1a. In lines 1-5, what does the speaker say the subject of the epic will be?
2a. What did Satan do to get cast out of heaven? What is his reaction to his new position?
3a. How is the Garden of Eden described in lines 205–210? What future does Satan predict for Adam and Eve?
4a. What parallel experience exists between Satan and Adam and Eve?
5a. Milton states that his purpose is to "justify the ways of God to men." In what you have read of Paradise Lost, is Milton successful? How is describing Satan's actions and motivations a part of this purpose? What do you learn about God's ways from the passages about Satan?
1b. Why does the speaker need divine inspiration?
2b. What character traits does Satan possess? In which episodes are they evident?
3b. Whose point of view is presented in lines 356-535? What is his attitude toward the human creatures?
4b. Based on his response to Satan's rebellion, what do you think will be God's emotional reaction to the rebellion of Adam and Eve?
5b. What makes the snake an appropriate incarnation of the devil? Can you think of another animal that would work just as well?
Metaphor. In lines 17-21, what two things are being compared? In lines 61-62, what two things are being compared?
Epic Hero and Antihero. Who are the epic heroes and who is the antihero in Paradise Lost? What qualities do they exhibit?
Epic. Review the cluster chart you made in Literary Tools. What supernatural characters are included in Paradise Lost? What attitudes, values, and beliefs does the poem portray?
1a. What has the speaker lost? What is the speaker more eager to do now than ever?
2a. What does the speaker "fondly ask"?
3a. What, according to Patience, does God not need?
4a. What crisis is the speaker confronting in this poem? What does he fear that he will no longer be able to do?
5a. Evaluate whether the poem is paradoxical.
1b. In what sense has the world always been dark? In what sense is losing his talent (the ability to write) like a death?
2b. What makes the speaker's question in line 7 a fond, or foolish, one?
3b. What comfort can the speaker draw from Patience's closing remark?
4b. Why, according to the poem, is his fear unjustified or unfounded?
5b. In Paradise Lost, Milton states, "what in me is dark / Illumine; what is low, raise and support." How are these lines echoed in "On His Blindness"?
Speaker. Sometimes the speaker's voice is the same voice as the author; sometimes the speaker's voice is separate from the voice of the author. What do you think is the case for "On His Blindness"? What emotions does the speaker express in the poem?
Allusion and Pun. What allusion is made in line 3? Why is this also a pun? In what sense is the hiding of his talent a kind of death for the speaker?
Sonnet and Rhyme Scheme. Review the chart you made in Literary Tools. What is the rhyme scheme for this sonnet?
1. Imagine that you are one of the characters who disobeys God in Paradise Lost: Satan, Adam, or Eve. Write an apology to God giving reasons for your actions, apologizing for them convincingly, and asking for forgiveness.
2. A parable, like the story of the hidden talent, is a brief story told to teach a moral lesson. Write your own parable. You might choose to write your parable about someone who is physically challenged like the speaker in "On His Blindness."
3. In Paradise Lost, Milton states his intent is to pursue "Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme." Write a paragraph in which you argue whether Milton achieves his lofty goal.
Using Synonyms. Read the following excerpts from Milton's essay on censorship, the Areopagitica. Give a synonym for each underlined word.
1. Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep.
2. . . . while the whole noise of timorous and flocking birds, with those also that love the twilight, flutter about, . . .
3. . . . and in their envious gabble would prognosticate a year of sects and schisms.
4. And though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play upon the earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength.
5. Believe it, Lords and Commons, they who counsel ye to such a suppressing do as good as bid ye suppress yourselves; and I will soon show how.
Classifying. Read the Language Arts Survey 5.4, "Classifying." Then identify a common class and at least two common features for each of the following sets of subjects.
1. Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton
2. Mayan pyramids and Egyptian pyramids
3. personal computer and fax machine
4. aerobics and walking
5. John Milton and John Bunyan
Educating Your Imagination as an Active Reader.Read the Language Arts Survey 1.4. Then select one of the Selections for Additional Reading that begin on page 550. As you read, take notes of the questions you ask yourself about the selection, the predictions you make as to what will happen next or what will be discussed next, and the summaries you make of the different stanzas, paragraphs, or sections.
