Book 9 reading comprehension assignment
E314L: Banned Books and Novel Ideas
Paradise Lost Book 9: reading comprehension assignment
Instructions: Read the exchange between Adam and Eve that runs between lines 205 and 383 in Book 9. Reproduce their dialogue in modern idiomatic English, summarizing their arguments while preserving the substance of what they’re saying.
Use this summary of Satan’s first soliloquy (99-179) as a guideline for how to proceed:
“O earth, how beautiful you are! You might even be better than heaven, since God created you second, and God wouldn’t build something worse on his second attempt. The whole universe revolves around the earth and seems created for its benefit. I would love to be able to walk around enjoying the earth’s natural beauty, but these pleasures actually make me feel more torment. The only relief I get is from destroying. If I can destroy Adam, then the earth will fall with him, and I will win the respect of the demons of Hell for having ruined in one day what God built in six. God made the earth in order repair the damage done when I took away nearly half of his angels, and He gave to man what rightfully belongs to the angels. O, what indignity for angels to have to serve man! In order to avoid these watchful angels and sneak into Eden, I will inhabit the body of the snake. How ironic that my ambition has brought me to such a low state, but that’s the way revenge works. I’m content to take out my hatred for God on Adam: since God created man to spite me, I’ll repay God with equal spite.