Darkness Visible

In the final episode of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve confront the full weight of their disobedience. Despair gives way to reconciliation in this bittersweet denouement of Milton's epic.
[Trigger warning: suicidal ideation. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-8255, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org, or reach out to a trusted adult. Help is available.]

“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” In this episode, the aftermath of the Fall continues to unravel. Students are encouraged to analyze how themes of vengeance, guilt, and self-deception have developed as the story has reached its climax.

Would you be willing to die for the one you love? In this episode, students will begin to see the negative consequences of “Man’s first disobedience.”

Why is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil even in this garden in the first place? In this crucial episode, students will be asked to carefully evaluate the deceptive rhetoric of the story’s antagonist as he tempts Eve. Can you see through the holes in his argument, or does he get you too?

Would you be happy, living with the knowledge that an enemy hell-bent on your destruction was watching your every move? In this episode, major themes and conflicts in the epic begin to converge in an increasingly heated argument between Adam and Eve. Students are asked to carefully evaluate the merits and weaknesses of contrasting arguments regarding the nature of free will, obedience, and temptation.

Eve gets all the credit for being the curious one. Maybe that's because most people skip Books V-VIII. In this episode, students will attend to the details of plot, character development, and structure within the epic.

Book IV of Paradise Lost continues with a stunning introduction to Adam and Eve. Quirks and questions abound in this strange but endearing moment of Milton's epic poem. Students are asked to consider how Milton represents concepts such as innocence, work, love, perfection, and equality, within the increasingly problematic context of the poem.

What would you be willing to give up for the greater good? In this episode, students are asked to consider how a single line of text can be read with deeply contrasting interpretations. The implications of HOW we read can be just as critical as WHAT we read.

Let's untangle the most profound religious and philosophical knots in the universe. Blindfolded. This episode reorients the reader to the perspective of the protagonists as they consider how to respond to Satan’s ongoing rebellion. Students are asked to consider the complexity of key themes in the poem: Free Will and the Problem of Evil.

The apparent heroism of Milton's Satan, the grand structure of his universe, and the cinematic drama of his poetry, are on full display in this episode detailing the second half of Book II of Paradise Lost. Students are asked to look closely at the cumulative effect of language in creating poetic imagery.

Have you ever felt trapped? In Book II of Paradise Lost, Satan plots his escape from Hell. But first, he must confront a horrifying secret from his past. In this episode, students are asked to consider the allegorical origins of evil in Milton’s conception of the universe.

How far would you go to escape a tyrant? In this episode, students are introduced to the poem’s antagonist, and asked to consider how a character’s point of view influences their motives and actions.