Milton's fabulous in all sorts of unintentional ways. For instance, he provides plenty of fodder for a 21st century freethinker to pick apart with ease - things like the pride motif, for instance, or the multiple instances where God or angels say something to the extent of "knowledge is bad". Another reason I enjoy it is that I am immature, and found a fart joke.
I've started a list of favorite lines. It's growing pretty weighty, because there's so many beautiful bits and pieces that can be construed to fit a heretical view point. For instance, the eternal line "better to reign in hell than serve in heav'n". Beautiful, right? Who wouldn't rather have their own place, even if it is a falling-down, brimstone-reeking dump, than have to live in uber happy land under the Big Brother-like eyes of angels? No brainer, right? (Er, well...I guess maybe not. Since I am in America, and all)
Here are some others I liked:
"'O fair plant,' said he, 'with fruit surcharged, Deigns none to ease thy load and taste thy sweet, Nor god, nor man; is knowledge so despised?..."
"Tell him withal...what enemy late fall'n himself from heav'n, is plotting now The fall of others from like state of bliss;..."
(Ignorance is bliss. Just seemed fitting)
"He [God] left it in thy power, ordained they will By nature free, not overruled by fate Inextricable..." (Raphael speaks of humans here. I just had to note that, if humans have free will as some kind of special quality, then it implies that angels don't. If angels don't have free will, then they're subject to fate, and thus Lucifer was fated to rebel and fall. Thus - how is it his fault, and why is he then consigned to hell? ...The only explanation I can think of is "God is a jerk", which I find clears up a lot of religious hypocrisy/convolution.)
"who saw When this creation was? Remember'st thou Thy making, while the Maker gave thee being? We know no time when we were not as now; know none before us, self-begot, self-raised By our own quick'ning power,"
(In other words - who says God made anything? God! Funny how that works out. *fingerguns* Gotcha there! Maybe god was just the first angel, as Pullman said.)
(And here we've gotten into the Serpent talking -- I like that kid. He seems to know what's up.)
"What forbids he but to know, Forbids us good, forbids us to be wise?"
"'And wherein lies Th'offense, that man should thus attain to know? What can your knowledge hurt him, or this tree Impart against his will if all be his?"
(I don't see how anyone could argue for the validity of Genesis and support education. This must be why people so rarely do.)
"Knowledge of good and evil; Of good, how just? Of evil, if what is evil Be real, why not known, since easier shunned?"
"Why then thus forbid? Why but to awe, Why but to keep ye low and ignorant, His worshippers."
"ye shall be as gods, knowing both good and evil as they know..."
(This is one of the few instances where I disagree with Snakey. Actually, gods don't seem to be all that clear on the subject of good and evil. I mean, think. Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot's wife. Prometheus' punishment. Zeus' many infidelities. Loki (enough said). Set. Massacring Canaanittes. Arachne. Would you like me to go on?)
"hath God then said that of the fruit Of all these garden trees ye shall not eat, Yet lords declared of all in earth or air?"
(Ooh, gotcha there! *fingerguns*)
"spirited sly snake"
(I have some kind of weird love for alliteration.)
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I'll have to tell you the fart joke and the most hilarious dialogue between Adam and Raphael later, because it is late and I must go into my nightly coma. Maybe I'll even have vivid hallucinations followed by near total amnesia about the experience! :D
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