Substance of the Invocation in Paradise Lost by John Milton/ John Milton’s Paradise Lost: Invocation part explained thoroughly/ An analytical study of the Invocation of John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost/ Invocation of Milton’s Paradise Lost (synopsis) (Book 1)/ Explanation of the first 26 lines or the invocation part in Paradise Lost by John Milton/Paradise Lost by John Milton Invocation explained line by line and word for word

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Substance of the Invocation in Paradise Lost by John Milton/ John Milton’s Paradise Lost: Invocation part explained thoroughly/ An analytical study of the Invocation of John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost/ Invocation of Milton’s Paradise Lost (synopsis) (Book 1)/ Explanation of the first 26 lines or the invocation part in Paradise Lost by John Milton/Paradise Lost by John Milton Invocation explained line by line and word for word

John Milton’s Paradise Lost is an example of secondary epic. This epic is written in blank verse. The deeper we delve into the epic, the better we can understand the excellence of the same. In the light of this discussion, an analysis of the Invocation—the first twenty-six lines—of Paradise Lost (Book 1) is given below:

“Of man’s first disobedience”, which is the opening phrase of the epic, depicts the biblical picture found in The Book of Genesis, the first book of the Pentateuch and of the Old Testament. Here, the word man’s refers to Adam, the First Man ever. In this connection, it may be added that Eve is known to be the First Woman ever. Then, ‘first disobedience’ definitely speaks of the disobedience to God committed from the end of Adam and Eve. Broadly speaking, this ‘disobedience’ is explained in the following lines:

“…………….…, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste

Brought death into the world, and all our woe,

With loss of Eden…”

As we see, taking of that forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree is solely responsible for the Fall of Man, because such an act speaks of their disobedience to God. In addition, such an act is said to be the reason of our mortality and our woe or our anguish. As a result, our great grandparents were expelled from Eden to this earth. It should be noted that in the expression “mortal taste”, we come to find an example of transferred epithet. Again, when it is said that such taste brought our mortality as well as our sorrow, we find an instance of personification. Finally, the bliss found in Eden was lost.

However, ‘one greater man’ that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God or the Lamb of God or the Son of Man, restored us or redeemed us all from our inherent and other sins. He is said to have restored or regained “the blissful seat” that is Eden for our sake. At this very moment, Milton directly invokes the Holy Spirit in his within. Oreb and Sinai are the names of mountains. In this light, it may be said that the word ‘shepherd’ refers to Moses in the Old Testament. Broadly speaking, Moses taught “the chosen seed” or the people of Israel how this Cosmos was created out of Chaos by God. He created the Heavens, the Earth and the Inferno; He created everything. That is to say, the Sion or the Zion Hill and the “brook” or the small river called Siloa were also created by God alone. How could they gain life—the fast-flowing Siloa, for example—unless the heavenly oracle touched them? These are evident from the following quoted lines:

“Rose out of Chaos: or if Sion hill

Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed

Fast by the oracle of God…………”

Thereafter, we can distinctly discern that the poet has used the word “Invoke”. That is to say, he invokes “thy aid” or the help of the Holy Spirit for the “adventurous song” or this epic called Paradise Lost. Milton prays to the Holy Spirit that he might be saved from being prone to “middle flight” or poetic pride. Milton’s humble prayer never does desire to float in the air; he never does wish to reach the height of “the Aonian mount”, the place haunted by the Greek Muses. He prays, he invokes God the Holy Spirit to bless him attain “Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme.” Interestingly enough, it should be mentioned that the first sentence of this epic ends right here in Line 16.

Now, he goes on praying to the Holy Spirit, the Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent—Who prefers the pure and upright heart to all kinds of temple worship—to guide him through and through. The “mighty wings” of the “Dove”, referring to the Holy Spirit, gave meaning, light and life to the “vast Abyss”, the endless void. In this connection, it is to be discussed that God alone can make the void “pregnant” or full of life and meaning. Milton continues praying to God to illuminate or enlighten his dark within, to uplift his “low” understanding or ignorance and to aid him complete the task of writing this epic fruitfully.

However, Milton expresses his penchant to know and understand divine justice, because he asks daringly to know the reason of the expulsion of Adam and Eve. William Blake once observed, “Milton belongs to the devil’s party without knowing it.” However, how can we deny that Milton is also said to be one of the greatest believers in Christ? It is indeed impressive to note that Milton tried to unravel the other side of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, we cannot overlook the fact that Milton, like the others, owns a thorough knowledge in the Scriptures in his own way.

 

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