Even though the main story in “Paradise Lost” can be conceived to tragic, somewhat, it is a story of how Adam and Eve regain paradise. Book IX of the poem comes forth as the climax of the story in the poem and if at all Milton’s intention was to construct the poem as a tragedy, then the poem would have culminated at this point. However, Book X is introduced so as to give a resolution for the disobedience of Adam and Eve towards God. The regaining of paradise by Adam and Eve is manifested in the manner in which the Son punishes the couple and the Serpent. Rather than giving severe punishment to Adam and Eve, the Son ordains the Serpent and all the snakes to crawl on its bellies and never to carry themselves upright again. On the other hand, Eve and all women would undergo severe pain during birth whereas Adam and all men would sweat to hunt and harvest food in the cursed ground. More importantly, the Son decreed that the children of Adam and Eve would crush the head of the serpent. Through the punishment served, it is clear that Adam and Eve were being given authority over paradise since the serpent was made to crawl forever and destined to be crushed by the descendants of Adam and Eve, meaning that an elevation of power was bestowed upon the couple despite the punishment.
Another manner in which the poem narrates a story of regaining paradise among Adam and Eve is the aftermath of the judgment. After the Son had passed the judgment on the he did not leave it that point; rather he provided physical clothing for Adam and Eve. Not only did the Son, intend to cover the physical nakedness of the couple, but also the inward nakedness. As such, the Son, clothed them with a “Robe of Righteousness” (Book X: 732), which would protect them from the wrath of God. In this regard, Adam and Eve regained the paradise within in the sense that they were protected against the wrath of God. In fact, if Adam and Eve would not have disobeyed God following the Serpent’s deceit, there would have been no need for the Son to come to Paradise and to clothe the physician and spiritual nakedness of the couple. As such, Milton’s poem accounts for this in Book X as a way of justifying the moral of the poem, which is the regaining of paradise following the fall of Adam and Eve.
The act of repentance demonstrated in Book X of the poem compounds the direction Milton wanted his poem to take. Despite the fact that the Satan and Adam and Eve had all sinned against God, a separation between the fate of Satan and Adam and Eve is created in Book X of the poem. At first, Adam is portrayed to be blaming God the punishment: “Did I solicit thee / from darkness to promote me?” (Book X: 744-745). In fact, Adam and Eve are guilty of their mistake, insofar that they contemplate suicide. However, they console each other and decide to stop blaming each other for their mistakes and instead repent their sins: “Humbly our faults and pardon beg, with tears” (Book X: 1090). God’s willingness to forgive and show mercy took the play and Adam and Eve were forgiven. However, Satan was forever damned due to his disobedience to God and the lack of repentance. The regret and sorrow exhibited by Adam and Eve meant that their fate would not be similar to that of the devil because they did something that the devil would not do. This scene in the poem has come forth as a turning point since Milton’s poem turns out to be a story of Adam and Eve regaining paradise, which is paradoxical to the title of the poem, “Paradise Lost”.
Works Cited
Milton, John. “Paradise Lost”. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print
