Description of Hell

Milton uses extremely strong imagery in his description of hell. What immediately jumps out is his use of imagery we can imagine as well as imagery we cannot conceive. This is most evident when he says “As one great furnace flamed, yet from those flames no light, but rather darkness visible” (I. 62-63). Milton uses something we all can think of with the great flaming furnace but strains our minds when describing flames that give off darkness and no light. Milton’s choice of words is also important in his description of hell. Words such as dismal, darkness, woe, sorrow, prison, torture and horrible are littered throughout his description. This word choice helps drive home the point of the excruciating pain and conditions of hell. The words give the reader a dreadful feeling while reading about it. The word choice also helps evoke certain feeling when initially reading about hell that will stay with the reader throughout the book and perhaps stay with the reader whenever he/she thinks of hell. Milton also uses comparison to create his version of hell. Knowing that typical depiction of heaven he makes it very clear that hell is the “anti heaven” when he says “As far removed from God and light of heaven” (I. 73). With that line Milton makes sure that heaven and hell are seen as polar opposites. It is also important to note that in Milton’s description of heaven from lines 56-75 it is only one sentence. This sentence ends with an exclamation point, which makes the feelings, and thoughts read about hell that much greater and horrible than they were described as. Milton uses various techniques to portray his fiery and dismal hell. 

Response 3

In Paradise Lost Book I, Milton uses words and imagery to depict heavenly and evil elements as beyond earthly definition. This is accomplished in the depictions of amorphous sexuality among G-d and the angels, and in the abnormal elements used in the description of hell.

G-d is depicted as a dove creating the world, “…and with mighty wings outspread/ Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast abyss/ and mad’st it pregnant…” (lines 20-22). Milton ascribes both the male act of impregnating and the female act of brooding to G-d, allowing G-d to exist as both sexes. Since humans are restricted to a single sex, requiring the opposite gender for reproduction, these attributes make G-d powerful and un-earthly. The fallen angels, taking the forms of false gods and goddesses, can also change their sex. “…For sprits when they please/ Can either sex assume, or both; so soft/ And uncompounded is their essence pure,/ Not tied or manacled with joint or limb,/ Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones,/ Like cumbrous flesh…” (lines 423-428). Here Milton embellishes the limitations of human forms to contrast the freedom of angelic forms.

In Milton’s depiction of hell, G-d sends Satan and the fallen angels “…down/ To bottomless perdition, there to dwell” (lines 46-47). The word “bottomless” forces the reader to imagine things impossible in the real world, creating an air of sinister grandeur to depict hell’s location. Hell is surrounded by fire, “…yet from those flames/ No light, only darkness visible” (lines 62-63). Here the reader is challenged to imagine a fire that exudes no light and forced to create a depiction of “darkness visible”. The fire is ever-lasting, “…a fiery deluge, fed/ With ever-burning sulfur unconsumed” (lines 68-69). The idea of sulfur that continuously burns and is not consumed is contrary to natural laws, adding to the magical and ominous elements of hell.

Response Paper 3

For this response paper you can choose from a multiplicity of options:

1.) Use one of the reading questions for Book 1 as a jumping off point and answer it by focusing on a small section of text (try out your close reading skills).

2.) Pick a section of Book 1 that you find interesting and close read it (whether or not it relates to any of the reading questions).

3.) Do the same thing as #2 but to Book 2.

If you've selected a piece of text but you don't know what to do with it, a great resource is the O.E.D (available off-campus here). You can get a lot of mileage looking up seemingly simple words like "equal" and seeing how they were used in the period and what nuances might apply to your passage.

Response 2: Fallen Angels

The two books of Enoch tell different stories about the fall of the angels.

In Enoch 1, the sin of the angels is the begetting children with the women of the earth and teaching them the secrets of heaven. There were 200 angels that agreed to this pact and recognized it as sin, “I fear ye will not agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin” (Enoch 1, 6: 3-4). The angel Azazel taught the men to make weapons and armor from metal, as well as jewelry and make-up. Other angels report to the Lord the crimes committed by the angels and chiefly by Azazel, “Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn” (Enoch 1, 9:6-7). In Enoch 2, the Lord commands ten angels to stand in order, but one goes astray and commits a sin: “And one from the order of angels, having turned away with the order that was under him, conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to my power” (Enoch 2, 29:3).

In both stories, a single angel is cast out of heaven as punishment. In Enoch 1, the Lord punishes Azazel by casting him into the darkness, for he is the source of sin. He says that “the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin” (Enoch 1, 10: 8-9). In Enoch 2, the Lord “threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless” (Enoch 2, 29:4).

Original Sin differences in Genesis and Enoch

The original sinful act is told differently in Genesis than it is in Enoch. Genesis describes the sinful act as a serpent convincing Eve to take the fruit from the tree of knowledge, which was forbidden. Enoch describes the devil as the seducer of Eve. “And he understood his condemnation and the sin which he had sinned before, therefore he conceived thought against Adam, in such form he entered and seduced Eva, but did not touch Adam” (Enoch 31). The devil is made out to be jealous of Adam and vengeful for his own fall, therefore he exacts revenge through seducing Eve. It is important to note that in both versions of the original sinful act the women is made out to be the original sinner and that who seduces Adam into eating the fruit.

God’s punishments differ between both versions as well. Genesis is much more detailed when discussing God’s wrath. It describes the punishment to each sinner (the serpent, Eve and Adam). It is interesting to note that while the serpent and Eve both suffer specific punishment (the serpent is without arms or legs and bound to the ground and the women is forced to give birth and serve her husband) Adam is not punished individually. God says “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:17). God has cursed the land in which he inhabits rather than Adam. Enoch is much more vague in its descriptions of God’s punishments and just says that God sent Adam away from paradise. 

Short Response 2

In this response paper, choose one aspect of either the creation or the fall and compare two different accounts of it. Possibilities include the nature of the original sinful act (or of sinfulness in general), the nature of the temptation of man, the fall of the angels, the punishment of the angels, the punishment of man, the creation of man, the creation of some aspect of the world, the number of days of creation, etc. This paper should include some quotations because you should be focusing in narrowly enough that you are talking about details. Compare and contrast papers work best when you move back and forth between the two texts (instead of talking all about A then all about B). Also, consider the implications of these differences: are the two texts you are examining significantly different, or do they convey similar messages? Again, this post just needs to be 250-300 words.

To cite biblical sources give the book, chapter and verse. You do not need to italicize the name of the book. According to MLA guidelines you could cite chapter 3, verse 1 of Genesis, either like this:

Genesis 1.3

or like this:

Genesis 1:3

For this assignment you only have to worry about in-text citation. No bibliography or works cited is necessary.

Summary of Genesis and Enoch

God had been bored; he had no satisfaction in his being. In order to find this self-fulfillment he went up his creation. He created the heavens and the earth and all that these bodies are made of. He created light and day to distinguish time and place. He created living beast to inhabit and roam the earth he created. He distinguished the earth between wet and dry or basically sea and land. As his prize possession he created man, a reflection of himself to rule over the wonderful creation he made. God did not want man to be lonely and out of man forged woman a companion that heed and accompany man for all of time. He named man Adam. He created Eden a paradise on earth that Adam and his woman could roam and rule. With Eden he allowed Adam to enjoy all the fruits of the earth and lived as he pleased. However God gave Adam one restriction; not to eat from the tree of knowledge. Tempted by a serpent Adam’s companion ate from the tree of knowledge and indulged Adam to do so as well. God found out, deeply hurt he banished Adam and his companion (who Adam named Eve) from Eden and forced them to live with tribulations. They would now have to survive and struggle in order to live on the earth from now on.

            Enoch was a good man chosen by God to come up and see the heavens. Angels took him through the heavens and he saw the goodness of them as well as the badness. Eventually he came to talk to God who explained to him the creation of these heavens and the earth he inhabited. He commanded Enoch to go down on earth and spread the knowledge he had been granted.

Writing Assignment 1

Please summarize the creation story and the fall of the angels as told in Genesis, the Book of Enoch, and 2 Enoch. Your summary should be 250-300 words. Your goal is to write an accurate summary that engages your reader. I am asking you to summarize a lot of material in a rather short space, so you will probably have to make decisions about what details you think are important. Don't worry, that is part of the process.