Lose Yourself - A Milton Remix // Ian Blair

I almost feel sorry for Adam, truthfully. His character is so innocent & naive in his conversations with Raphael about the origin of creation, the angelic war, why the stars are positioned the way they are, etc. that when Adam gushes about Eve's beauty in Book VIII, some of the remarks he exclaimed caught me by surprise. Ok, that needs some rephrasing: I was surprised by the abundance of which the adoration came, not by him loving Eve. I think Milton is including this part of the dialogue of man & angel as a foreshadowing of how Adam was/will be pulled into sinning with Eve because he clearly loves her too much to resist if she were to pressure him into doing something; good or not. I'd also like to point out the difference in what Adam says about his love for Eve versus what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 as to what love really is, & how Adam is on the verge of losing himself if he continues down his current path. And while we will find that Adam & Eve certainly do love each other, I think it's safe to say that they have become far too attached to each other for their own good...

"Yet when I approach

Her loveliness so absolute she seems

And in herself complete so well to know

Her own that what she wills to do or say

Seems wisest, virtuousest,◦ discreetest, best.

All higher knowledge in her presence falls

Degraded.◦ Wisdom in discourse with her

Loses discount’nanced and like folly shows.

Authority and Reason on her wait

As one intended first, not after made

Occasionally. . ." (8.546-556).

All higher knowledge degrades when Eve is around?! What Adam describes here is blurring the line between love & flat out idolatry. The character arc for Adam, at least so far, eludes that he will lose himself because he didn't lose his "self," or self-centered way of life. This flaw in his emotions shows that, at least in Milton's continuity, man's free will came with weakness of will being a very possible outcome should one experience temptation. As for what love is supposed to look like, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: 

"(4) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (5) It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Verse five in particular drives home the main point of this blog post: God-like love is not centered around self or another object, but rather the creator himself. We see this in popular music songs today, & have seen this object-focused love for centuries before our time. Milton certainly picked up on this, & seized the opportunity to teach the reader that self-centeredness is the downfall of humanity. 


I commented on Breanna's & Hailey Walsh's posts.

Comments

  1. The Mahn-sterSeptember 20, 2021 at 9:05 PM

    I would argue that Adam is innocent, but not naive. Adam had knowledge of the existence of good and evil from the angels, meaning he was not naive, but had not experienced it firsthand, therefore being innocent of it.

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  2. Emma LandrySeptember 20, 2021 at 10:20 PM

    I recognized the same thing about Adam's feelings for Eve. Instead of merely admiring her, he seems to be entirely infatuated with her to a point that is unhealthy. It seems like the companionship between husband and wife has become a type of codependency. Allowing anything or anyone to "degrade the higher knowledge" God has given us can hurt our walk with the Lord. I agree that his obsession with Eve leans toward idolatry. I cannot help but wonder whether Milton may explore whether his worship of Eve is the first true sin of humanity. -Emma Landry

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  3. Emily OttsSeptember 20, 2021 at 11:26 PM

    I definitely think a lot of wisdom went out of Adam's mind when it came to Eve. As most people know, Adam was standing next to Eve when she was being tempted by Satan, yet said nothing against what she was doing, probably to please her. He definitely lost some wisdom there.

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  4. Song WhittingtonSeptember 21, 2021 at 9:36 AM

    I can concur the adoration caught me off guard. I like that you point out Adam's love as it is nearly swallowing him versus what Paul states love is or should be.

    ReplyDelete

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