A Study Of Paradise Lost In The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Paradise Lost is the masterpiece of John Milton,whose composition was driven by such an impulse as man in the Age of Enlightenment began to question the moral order he was born into,and the corresponding systems of religious,ethical and political beliefs also underwent a similar crisis.The same thing happened to Milton the poet who was torn under the tension,under which circumstances Paradise Lost was composed as an attempt to go back to the"initiative scene" of the Fall to look into the first failure of human moral.This dissertation puts into focus the moral landscape of Paradisse Lost,using it as a case study to explore the unique way literary works participate in the religious,political,gender,language and cosmological controversy of the time,and by doing this shows care for the ultimate happiness of human being and concern for the Supreme Goodness;in other words,this dissertation explores the unique role of literary works in moral discussion and practice,in doing this detects the subtle yet great shift in the moral mind-scape of the time.With the above intention in mind,this dissertation explores the moral landscape of Paradise Lost from four angles:The first chapter discusses a series of moral dilemmas in the context of theodicy.Milton declares the purpose of Paradise Lost in the 26th line "I may assert Eternal Providence,/And justify the ways of God to men",which suggests that discussion about God’s Providence and human free will,Creator’s Law and creature’s rationality are necessarily involved in the poem.These paradoxes deal with theological themes as well as ethical ones.As far as ethics is concerned,only the secular and the sacred,rationality and faith,pragmatic considerations and spiritual pursuits are separated,can human soul avoid sinking into secular degradation.But at the same time this evangelical dimension of human ethics puts man under an internal tension between humanistic values and divine righteousness,between this world and God’s Kingdom.Milton discusses these paradoxes in poetic language,expressing the idea that being the core values of humanism,freedom and rationality will be left vulnerable to Evil once deprived of the support of God’s grace,as the case of Adam and Eve shows.Actually,humanistic pursuit will inevitably lead to Evil end once man abandons God.Deprived of humility and awe,humanistic confidence will inevitably sink into false conceit and the Hell of Self.Chapter Two examines the ethical value of sex and Eros and in doing this exposes the change of ethical values expressed through the narrative of human Eros.Firstly,the cognitive value of sex and Eros is explored;secondly,the political ethics as presented through sex and Eros is dealt with;thirdly,a series of ethical values of Enlightenment expressed through the narrative of Eros are looked into.Chapter Three examines the ethical connotation and function of language,esp.poetic language as both a media and carrier of expression.Firstly,by analyzing the ethical innovation of the act of Naming,it is pointed out that language is a"symbolic calling",which calls forth ethical order ex nihilo;secondly,by examining the ethical contract knotted through verbal exchange between the characters,it is pointed out that language is a symbolic token between man and God as well as between each other;thirdly,by analyzing language’s role in establishing one’s psych identity and its close relation with one’s desire,it is pointed out that language is the domain where one finds out the truth of one’s desire and clarifies the relation between oneself and one’s deep motif,which is one’s "ethical responsibility" to oneself.Chapter Four examines the ethical innovation of cosmos-related narrative in Paradise Lost in the context of 17th century cosmology.Firstly,after analyzing the close relation between physics and ethics,it is pointed out that the cosmos in Paradise Lost is a sacred organism which is both a spiritual being and a physical being.Secondly,the ethical discourse in the narrative of Creation is analyzed,which is a primary part of human ethical education.Thirdly,the rank order,or the Great Chain of Being in the cosmos of Paradise Lost has its ethical innovations,which is the motivating mechanism to keep the vitality of the cosmos as well as the means to spread downward God’s Goodness.Lastly,the temporal and spatial modes as presented in Paradise Lost have important ethical innovations:the creature’s temporal and spatial experience is determined by his/her ethical state and vice versa.In the conclusion part the three questions posed in Introduction are tried to be given tentative answers.First,being a great literary work,Paradise Lost has an irreplaceable advantage in exploring ethical issues in comparison with intellectual ethics.It accomplishes this through the poetic means of imagery and symbolism,and in dong this it presents to its reader an ethical landscape which is undergoing a great change from traditional God-centered ethics to human-centered ethics,but at the same time the poet detects the danger involved and tries hard to keep a subtle yet difficult balance.