Paradise Lost Books IX and X "Discuss the development of the characters of Adam and Eve and their relationship" The major theme of 'Paradise Lost' is the development of the relationship between Adam and Eve

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Paradise Lost Books IX and X

“Discuss the development of the characters of Adam and Eve and their relationship”

The major theme of ‘Paradise Lost’ is the development of the relationship between Adam and Eve. Throughout the poem we are asked to draw conclusions on the many different events that we come across as well as the reactions that we see from the two major characters. Indeed, the only real clear-cut thing that we see from Adam and Eve is their unreliability with each other. Milton’s presentation of Adam and Eve in “Paradise Lost” book IX changes as a transition occurs throughout the different stages of the ‘fall of man’. The prelapsarian innocence and postlapsarian guilt and sin of Adam and Eve are presented and separate characterisations start to emerge.

The description that Milton uses to describe the Garden at the start of the poem is very beautiful. In turn, we see the same sort of idyllic scene with Adam and Eve, side by side working together; “With grateful smell, forth came the human pair and joined their vocal worship to the choir”. Milton’s language here creates a very calm and picturesque portrayal of the garden when in fact; it is merely the calm before the storm for both the garden and the relationship between Adam and Eve. Milton lures us into a false sense of security and then shows us the other side to the pair in the quite heated discussion they have about working alone. This development and change from Adam and Eve actually happens very quickly. Eve wants to have a break from Adam and believes that if they work separately they will get more things done. In hindsight this was a grave error in Eve’s judgement and pre-empts the fate of the couple during the rest of the poem. Indeed it is the way in which the pair react from these setbacks that shape their development and relationship in book nine and beyond.

The Garden of Eden is described by Milton as a place of perfection and paradise. It would certainly not be expected that the characters would drift away from their typical two-dimensional thought processes of that in the story of Genesis in the Bible. Therefore, as well as the account of Adam and Eve’s relationship being a celebration of love, it is also an observance of the huge complexity of human beings and how they form and develop relations with each other. For example, when first presented with the characters of Adam and Eve in Book IX, Eve is suggesting that the pair should separate in order to achieve more work; “Let us divide our labours”. Although Eve is clearly innocent and loving towards both Adam and God she appears set on her decision against the wishes of her husband. This behaviour is the first friction that we see in the characters and although it is out of the ordinary and not what the reader would expect, it shows the real development of the Adam and Eve’s relationship into something like what we would think of a couple today. Adam contrasts with her opinions intelligently; “What malicious foe…seeks to work us woe and shame by sly assault…Watches no doubt.” Adam appears to be much more aware of the danger of Satan and wishes to stay together for he has a true love and devotion towards Eve that she doesn’t really seem to appreciate at this point.

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When Eve has her encounter with the serpent later on she thinks that it must be just another of God’s ‘wonderful’ creations. To be fair to Eve, there is really no reason at all why she should think anything else of the snake; she has never experienced the world and is seeing everything from a totally pre-lapsarian point of view. He praises her beauty and purity and Eve succumbs to it rather more quickly than we would expect. The serpent’s cunning and guile manage to win Eve over, even though Adam has warned her before. This shows just how ...

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