Redeeming the Abortive Gulf: An Analysis of Chaos in 'Paradise Lost'
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Date
2018-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
The realm of chaos in Paradise Lost has been the subject of much critical debate over the past century. This essay builds on the arguments of previous critics, such as Dennis Danielson, Regina Schwartz, and John Rogers. The first section gives a brief overview of the diverse uses of chaos in seventeenth century discourse. The second engages with contemporary critical debate over the nature of the realm of chaos in the poem. The last section argues for the presence of chaotic tropes in the postlapsarian world. The presence of such tropes signifies that the natural world descends into a state resembling that of the realm of chaos. The analysis suggests that God curses the natural world into a state resembling chaos in order to recreate it.
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Keywords
Chaos, John Milton, Interpretation, Divine Curse