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
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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