John Milton s Negative Portrayal Of Monarchy - 1142 Words

John Milton’s Negative Portrayal of Monarchy in Paradise Lost In Paradise Lost, Milton argues against monarchy by portraying it in its purest form using the kingdom of heaven. Heaven is portrayed in Paradise Lost as a blatant monarchy. As with all monarchies, heaven does not offer true political freedom as it is ruled by one monarch, God. Milton portrays heaven to be a true monarchy and visibly displays the shortcomings of such type of government. He does this in various ways by comparing societies in hell and heaven, and the interactions between the ruler and their subordinates. Milton shows the differences in the societies where in one, all the subjects serve one supreme ruler, whose word is unquestioned and obeyed irrefutably, and in the other where debates take place and a leader is elected. Milton shows through Paradise lost that he disagrees with monarchy, and portrays the shortcomings of monarchy by showing that the ruler’s existence does not benefit the people of the society, and that god rules as a tyrant, and that there is more freedom granted in hell than in heaven. Milton shows that within the political structure, God is essentially a dispensable leader who is not beneficial to his subjects. For example, in the third book, God is aware that someone else must endure suffering in the humans’ stead. However, instead of volunteering himself, he announces to the angels that one of them must go down to earth and suffer in order to salvage the human race. He asks whoShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesSouthern Life Lisa M. Fine, The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A. Van Gosse and Richard Moser, eds., The World the Sixties Made: Politics and Culture in Recent America Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., History and September 11th John McMillian and Paul Buhle, eds., The New Left Revisited David M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric