Milton's Paradise Lost Book IV (Part 1)

1. As Satan approaches the perfect Garden of Eden, he reflects on the perfect heaven he once lived in. He asks himself whether or not if he repented, he would be allowed entrance into heaven again through God's forgiveness. As he argues with himself, he is watched by the archangel Uriel, whom Satan tricked into giving him the directions to Eden by telling him he is a Cherub. Uriel realises that Satan must be a demon when he makes facial expressions in his internal argument, since Cherubs can only express joy. Satan hops over the walls of Eden and observes the creation, he is both enraged and envious. Satan listens and watches Adam and Eve as they explore the Garden, he listens and plans, figuring the best way to corrupt these creatures. He hears Adam direct Eve away from the Tree of Knowledge, reminding her of God's single rule. He begins to use this information to scheme a plan of corruption. 

2. Satan's soliloquy speaks to the current state of judgment he finds himself in. Upon seeing the good creation that God had made, Satan remembers his past self. He used to live with God and relished in his good. Now he is in turmoil and self-sustenance, he is Hell. Satan thinks about whether or not he would be given forgiveness if he did repent. He convinces himself that he wouldn't be, and he is completely correct. Satan can only see himself as a victim of God, never of himself. His repentance can thus only be toward God's actions and not his own. Milton argues that God provides Satan with mercy but not accepting his repentance, knowing he would try to rebel against Him again. Thus, God is actually protecting from further and greater punishment.

3. As Satan debates with himself, he begins to change physically. Uriel, who watches him and accounts for his changes, sees Satan transfiguring before his very eyes. Satan reveals his bad nature and his demonic form as he further convinces himself of the false reality he sees himself in. His accusations against God, in addition to his refusal to see his own fault in his fate, reveals and embodies in his physical appearance. 

4. Milton describes Paradise as being  perfect and without flaw. Satan sees and acknowledges the perfect creation God made, and is reminded of where he used to live and what he used to be. The language that Milton uses to describe Paradise is extremely sylvan and filled with natural imagery. In addition to nature, Milton also ascribes Paradise with pagan mythology, perhaps meaning to imply the pagan misapprehension of the cosmos. The following lines exemplify both of these traits:

"The birds their quire apply; airs, vernal airs,
Breathing the smell of field and grove, attune	265
The trembling leaves, while universal Pan,
Knit with the Graces and the Hours in dance,
Led on the eternal Spring."

5. These lines refer to the relationship of mankind with God. Milton describes the relationship with God as the creator of man, who is made in his direct likeness. Much like God, man is created perfect and in a good relationship with God. The father-son relationship also implies a degree of trust and obedience. God gives man the freedom to do whatever he wants in the garden, all except eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Much like any filial relationship, God allows man the opportunity to either demonstrate love for the Father or disobedience to Him.

6. The freedom that Milton describes in Paradise in almost infinite. God, in his creation of man, allows them to anything that they please in the context of their perfection. Because God knows that He created them to be perfect, they are given total freedom in the garden. The only part of the Garden they are protected from in the Tree of the Knowledge. This is the only way in which man would change his will and turn from God. Therefore, God gives man total freedom in the context of their own perfection, only given more rules when they will to disobey Him. 

Merriman's History of Modern Europe Chapter 15 Questions

1. The Congress of Vienna met and drew up a map of the boundaries within Europe in 1815. They sought to reestablish the balance of power in Europe that flourished prior to the rise of Prussian, Austrian, British, and French empires. The Congress system not only worked to control empiric expansion, but also attempted to do this through the reestablishment of dynastic monarchies.

2. Robert Castlereagh was the Foreign Secretary Viscount and British representative of the Vienna Congress. Castlereagh worked in Austria to establish Britain as the "arbiter of European affairs", considering the British Empire was the contemporary world power. Castlereagh also worked desperately to keep French and Russian Empires under close observation. 

3. The Congress of Vienna sought to reestablish kings, nobles, and clergy within a hierarchical  context. The ages of revolutions Europe-wide decimated what once was the old system of primogeniture monarchs. The conservative ideology used to legitimise this claim brings back the idea of divine right of kings. This ideology once again attempted to legitimise birthright from the old beliefs of a king being divinely chosen. 

4. Liberalism became the vogue term in European politics by the 1830's. The term referred to many different elements of European society that interrelated. Politically, liberalism worked to promote class equality when it came to the selection of a representative in government. It promoted human rights within all social contexts. Economically, liberalism empowered the laissez-faire mode of economic theory, which encouraged the government to stay out of mercantile affairs in order to allow the economy to flourish best. 

5. Romanticism in 19th century Europe  heavily influenced literature, art, and music. The Romantic period emphasised glorified emotion and feeling through images of nature and heroism. The Romantic period also focused on inner development and improvement similar to Renaissance humanism as it retrospectively looked at classical antiquity. Perhaps the rise of Romanticism came also with the rise of liberalism and the empowerment of the individual despite social or economic disadvantage.

6. The Liberal Revolts across Europe often included very similar and parallel trends. Each of the revolts held those who supported the Congress System and worked to reestablish a monarch under with an emphasis on the Church's role in government. These people worked to bring European government back to [what the French would refer to as] an ancien regime. The other side, or those who revolted, promoted liberalism and a distinction between Church and government responsibilities within the local revolutionary history of Europe. 

7. Belgium's independence was nearly a direct consequence of liberalism revolts. Catholics in southern Dutch Netherlands, which was called Belgium, were tired of the amount of Protestantism throughout their collective government. The Dutch king remained intolerant of Catholic demands of neutralisation and sent violent attacks on any protestors. Fortunately for the Belgians, these actions only brought more Catholic-sympathising Belgians. Eventually, in 1830, a provisional government declared Belgium an independent nation, set with a precomposed bicameral legislature. 

8. Nationalism became directly linked with liberalism in 19th century Europe. The protection of citizens' rights and voice by a set governmental institution became the poster-child of European liberals. Nationalism seeks the trust and pride within one's own nation for the fulfilment of their ethical rights and patriotic foundations. Within a monarchs connotation, Nationalism became embodied in a monarch, and would not be possible if the monarch was disliked by his or her nation.

9. The highly segregated and loosely connected states of Europe were radically motivated through nationalism to make changes. Nationalism encouraged trust in a unified nation with a national and universal government. The efficiency of this was quite apparent in the Empires of Europe and perhaps inspired the loosely strung states to do the same. In revolts and uprising of these states, they worked to promote nationalism by the collaboration of local states in the formation of a national government. 

10. The Reform Bill of 1832 was passed in order to expand the legibility of voters beyond the upper middle class. The electorate was doubled in the single passing of this bill, which allowed people who owned "not enough land" in prior standards to now vote. Now, the electorate was composed of businessmen, directors of industry and enterprises, alongside those who were already established there. This better portrayed the construct of British society during this time, being the Industrial Revolution.

11. The Chartist movement was a reflection and demonstration of the socio-political changes that occurred in Britain in the 19th century. Chartist worked to affirm their obtained rights and social equality through the dispersion of wealth and power among all classes. Chartists also supported democratic voices coming from all parts of society. They saw women as important members in society: supporting their presence in the workplace and opposing their abusive treatment. Corn Laws in Britain were taxes on imported grain. Prime Minister Peel sought to repeal these laws temporarily to alleviate the Potato Famine in Ireland. The repeal received much discontent as conservatives saw it as self-destructive to Britain. The result was a division of parties: the Whigs and the Peelites. 

Milton's Paradise Lost Book III Response Questions

1. The free will Milton explains in this section of Book III is a free will of obedience or disobedience to God. Satan's plan, which attempts to persuade man to disobey God, is the very medium in which God allows man to use free will. When man chooses to obey God over believing the empty promises of Satan, man reveals an intense sense of love and trust in God. Without free will, God would never truly be able to distinguish between men who love him or want to be him.

2. The "first-sort" that Milton refers to in the context of the Fall are the fallen angels who chose in their free will to attempt to take God's place. The free will enacted here is filled with pure selfishness in an attempt to become their own god. The second sort refers to man. Their free will is whether they choose to follow the temptation of the "first-sort" or to trust and worship in God's greater plan. The guilt of man is more of a guilty by assimilation rather than a direct rebellion against God.

3. Milton demonstrates a definite perspective on free will through his metaphors fabricated in his work. The black-and-white view of free will is demonstrated through the motivation of will presented by Satan and explicated by God. Because God is omniscient, he sees free will as a means of choosing between eternal life and eternal death. Satan on the other hand, who has limited visibility and a distorted understanding, sees a choice of enslavement to God or the opportunity to become God. Similarly, free will of man chooses between these two choices. 

4. Lines 152-154 refer to the idea of free will in the context of God's eternal love. It is not by God's choice that man in damned. Rather, God provides man with the option to fail if he so chooses, corrupted by his own fraudulent will. It is only just that man, if he choose death, be joined with death. God's justice isn't out of pure wrath toward man, rather wrath toward sin and death, but love toward obedience and man.

5. Milton through Book III tries to explain how condemnation is a just and loving act by God. He explains that because of Satan's plan to corrupt man, men are in danger of being corrupted by sin. What makes men vulnerable to corruption, since they shouldn't be since they are creatures of God, is the ability to choose freely. To save man from his own potentially poor choices, God gives consequences for them. In a further demonstration of his love for man, he works to send a divine being (the Son) to Earth to persuade man away from Satan's lies. 

Milton's Paradise Lost Book II Response Questions

1. Beelzebub's speech in Book II completely tore apart the suggestions and speeches presented prior to his. Beelzebub's speech presented Satan's plan, which is the only plan that would allow to happen to begin with. Beelzebub humbly presents an argument that calls for a hero to arise to travel through space and chaos to corrupt the world of man. He credits all the heroism and prowess to "this hero" who would take on such a difficult task. Satan of course rises as this "hero" for the salvation of the demons, which was the plan all along.

2. Satan begins by outline the incredible level of skill and courage that is required to do as he is about to do. He speaks of the horrors of what lie outside of chaos, and the unknown he must learn to venture through. He also speaks of challenging the will and power of God, crediting himself as the only one who could attempt such a feat. 

3. Sin tells Satan the story of how they are all related to each other. She says that she came out of the head of Satan, representing that sin is a product of Lucifer's disobedience. Satan then raped Sin, who birthed the ghost figure of Death. This represents the idea that sin and sinful actions can only bring death. Death then raped Sin and she birthed the dogs that viciously attack demons who try to escape Hell. 

4. Milton arranges a complex geography of the metaphysical universe. There are two adjacent realms propelled in suspension within infinite chaos. One side is heaven (which is as infinite as chaos) and a finite hell. Milton divides, much like Dante does, Hell into nine layers. At the brink of these layers and on the edge of chaos lies the gates of Hell, which we follow Satan to at the end of Book II.

5. The entire set up and plan of Satan in his continuing rebellion against God works completely in retrospective anticipation. The reader is captivated with anticipation in wonder of the effectiveness of Satan's plan, even though we are well aware that Satan's plan is subject to God's will. In fact, by Satan working to corrupt man, he plays into God's plan to test man's love for Him.