"Paradise Lost"

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the theme of food and eating in John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost", which outlines the Genesis chapter of "The Bible", telling of how first Lucifer and later mankind fell from God's grace. It looks at how eating and food come into play because the fall of humanity comes about through the eating of an apple.

From the Paper:

"The theme of eating in Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost has obvious importance, due to the fact that the central event (which, however, does not occur until the second to last book) is Adam and Eve's fall from grace, due to their eating the forbidden apple from the tree of knowledge. This climactic event, upon which nature itself seems to shudder in horror, has been the subject of much buildup and parallelism, insofar as Adam and Eve's Fall is predicated upon Lucifer's own. In literal terms, the Fall of humanity was brought about by temptation, eating and appetite, so naturally these concepts take on a heavily symbolic significance as well. This is true to some degree throughout the poem, but naturally they these motifs take on a heavier significance in the ninth book. "

More papers on "Paradise Lost":

• Poem Review # 110148 : "Book 9 of Paradise Lost"
• Analytical Essay # 37106 : "Paradise Lost": An Assessment"
• Comparison Essay # 32576 : "Paradise Lost" and the "Rape of the Lock"
• Essay # 36438 : "Paradise Lost"

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