Cover Letter for "Milton's Disobedience"
I found this essay difficult to begin writing because I could not figure out a way to group together and arrange my thoughts in a coherent way. However, once I had my outline, crafting the sentences became easier and easier.. Something that I did not think would be so challenging was switching from close-reading to looking at it through a wide lense very quickly. I had to examine the surface level of why Milton uses this word looking at it in the context of the world and time, then I had to zoom in and look at why the word is used in the context of the poem itself. I will say, even though it was a frustrating process at times, I am proud of the final product.
Milton's Disobedience
Within Paradise Lost, an epic written by John Milton, every word and phrase is methodically placed in the text, playing both with and against connotation to manipulate the reader’s perception of a specific emotion, concept, or tone; even the slightest modification could change the meaning of the sentence as a whole. Milton’s use of “disobedience–” the “violation of a command by omitting to conform to it” (OED) – not only reshapes the words around it each time it is used, but also serves as a larger theme throughout the entirety of the poem. In fact, Milton stipulates that disobedience will always result in the collapse of a previously maintained and socially accepted hierarchy, which, in turn, gives rise to sin and chaos.
Milton uses the word “disobedience” in two relationships explored in Paradise Lost: man versus God and Satan versus God. In the former, Milton writes that Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit was “man's first disobedience” (1). So when God’s own creation defies his word, a crack forms in the social order, and their actions do not go unpunished. This social order is the universal understanding that we have to follow what God says, that he is the sole authority in our lives, that he knows everything in the past, present and future. Man’s disobedience did not just create doubt about whether or not we have to follow God, it creates doubt about every aspect of God that we are taught. If man can now disobey God, what else about God is not true? What is the new social order? God stands atop an eternal and esteemed pedestal in heaven, and although Satan has his own throne in hell, even he is ruled over by God. The main focus of Milton’s poem surrounds Satan’s rebellion against God and his intent on sullying God's creations in order to extend his reach of evil and sin. This conflict between God and Satan develops into war, but when God prevails, the rebels are brought to justice– “His punishment, eternal misery” (904). If divine beings are able to combat and even inflict harm on each other, does that mean that they are able to feel pain? If they are not able to feel pain because they are invincible, what is the point of punishment? And if they are able to feel pain, wouldn’t that make God and Satan penetrable?
The word “disobedience,” however, is not just being used in the context of working against God himself. Milton is also showing the reader that there are everyday applications to the word as well– disobedience against a King, against parents, against the government, against a social construct. And seeing as Milton wrote Paradise Lost following the English Civil War of 1642-1651 that began and ended in bloody massacre, he could be making an argument that rebelling against an authority will always result in some form of chaos, and by extension, he is asserting that one must submit to their authorities to prevent such chaos from occurring.
Disobedience implies that one has the ability to disobey. When Milton shows that man can disobey God, an entity children are taught is an all powerful being, he is making a risky and groundbreaking proclamation. God cannot force us to do something? He cannot force us to comply? Clearly God is not all powerful because man holds some of that power to himself. Why is he using the word disobedience and not heresy or blasphemy? Is he saying people have more power than they think even under authority? Or that God is not an authority? Children are taught from a young age that God is the supreme power that oversees everything and everyone. People pray to him when their loved ones are sick because they believe he has the ability to control the future, heal the wounded. However, in Paradise Lost, God relinquished some of his agency to man, therefore forcing the reader to question the beliefs they were taught throughout their upbringing. Through this, Milton shows on the surface level that disobedience will lead to chaos. But when one focuses closer, they can see Milton’s hidden message: disobedience implies by definition that it is possible to disobey, which gives agency to man over God.
“Disobedience” might be a common, simple word in an epic such as Paradise Lost, but that does not make it insignificant. The underlying claims he makes with his deliberate use of language would most likely be seen as sacrilege to the authority of the time. How dare he entangle politics with the Bible! In a time when the Church held immense power in society and disobedience against the institution could lead to prosecution or death, Milton’s words are steadfast and shocking. He makes so many controversial assertions throughout the text, one might claim that within the religious and social constructs of his time, Milton’s Paradise Lost is a disobedience in and of itself.
Milton uses the word “disobedience” in two relationships explored in Paradise Lost: man versus God and Satan versus God. In the former, Milton writes that Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit was “man's first disobedience” (1). So when God’s own creation defies his word, a crack forms in the social order, and their actions do not go unpunished. This social order is the universal understanding that we have to follow what God says, that he is the sole authority in our lives, that he knows everything in the past, present and future. Man’s disobedience did not just create doubt about whether or not we have to follow God, it creates doubt about every aspect of God that we are taught. If man can now disobey God, what else about God is not true? What is the new social order? God stands atop an eternal and esteemed pedestal in heaven, and although Satan has his own throne in hell, even he is ruled over by God. The main focus of Milton’s poem surrounds Satan’s rebellion against God and his intent on sullying God's creations in order to extend his reach of evil and sin. This conflict between God and Satan develops into war, but when God prevails, the rebels are brought to justice– “His punishment, eternal misery” (904). If divine beings are able to combat and even inflict harm on each other, does that mean that they are able to feel pain? If they are not able to feel pain because they are invincible, what is the point of punishment? And if they are able to feel pain, wouldn’t that make God and Satan penetrable?
The word “disobedience,” however, is not just being used in the context of working against God himself. Milton is also showing the reader that there are everyday applications to the word as well– disobedience against a King, against parents, against the government, against a social construct. And seeing as Milton wrote Paradise Lost following the English Civil War of 1642-1651 that began and ended in bloody massacre, he could be making an argument that rebelling against an authority will always result in some form of chaos, and by extension, he is asserting that one must submit to their authorities to prevent such chaos from occurring.
Disobedience implies that one has the ability to disobey. When Milton shows that man can disobey God, an entity children are taught is an all powerful being, he is making a risky and groundbreaking proclamation. God cannot force us to do something? He cannot force us to comply? Clearly God is not all powerful because man holds some of that power to himself. Why is he using the word disobedience and not heresy or blasphemy? Is he saying people have more power than they think even under authority? Or that God is not an authority? Children are taught from a young age that God is the supreme power that oversees everything and everyone. People pray to him when their loved ones are sick because they believe he has the ability to control the future, heal the wounded. However, in Paradise Lost, God relinquished some of his agency to man, therefore forcing the reader to question the beliefs they were taught throughout their upbringing. Through this, Milton shows on the surface level that disobedience will lead to chaos. But when one focuses closer, they can see Milton’s hidden message: disobedience implies by definition that it is possible to disobey, which gives agency to man over God.
“Disobedience” might be a common, simple word in an epic such as Paradise Lost, but that does not make it insignificant. The underlying claims he makes with his deliberate use of language would most likely be seen as sacrilege to the authority of the time. How dare he entangle politics with the Bible! In a time when the Church held immense power in society and disobedience against the institution could lead to prosecution or death, Milton’s words are steadfast and shocking. He makes so many controversial assertions throughout the text, one might claim that within the religious and social constructs of his time, Milton’s Paradise Lost is a disobedience in and of itself.
Works Cited
Oxford English Dictionary. "disobedience, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2020.
Milton, John, 1608-1674. Paradise Lost. London ; New York :Penguin Books, 2000.
Milton, John, 1608-1674. Paradise Lost. London ; New York :Penguin Books, 2000.