John Milton's Paradise Lost

1. As you read Paradise Lost, keep Milton's stated purpose in mind: to "justify the ways of God to men” (1.26). How does Milton show the justice of God? 
     
2. How does Milton portray an individual's free will and God's will in Paradise Lost? What does Satan think about his free will and God's power and control?
     
3. If God is omniscient (all-knowing) and omnipotent (all-powerful), then why would God allow Satan to rebel against him and, later, allow Adam and Eve to do the same? Is it just that God would create Satan and Adam and Eve knowing that they would rebel against him?
     
4. Paradise Lost begins with Satan and his fall, and Satan speaks first and at length in the beginning of the poem. Why do you think Milton would begin the poem by focusing on Satan, instead of focusing on God or Adam and Eve, allowing Satan to give his side of the story before readers are exposed to other points of view?
     
5. Why might some readers see Satan as heroic? Identify specific passages in which Satan seems heroic, and be ready to explain what could be regarded as heroic about Satan in the passages.
     
6. After answering the question above, evaluate the same passages again, but this time try to determine how the passages might not portray Satan as being so heroic after all.
     
7. According to Satan's story, what can you conclude about his existence with God prior to Satan's fall?
      
8. In the Bible, Satan is referred to as "the father of lies." Does this characterization apply to Milton's Satan? Does Satan make any claims concerning God and the battle against God that seem questionable?
     
9. Satan might present what seems like a convincing argument, but there are flaws in his argument. Can you find any places where Satan's logic seems questionable or where Satan seems to contradict himself?
    
10. How are Sin, Death, and Satan presented allegorically in Paradise Lost? How are sin and death related to Satan?
     
11. In Book 2, the devils present four arguments concerning what to do next. What are the four options?
     
12. What does Satan reveal in his soliloquy near the beginning of Book 4?
     
13. According to Milton, what is woman's proper place?
     
14. How does Satan react when he sees Adam and Eve?
     
15. How does Satan justify his actions?
     
16. How does the concept of a divinely determined hierarchy apply to Paradise Lost?
     
17. What details suggest that Paradise is lost once Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit?
     
18. Both Satan and Adam and Eve disobey God. In what ways is Adam and Eve's situation similar to Satan's situation? In what important ways are the situations different?