The Way Adam Looks at Eve and ...other interesting tidbits. - Zane Duke

Alas, my friends! We have embarked on our first book blog- and I gotta be honest, this is a rather hard read. I'll be reading and I'll just get to thinking- daydreaming even- about tech stuff. But let's be real, that's about half the stuff I think about anyways. Milton's flowery and sometimes lackadaisical (please don't hate me for that) language sometimes just doesn't make much sense. But nevertheless, I've got a few ideas on things I want to talk about. So... here goes:

First off, we open up Book V to Adam and Eve being all sappy and cute but in that old Victorian way. I'm talking like those people that you would normally look at and go "They cannot be THAT in love with each other!!" but like they are and it's cute and I like it. Ladies, if you ain't got a mans that says "Awake, my fairest, my espoused, my latest found, Heaven's last, best gift, my ever-new delight!" .... he probably isn't worth the time of day- juuuust saying.

This leads me on to a question that I have asked myself in the reading for this blog post: Who are these characters representing? And, more importantly, does Milton portray himself in this? Because if so, this mans must have the best relationship ever.

No, but seriously- Who is Jesus? Who is God? Because these people simply HAVE to be real people in that life and time for him to write this way. Could Adam and Eve be representative of the new Puritans who lived in newfound peace and joy after England changed their laws? Is Cromwell Jesus or God? I am uncertain of anything other than the possible fact that Satan is Charlemagne, or whoever it was that got the boot. Nevertheless, it is so interesting to analyze these things from a political standpoint (even though politically I am an actual nincompoop.)

I hope this blog post was entertaining, and I also hope that you like me are questioning whether the characters in this book are really representative of things or people or not. Enjoy your hot tea, chocolate milk, evening coffee (if you're a real night owl), or whatever it is you drink!

p.s.- I commented on Kayla and Breanna's posts.

*actually sips coke*

Comments

abbiehedden said…
Zane,
It is no small feat to make me laugh as hard as your blog post did. I am also a political nincompoop, and struggle to find the political allegory anywhere in the text... while the story is entertaining, it can only hold me for so long. In other events, I thought your opinion on Adam and Eve's relationship was very sweet (and yet hilarious at the same time). I do feel as though Adam and Eve had a PDA-approved relationship.
Abbie Hedden
This early bird is only sipping on water tonight *has a lot of homework to finish* BUT, I did enjoy your blog post. Not only was it entertaining and made me laugh, but I was questioning the same thing throughout book five. After our first class discussion on Paradise Lost I have been trying to see the political side of things (simply because I did not see it the first time) but this part of the read has been challenging to reference towards Miltons era. I will say that I'm not completely won over that Cromwell is Jesus or God, but possibly Satan because after all, didn't they just bring back the Kings son for the old way of ruling once Cromwell died? So, what is Miltons view point other than the fact of the puritans going down the drain with faith?
Love reading your blogs! First off, I agree with you about getting a mans that designated, but I can't help but think that Milton maybe constructed their relationship to not be as perfect as it seems? Like, we see Eve gazing at her reflection and basically admitting she is fairer than Adam. It is definitely interesting to see the different tones underlying his writing. Great blog, Zane!