Paradise Lost 771the tragedy of the fall (Gen. 3), the poem broaches
its subject, as “Lycidas,” often to satirically critique
the fallacious view of its poet.
Jereme Wade Skinner
Freedom in Paradise Lost
John Milton exposes the tragic nature of Paradise
Lost in part through freedom, a theme containing
three distinct, yet interlocking, aspects: the spiri-
tual, the domestic, and the political. The Archangel
Michael provides a paradigm for understanding the
entire poem’s presentation of liberty, by juxtaposing
these facets in his dialogue with Adam in book 12,
using the concept of free will to emphasize the tragic
nature of the Fall.
For Michael, the Fall marks the moment at
which humans lose the liberty of free will enjoyed
in a world without sin. When he speaks of Adam’s
descendant, who builds the tower of Babel (Gen.
11:4–9), Michael says that this action “subdue[s] /
Rational libertie” (12:81–82). But, in order to dis-
tinguish this kind of freedom from pre-Fall liberty,
Michael explains that, “Since thy original lapse, true
Libertie / Is lost” (12:83–84). Thus, “true Libertie” is
pre-Fall liberty, and subdued “rational libertie” per-
tains to post-Fall humanity. According to Michael,
pre-Fall freedom is always interconnected with
“right Reason” (12:84–85). Adam echoes Michael’s
description of “true Libertie” in his dialogue with
Eve, where he says that “God left free the Will,
for what obeyes / Reason, is free, and Reason he
made right” (9:351–352). But, according to Adam,
although “right,” “Reason,” if deceived, can “mis-
informe the Will / To do what God expresly hath
forbid” (9:354–356). In book 5, the Angel Raphael
warns Adam that “God made thee perfet, not
immutable; / And good he made thee, but to per-
severe / He left it in thy power” (5:524–526). Thus,
the power God gives Adam and Eve to persevere
involves a right reason, but not a reason incapable of
misdirecting the will. For Raphael, choosing rightly
in the face of deception involves more than just rea-
son; it also necessitates obedience.
Michael’s phrase “thy original lapse” refers to
what many theologians of Milton’s era and beyond
call “original sin” or “the Fall.” This “lapse” is the
moment Adam and Eve disobey God’s command-
ment by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil (see book 9 and Genesis 3). Accord-
ing to Paul in the New Testament (KJV, 1611), “by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned” (Romans 5:12). English Reformers
of the 17th century, however, emphasized the all-
pervasiveness of sin and death in humanity after the
Fall, in the Calvinistic doctrine called “total deprav-
ity.” According to this doctrine, sin affects even the
human will and the ability to reason. Thus, the sinful
will inclines toward disobedience rather than obedi-
ence. Michael reflects this perspective when he says
that “Reason” in a sinful person is often “obscur’d,
or not obeyd” (12:86). When this happens, he says
desires and passions subsume reason. When sinful
desires and passions govern the will, humans are
reduced to what Michael calls “servitude” (12:89).
Human servitude involves permitting “Within him-
self unworthie Powers to reign / Over free Reason”
(12:91–92).
Michael melds together the internal and exter-
nal elements of freedom with a discussion of the
political aspect of liberty. For Michael, the person
who allows “unworthie Powers to reign / Over
free Reason, God in Judgement just / Subjects him
from without to violent Lords” (12:91–93). These
“Tyrant[s]” often, according to Michael, deprive the
person of his/her “outward freedom” (12:95) through
enslavement. Hence, the poet’s previous reference to
the “Government” controlled by sinful desires and
passions and void of Reason also subtly refers to the
political form of “Tyrannie.” Tyranny, however, can
manifest itself in the domestic sphere. Adam does
not restrict Eve’s movement in the face of Satan’s
“lurking” presence, because “force upon free Will
hath here [in Paradise] no place” (9:11–74). External
force can exist only in an imperfect environment,
because it necessitates internal imprisonment. For
Michael, as well as Adam, internal servitude leads
to external enslavement. But internal servitude is
not merely a moral problem. Michael’s references to
“desires” and “Passions” also allude to Paul’s descrip-
tion of spiritual enslavement in the New Testament
book of Ephesians. For Paul, all Christians, includ-
ing himself, prior to experiencing the mercy and love
of God, fulfilled sinful lusts and desires, because they