The Son of God in Milton’s Paradise Lost Taking One for...

The Son of God in Milton’s Paradise Lost: Taking One for the Team Among those familiar with the Judeo-Christian belief system, Jesus is normally accepted as a selfless figure, one who became human, suffered, and was put to death out of divine love for humanity. In his portrayal of the Son of God in Paradise Lost, John Milton does not necessarily disagree with the devotion or love present in the Son. His characterization of the Son does not oppose this tradition; rather, it is simply different. By Milton’s portrayal, the Son has an acute craving for attention, a desire for gory revenge over Death, and an appetite for glory. Furthermore, while the Son, after accepting the task of becoming mortal and dying to save Adam’s descendants,†¦show more content†¦That one exceptional individual, of course, is the Son. His acceptance implies, then, that his â€Å"love and charity† surpass that of any of the angels. Perhaps to a Christian this is true, but for the Son to see so readily in himself a previously impossible amount of love (as the Father’s language suggests) is not a particularly humble act. It is possible, though, to see the Son’s narcissism as being more apparent in the language he uses to accept his responsibility than from the acceptance itself. As such, we ought to examine that language: the manner in which the Son accepts the challenge is even more loaded and selfreferential. He makes mention to himself six times in three lines of his acceptance speech (my italics): Behold me, then, me for him, life for life I offer, on me let thine anger fall; Account me man; I for his [man’s] sake will leave Thy bosom... (3.236-9) In addition to mentioning himself repeatedly, the Son uses a key phrase: â€Å"Behold me.† The first nine lines (3.227-35) of his speech are about Grace’s speed and universality; as soon as he mentions himself, however, his rhetoric changes, describing the dread power of Death and how he plans to vanquish Death. Grace, which comes from the Father, seems to come quite naturally (â€Å"finds her way... unprevented, unimplored, unsought† (3.229-31), while to crush Death requires more of an effort â€Å"‘on me let Death wreak all his rage... Death his death’s wound shall thenShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein Study Guide14107 Words   |  57 Pagesthe novel. †¢ Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh (Columbia TriStar Home Video, 1995; 123 minutes; Rated R for horrific images). CD-ROMs To give students a chance to find their own pathways into the novel, have them explore one of the following multimedia programs. †¢ Essential Frankenstein (Byron Preiss Multimedia, 1994) contains pop-up annotations to the original 1818 text, animated introductions to each chapter, and many movie stills and film clips. †¢ Frankenstein: The ArtRead MoreColombian Folklore5889 Words   |  24 Pagesis associated to the spirit of Madremonte * The  Tunda  (La Tunda) is a myth of the  Pacific Region of Colombia, and particularly popular in the  Afro-Colombian  community, about a  vampire-like  doppelganger  monster woman * The  Patasola  or one foot is one of many myths in  Latin American folklore  about woman monsters from the jungle. * The  Moan  is a forest and river creature that protects the forests, steals women and disturbs fishing and hunting activities. * The  Llorona  or the Weeping