inhospitable appeer and desolate” (11. 306). The latter part of this passage is Adams concerns about the distance from God and how will he be able to communicate with him still because in Paradise he is everywhere:the pines, the fountain, on the mount etc.. but now he will be much harder to reach. I find this a little strange just because if God occupies everything, why does Adam only think that he could communicate or feel the same presence of God in Paradise? He says “For though I fled him angrie, yet recall'd / To life prolongd and promisd Race, I now / Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts” (11. 330-332) (the skirts part made me think of when a child is grasping the skirt of their mother when they are scared or asking for something) so he is fully aware of the fact that he is now going to worship further from God but he is grateful to still have any connection to him. [Late]
11. 334 - 69:
In lines 334-369, Michael is speaking to Adam. After Adam expresses his concern about losing memories with God in the garden, Michael responds by telling Adam that God’s “Omnipresence fills / Land, Sea, and Air, and every kind that lives” (11.336-337). Michael comforts Adam by telling him that God’s presence is everywhere, not just in paradise. Michael also tells Adam that he has been “sent / To show thee what shall come in future days / To thee and to thy Offspring” (11.356-358). At the end of the lines, Michael takes Adam to a hill to climb while Eve sleeps.
11. 370 - 76:
In book XI lines 370-76, Adam replies to Michael. He is going to follow Michael and take whatever consequence he has earned with his disobedience. He wants to turn away from evil and overcome it by suffering, thereby earning some rest.
11. 423 - 8:
In this passage the sugar-coated blindness sin covered Adam with has been removed from his eyes. He now sees the full weight of his transgression and overwhelmed he collapses with his eyes closed. However, Michael does not allow him to wallow in self-pity. Colloquially speaking the arch angel tells Adam to wake up and smell the coffee and that he must lie in the bed he has made. He then prepares Adam to see the effects of his “original crime” (424).
What is this “original crime”?(424) Adam never touched the tree, nor did he concede to the temptation of Satan. Instead Adam’s transgression came when his sin committed her idolatry and tricked him into joining her; it is “from that sin derive / Corruption to bring forth more violent deeds”. This passage suggests that Adam’s original crime was wanting Eve. This goes back to book 8 (ln. 364-451) where Adam is discontent with his solitude and asks God to give him true happiness in the form of a partner. God tries to make it clear that true happiness is found only in the worship of Himself but grants his request nonetheless. When Eve is actually created Adam becomes so entranced by her beauty that he begins to idolize her and Michael has to warn him that he will not be excused if he disobeys on account of her beauty (8.560-594). In the actual moment of the fortunate fall Adam only partakes of the fruit so that he avoids separation from Eve; “we are one, / One Flesh; to lose thee were to lose myself” (9.958-959). His original crime was replacing his love for God with love for Eve.
11. 429 - 49:
In lines 429-449 the speaker is the narrator and he is recounting Adam's realization of the consequences of his sin. The first thing he sees is a hilly field for growing crops and for pasturing sheep. There is an Altar in the field where people are leaving gifts, or sacrifices. The first man is a farmer who brings green ears of corn and a bundle of grain that he did not even pick, it was "uncull'd" (436). The second man on the other hand was a shepherd who was meeker and sacrificed his best lamb. The shepherd's sacrifice is accepted, but the farmer's is deemed to be insincere and he is smited and killed. Adam watches and feels dismay at this man's fate. The reference to the ears of corn reminded me of Genesis 41 where the Pharaoh dreams of 7 good, healthy ears of corn get swallowed up by 7 thin and scorched ears of corn. This dream along with a previous dream about 7 fat cows getting eaten up by 7 thin cows was supposed to be a warning from God that 7 good years of harvest were to come followed by 7 years of famine.
11. 450 - 3:
In this passage Adam is speaking to Michael about what he has just seen. The "mischief" (11.450) that is being referred to is murder. This is after Adam witnesses the death of another person. He sees this because Michael is showing him the consequence of the original sin. The murder he saw was when one of his sons (Caine) kills the other (Able), because his act of sacrifice is not as well liked by God. This is the difference between the plant and animal sacrifice. Able is the "meek man" noted in 11.451. The question in line 11.452 of acting according to this passage is basically asking if by acting according to God is repaid by death. The animal sacrifice is the act of "piety" (11.452) being referred to.
11. 454 - 60:
The angel Michael is speaking in this passage. He explains to Adam that the murder witnessed will be committed by two brothers, Cain and Abel. Michael goes onto explain that Cain will be punished for his murder and that Abel will be rewarded for his piety despite his Death.
11. 460 - 5:
Adam demonstrates grief after witnessing death for the very first time. His grief probably does not just come from the fact that it is his first time of ever seeing death, but also because it is the first time death has ever happened to a man, and that the cause of that death is his own son. Likewise, it is also going to cause Adam grief with the fact that the particular human that dies as a result of Adam's son is of course another one of Adam's sons.
11. 466 - 77:
In this passage, Michael tells Adam that what he has just witnessed is only one form of death. Death comes in many shapes and "many are the ways that lead / to his grim Cave, all dismal" (11. 468-9). This cave is likened to some form of the underworld. Michael goes on to tell Adam that death will come "by fire, flood, famine" (11. 472) and in numerous other ways. His speech is very bleak and foreboding as he tells Adam that death is miserable and it exists as a punishment that will teach him "what misery th'inabstinence of Eve / shall bring on men" (11. 476-7). This vision will enable Adam to see how humankind will become due to the fall and displays why they should have remained obedient to God.
11. 477 - 99:
In this passage, Michael is showing to Adam all the horrors that will come as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve from Paradise. He is first shown a ‘Lazar-house’ [XI.479]; this was a term often given to houses specifically for those suffering from leprosy, a disease with certain sacred connotations (it was believed that lepers, though pariahs in life, would get to heaven faster because of the suffering they endured on earth as penitence), but in this passage there are people suffering from many terrible diseases, including stones and ulcers, cataracts, colic, depression, dropsy, asthma, various bodily pains, and epilepsy [XI.480-88]—also considered ‘sacred’ by early medical scholars because of the strange occurrences during seizures thought to be the result of divine or demonic presence. Above them all, Death, wished for to end the agony, stands, staying his hand and watching them suffer. The passage ends with another jab at women—Adam weeps at the sight, despite having no ‘woman’ in him to weaken him make such an unmanly display [XI.495-97]. [Late]
11. 500 - 14:
In these lines, Adam is speaking to Michael and addresses mankind. He is weeping over seeing such horrors and he wonders if it is worth living at all to see these tortures. He says if we knew what was waiting for us, and had the choice on whether or not to be born, people would turn life down. Finally, he asks, “Why should not Man/ Retaining still Divine similitude / In part, from such deformities be free / And for his Maker’s Image sake exempt?” (11. 511-514) which to me means he’s asking God why, if he’s made in God’s image, is he not able to be exempt from all this pain and suffering. However, I felt that this was a strange question to ask as he knows exactly why he isn’t exempt: He broke the rules by eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. On the other hand, Adam has been shown a lot in the past few minutes, and is obviously very shaken by the whole experience. He has been treated like a child and sheltered from all of this pain, so why would he be able to handle this barrage of pain? He might not be asking the right questions because he’s so upset by what he’s seen. I guess it’s similar to seeing someone else suffering and not being able to do anything for them. It can bring on a feeling of hopelessness, and wishing there was an answer to a question you might not be able to give words to even. Adam is feeling that emotion . . . but for a bunch of people at once.
11. 515 - 25:
Michael is responding to Adam's question in this passage and tells him that his and Eve's punishment is not being changed out of God's image but ruining their own image and therefore moving themselves further away from God. Michael adds that they have also brought on disease and sickness to themselves because they did not show respect to the aspect of themselves that was like God.
11. 526 - 9:
This section has Adam speaking, seemingly wishing for death to take him, he asks: "These painful passages, how we may come / To Death, and mix with our connatural dust?" (528-529). The suffering that if felt knowing that Paradise has been lost to them would seem to be such that they wish to have nothing more to do with their wretched existances.
11. 530 - 46:
In lines 530-546, Michael is speaking to Adam and is explaining what dying of old age entails. He begins by referencing the “rule of not too much” (531), which is the idea that indulging too much or too little in food or drink will destroy ones health. This rule was already well known, as it originates from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. Also, Michael warns Adam not to consume with “gluttonous delight” (533), as this is one of the seven deadly sins and will result in an early death. If Adam abides by these rules then he will live a long life, and when it is time for Adam to go he will die like ripe fruit falling from a tree. He will not be harshly plucked. However, although this does not sound like a terrible fate, Michael informs Adam that with old age comes weakness. He will outlive his youth, strength and beauty and senses will dwindle. Age will weigh his spirit down until his life finally fades away.
11. 547 - 52:
After learning about life and death from Michael, Adam decides that he will not fear the coming of death, but rather welcome it as transcendence from the toils of life. He calls life a "combrous charge" (l. 549) that he will have to endure "till [his] appointed day / Of rendring up" (ll. 550-551). These lines are interesting in terms of the pre-knowledge vs. pre-destination debate that has been going on throughout the poem, as Adam asserts that the date of his death is appointed, therefore supporting fate. He is somewhat bitter in this passage, in that he must "patiently attend / [His] dissolution" (ll. 551-552), dwelling more on his physical decay than on the happiness he can experience while living.
11. 553 - 97:
For the first three lines of this section, Michael replies to Adam's statement about life and death. He says how he will not love his life nor hate it, but we will live well and it'll be up to Heaven (God) if he will live a short or long life. He ends by saying that he will show him another vision. (He is showing the visions in order to show Adam the result of his actions and how there are many ways to die in the world. This section reflects the affects of woman and their sexual temptations)
The speaker is responsible for describing the vision by Michael:
The scene, which appears more positive than the previous, opens up to a large plain or field filled with various tents. The speaker describes the scene in rich detail with cows grazing, the sounds of the chimes, harps and organs and the like. The scene is that of the Genesis IV with the description of the children of Cain.
Cain had many children, however this scene describes only a few:
Yabal, who was the first man to live in a tent and raise cattle. "whereon / Were Tents of various hue; by some were herds / Of Cattel grazing" (11.556-558)
Yubal, who was the first to play the lyre and the flute. "whence the sound / Of Instruments that made melodious chime / Was heard, of Harp and Organ" (11.558-560)
Tubal-Cain, who was the first to make tools out of metal. "In other part stood one who at the Forge / Labouring, two massie clods of Iron and Brass / Had melted . . . / . . . . / from which he formd / First his own Tooles" (11.564-572)
So the speaker is describing the scene with the children of Cain and how they play their instruments and how they know how to create things with metal. The section continues with now God like men coming down from the hillside on to the field. Once they came down from the hill, the tents opened up and a "beavie" (the proper term for a company of maidens or ladies) of beautiful women came out all cheerful and dressed in ìGems and wanton dressî (11.583). They sang and danced and that's when the men observed them and thus were seduced. Each man paired up with a woman and they all retired to their respectful tents to partake in lustful affairs until the night. I believe the section ends with the pairs going into marriage, (Hymen: marriage, wedding, nuptials) and how the celebrations were filled with song and dance and flours and garlands. Everyone was happy and there appears to be no negative outcome with the scene (However, we realize what the scene is actually saying in the next couple of sections). The section finishes with Adam feeling delight and warmth in his heart for the joyful vision and then he began to speak into the next section.
All of Michael's visions are ways in showing Adam the result of his children and how they will live their lives in his failure. This scene seems to reflect a similarity to Adam and Eve's life in Paradise before their fall. We have Adam who was seen as this righteous man who stands tall on top of the hill (closest to God). And then we have the seduction of Eve at the bottom of the hill (hierarchy of the sexes) where she (they) lure the men in the tents and celebrate their "marriage." This is so similar to the situation of Adam and Eve in Paradise and so it would make sense that the scene will actually represent the negative which we will see in the following sections.
11. 598 - 602:
Adam speaks to Michael here, filled with joy at having seen scenes of his descendants in a seemingly joyful and contented situation despite the fall.
Adam is unaware of the images' context and his relief is short-lived (11.598-602).
This passage again shows that in Milton's worldview, the morality of an act is influenced by its context, so joy and happiness in excess can be wrong or right depending on who is experiencing them and for what reason. This parallels the changing view of sex throughout the poem.
11. 603 - 27:
Adam had just seen the vision of the future and expressed his happiness at the improvement over his current situation that mankind will experience. Michael is responding to that to inform him of how wrong he is as the situation that mankind is in is actually very bad. Adam is told that he cannot judge what is best for nature by the pleasure that mankind has because nature was created for a nobler existence in paradise. The tents that he sees are really the dwellings of evil because the people who inhabit them are without God. The people are the race of he "Who slew his Brother" (11.609) which, I assume, is a reference to Adams son Cain who killed his brother Abel. The people seem happy and Adam perceives them as being men of quality (artists, inventors, and studious) but they do not know God and they do not acknowledge what he provides for them, which is everything. The women are described as physically beautiful but spiritually empty; this is because they do not know "womans domestic honour and chief praise" (11. 617). Honor for Adam is loyalty to God but for women it is loyalty to Man. The coming sadness of mankind is foretold and a reference to the flood (11.625-626) is made to show their coming fate.
11. 628 - 33:
The speaker first describes Adam's fleeting joy at the possibility of having the happy life the angel showed him. Adam then states what a pity it is that those who entered into it so innocently strayed from the path or didn't otherwise complete the journey. He still understands the path that man followed, saying that it all started with woman (Eve).
11. 634 - 37:
Michael begins this section by defending Eve’s culpability, he tells Adam that it was weak of him, and therefore womanly, to have let her disobey him. He expects a man to be stronger, and able to hold firm to his decisions. Adam was given superior gifts to those that Eve received, and should have used them to prevent their fall from Paradise. Michael ends this passage by asking Adam to prepare for another glimpse into the future. [Late]
11. 638 - 75:
In this section Michael continues to show Adam what will happen in the future. One of the first things that Adam describes seeing happen is the "wide Territory spread" (638). I saw this as possibly being the idea of Pangaea: that the continents have been separated from one large continent. Adam then goes into great detail about the life of the animals. He talks about the horses and how they are used in battle. How even the lambs had different roles than before, that the shepherds are controlled by the sheep. This seems odd since in the garden, man has dominance over animals.
The speaker shows Adam all the violence that is coming. Adam is truly upset by what he sees. He "was all in tears" (674) over the violence and oppression on the earth. The violence seems to never end that "refuge none was found" (673). This was devastating to Adam because his fall was going to create chaos. His fall creates the violence that is to come.
The theme of Justice shows up in this section as well. Adam sees that the people in this vision constantly think about religion and the oppositions that steam from it; peace vs truth, and justice vs judgment. He says that these people are of middle age and the young and old turn to violence instead of wisdom.
11. 675 - 82:
The speaker narrates. After seeing another image shown to him by Michael of carnage, war, battles and destruction, Adam is distraught and weeping. He had just seen a man "of middle Age" (11.665) speaking to throngs/riots of people about "Right and Wrong, / Of Justice, of Religion, Truth and Peace, / And Judgement from above" (11.666-68) and the man's consequent seizure by the crowd. Adam asks Michael who all of the people are and why they are acting like "Death's Ministers" (11.676), killing each other and acting so "inhumane." He comments on how such actions are ten thousand times the sin of Cain killing his brother, as was seen in another vision. Lastly, Adam asks Michael who the man was that was speaking as he was taken away by the crowd and (I assume) killed.
11. 683 - 711:
In this passage Michael is speaking to Adam about the scene he has just witnessed. Michael refers to the giants (who were begotten by the son’s of Seth and the daughters of Cain) stating that they are going to be held of high renown. The angel goes on to say that in days to come, might and strength will be admired and rewarded. That virtue will be determined by ones bravery in battle and their skills in war. In this time the highest of human glories will be given to those who excel at slaughtering and stealing. The angel finishes this thought by saying; it is these traits that will gain man fame, and “what most merits fame” (11. 699) will be silenced.
Michael goes on to say that when the Son of God comes to earth he will be one just man among the perverse, and for this he will be hated. He will tell the world of how God will come to judge them. The Son will act as an example to the world of what it is to be exempt from death, and will show the world what rewards await the obedient and what punishments await the disobedient.
I feel that what Michael is describing is the classic definition of a hero, or heroism. For example, in classical poetry men like Aeneas and Achilles are idealized and defined as heroes. The traits that define them as such are their abilities to conquer many men in battle, the journeys they have taken, and the cities they have pillaged. When Michael says “what most merits fame” (11. 699), I feel he is referring to Milton’s redefining of the hero discussed at the opening of Book 9. Furthermore, it seems as though Michael is suggesting that the Son of God is a form of the redefined hero. Interestingly enough Achilles, Aeneas, and the Son all have one thing in common, they are all Sons of Gods.
11. 712 - 62:
In this passage, the narrator is speaking to Adam's reaction to how things have changed. There seems to be sins coming into the world when he says "To luxurie and riot, feast and dance, / Marrying or prostituting, as befell, / Rape or Adulterie, where passing faire / Allurd them; thence from Cups to civil Broiles" (11.715-18). A reverend sire comes and is dissapointed in what he is seeing. The Ark is being built "For Man and Beast: when loe a wonder strange! / Of every Beast, and Bird, and Insect small / Came seavens, and pairs, and enterd in, as taught / Thir order; last the Sire, and his three Sons / With thir four Wives; and God made fast the dore" (11.733-737). It seemed to have been a panic going from organizing the building of the boat, to choosing two of everything to go on the boat and then all of a sudden there is imagery of the storm coming in. Adam is seen as grieving and maybe feeling guilty: "How didst thou grieve then, Adam, to behold / The end of all thy Ofspring, end so sad, / Depopulation; thee another Floud" (11.754-756). I am unsure about the final lines where it says "Thou didst accept them; wilt thou enjoy the good, / Then cavil the conditions? and though God / Made thee without thy leave, what if thy Son / Prove disobedient, and reprov'd, retort, / Wherefore didst thou beget me? I sought it not" (11.758-762).
11. 763 - 86:
Adam cries out after viewing the destruction of nearly all his offspring in the Great Flood. He rues that he has been offered this foreknowledge at all, adding a remark that brings to mind a saying of Christ. "Each day's lot / Anough to bear" (11.765-66) equates to "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" (Matt. 6:34b). For Adam, apprehending certain evil is just as bad as experiencing it directly (11.774-76); it is a torment (11.769) and a burd'n (11.767) because his foreknowledge cannot prevent it from taking place (11.773). Tragically, there is no alternative, unlike Ebenezer Scrooge's Christmas yet to come. The terrible surprise for Adam was that instead of all going well "when violence was ceas't" (11.780), sin affected peacetime life as well: "for now I see / Peace to corrupt no less than War to waste" (11.783-4). "Luxury and riot, feast and dance" (11.715) violate the Aristotelian principle of moderation, as instructed by Michael earlier in the vision sequence (11.530-34). This pattern, so presciently described by the Poet, must certainly have many historical expressions; to the 21st century reader, it is epitomized by the 'roaring 20s' which followed the Great War, then the 1929 stock market crash, a decade-long depression and the even more destructive Second World War where (extending the metaphor) only a remnant of European Jewry survived.
A further reading of Adam's lament could speculate on the corollary perspective of God. Though he displays a mild and self-assured demeanor, can God so detach himself from his creation that he feels not one pang of disquietude at its suffering? By expressing remorse and genuine emotion at the plight of his progeny, Adam is arguably a more sympathetic and noble figure than God and/or the Son (i.e. contrast the Son at 10.68-84). Adam may have disobeyed a direct command, yet God allowed Satan, Sin and Death to enter the world, effectively dooming most of humanity as the first man has seen.
(The following is only peripherally related to the passage but I wanted to throw it in for possible discussion)
Man must adopt a stoic character to pass through the world in a way that minimizes the taint of sin (11.360-66). Only a few figures, as foreseen by Adam thus far, exhibit such godliness - namely Enoch and Noah. Lacking the intrinsically obedient, compliant character of the Son, and surrounded by the intemperate actions of others, one could argue that the struggle for any human to act morally is more heroic than that perfect morality of an incarnated Deity, who is, by design, immune to wrongdoing. Adam may have disobeyed a direct command, yet God allowed Satan, Sin and Death to enter the world, effectively dooming most of humanity.
Scrooge was negatively motivated by fear of a bleak future but had the positive motivation of the possibility of change. Yet Adam has no such recourse. If, after foreseeing such horrible carnage in the world of his descendants and being told that he is powerless to stop it, Adam still chooses to attempt a moral lifestyle, he is displaying more heroic fortitude than either a Christ-type or a Scrooge. It is perhaps this conception of heroism that the speaker is indicating at the head of Book IX.
11. 787 - 839:
Michael is speaking in this passage after Adam laments on how horrible the previous flood scene was. Michael says “Those whom last thou sawst / In triumph and luxurious wealth, are they / First seen in acts of prowess eminent / And great exploits, but of true vertu void”(11.787-790), so essentially saying that the people who are well off and of high rank, got there by committing sins. The world will be selfish because there is more than enough for everyone but there will be people who are depraved (ll. 804-806). He then starts talking about Noah, “Justice and Temperance, Truth and Faith forgot; / One Man except, the onely Son of light / In a dark Age, against example good, / Against allurement, custom, and a World / Offended; fearless of reproach and scorn, (11. 807-811).
He brings his family and animals onto the ark,it rains and rains, the ocean flows over the land, wiping out everyone/everything not on the arc. The arc floats down to a piece of land where no man lives.
Michael explains that God does not attribute holiness or sacredness to a specific place, but rather to wherever Man is good. [Late]
11. 840 - 69:
In lines 840-869, the speaker is speaking and describing what happens after the flood is over. The skies clear, the sun comes out which dries up the water and “The Ark no more now floats, but seems on ground / Fast on the top of some high mountain fixt” (11.850-851). A raven and a dove both fly out of the ark and Noah and his family also come out of the ark. Up in the sky, a rainbow appears which is God’s promise to never flood the earth again.
11. 870 - 83:
In book XI lines 870-83, Adam is speaking. He has seen that humanity and the world will survive, which makes him feel better about the Fall and the consequences that he has forced upon the rest of mankind. Adam rejoices that he has not caused the end of the world, and that God has decided to let one man live and survive the flood and thereby save humanity and begin another world without God's anger. Adam then asks about the storm that caused the flood and if it will happen again.