Man and Nature after the Fall in John Miltons Paradise Lost

Man and Nature after the Fall in Paradise Lost In Paradise Lost, the consequences of the fall and the change in relations between man and nature can best be discussed when we look at Miltons pre-fall descriptions of Eden and its inhabitants. Believing that fallen humans could never fully understand what life was like in Eden and the relationships purely innocent beings shared, Milton begins his depiction of Paradise and Adam and Eve through the fallen eyes of Satan: So little knows Any, but God alone, to value right The good before him, but perverts best things To worse abuse, or to thir meanest use. Beneath him with new wonder now he views To all delight of human sense exposd In narrow room†¦show more content†¦His fair large Front and Eye sublime declard Absolute rule; and Hyacinthine Locks Round from his parted forelock manly hung Clustring, but not beneth his shoulders broad: Shee as a veil down to slender waist Her unadorned golden tresses wore Dishevelld, but in wanton ringlets wavd As the vine curls her tendrils, which implid Subjection, but requird with gentle sway...(IV, 287-308) Adam and Eve are tall and erect like the trees, pure and nude, uncovered like the rural landscape. Adams hair cut short, almost as if the pair had pruned it. Eves body seems to be supported by the garden, but her hair is described as wild, unadorned and wanton, not unlike the landscape outside of Eden: Steep wilderness, whose hairy sides/ With thicket overgrown, grotesque and wild... (IV, 135-36). With special care and a watchful eye the Eden will not smother itself, just as Adam and Eve are safe from Satan when they are together. When Eve leaves Adam, she is tempted by the Serpent and decides to eat the forbidden fruit. When this happens, the earth feels the fall profoundly: So saying, her rash hand in evil hour Forth reaching to the Fruit, she pluckd, she eat: Earth felt the wound, and Nature form her seat Sighing through all herShow MoreRelatedThe Power And Lure Of Satan1365 Words   |  6 PagesThe Power and Lure of Satan Although the fall of man is written in the bible, no other author has thoroughly written thoughts which have resounded in the minds of those that have read John Milton’s â€Å"Paradise Lost†. Milton’s epic tale of Paradise Lost has become biblical folklore and even Christians who have not fully read the Bible rely upon the representations and indulgences that Milton presented through his embellishments of fact. 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