29 pages • 58 minutes read
John MiltonParadise Regained
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1671A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Redemption
Arguably, the most important theme of Paradise Regained is the one contained in Milton’s title. Jesus has been sent by God to reverse the sinful course of human history: in particular, the young Messiah is seen as a man who, through his superior virtues, will provide a corrective for the Original Sin perpetrated by Adam and Eve. Soon, however, it becomes apparent that Jesus’s work of salvation—his task of regaining paradise for humankind—will meet a variety of obstacles. The fallacies of pagan religion and philosophy, the rise of vicious empires such as Rome, and the heretical lapses of the Israelites themselves are all human sins that must be acknowledged and countered in Jesus’s work of redemption.
Power and “Powerlessness”
In how they choose to exercise (or not exercise) power, Satan and Jesus provide two radically different models of conduct. Satan is drawn to displays of might and luxury, and to seemingly heroic feats. For him, demonstrations of power and prestige—ruling nations, commanding armies, performing ostentatious miracles—are showy and unambiguous. Jesus, for his part, is not content to occupy a state of powerlessness; he simply believes that real power is structured unlike the “power” that Satan worships. As Jesus sees it, power both comes from God and operates in gradual, subtle ways. After all, Jesus wanders in the desert not to wallow in a state of weakness, but to determine how to best use the power that will eventually be granted to him when God sees fit.
Temptation
The events of Paradise Regained are motivated by Satan’s attempts to lead Jesus into sin—attempts that involve a variety of different temptations. Each of these ploys is meant to appeal to a different human desire. Some, such as wealth, power, and knowledge, are related to the command and control of civilization, while others, like food and shelter, are meant to fulfill bodily needs. What Jesus proves, by resisting such varied propositions, is just how principled and absolute his resistance to temptation is. Indeed, Satan offers Jesus a few qualities—including wisdom and political influence—that could be used for good in other contexts, but not when offered by humanity’s supreme tempter.
The Battle of Ideas
Central to Paradise Regained are the discussions between Jesus and Satan—discussions that in some ways extend beyond the immediate issue of whether or not Jesus will give in to Satan’s temptations. With these two characters, Milton sets forth two competing sets of ideals. Satan values wealth and prestige, and takes pride in the world of pagan classicism. Jesus, in contrast, is an exemplar of Christian asceticism and humility. Milton’s two primary characters set towards differing ideologies regarding the pursuit of knowledge, the exercise of statecraft, and the implications of Old Testament history. But even though the debate at the brief epic’s core is wide-ranging, there is one constant: at each turn in this battle of differing worldviews, Jesus strides forward victorious.
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