Paradise Lost: Lines 990-1066

• These notes cover Paradise Lost, lines 990-1066

Plot Summary (Lines 990-1066)

• Adam and Eve embrace, and Adam eats the fruit after initially resisting, succumbing to "female charm."
• Rain and thunderstorms begin as a symbolic weeping of Nature due to the original sin.
• The pair become intoxicated and experience their first "carnal desire."
• Adam expresses gratitude to Eve for introducing him to the pleasure from the forbidden fruit.
• He admits to being 'inflamed' and full of lust, inviting Eve to 'play' with him, suggesting a sinful sexual awakening.
• Eve signals her consent, and they disappear into the thicket for 'amorous play'.
• They fall asleep, wake up disturbed by 'unkindly fumes', and realize the extent of their transgression.
• They experience the loss of innocence and are overwhelmed by shame.

Analysis of the Fall

• Evidence suggests Adam acted foolishly, overcome by ‘female charm' without thinking.
• Adam's fall is more significant as it seals the fate of humankind.
• Adam was not ‘deceived' but rather allowed his love and passions for Eve to ‘charm’ his reason.
• Love is portrayed as the cause of the Fall and the greatest temptation.
• It is possible to consider Adam a heroic figure, especially given the future sacrifice of Jesus out of love for humankind.

Effects of the Fall

• The earth groans, and the sky darkens, accompanied by thunder ("muttered") and weeping rain.
• Personification create a powerful sense of pathos.
• Lines suggest the birth of mortal ‘Sin / Original' from the Fall.
• The inverted word order emphasizes the significance of 'Original'.
• They appear drunk, aligning with contemporary beliefs about the immediate effects of the Fall.
• Contemporary belief was that ‘new wine' was stronger than older wine.
• "They swim in mirth" evokes sensual pleasure and slow, labored movements.
• "Breeding wings" suggests a growing sense of importance and aspiration.
• Lust presented as intense and dangerous, mirroring the earlier comparison between Satan and a will o' the wisp.
• Eyes are used to show characters as beguiled, like Adam when Eve departs, Satan's, and Eve's when tempted.
• Description of Adam's 'lascivious eyes' carries extra weight.
• The frequency of sexual imagery highlights how overwhelming lust is for both: 'carnal desire inflaming'; ‘lascivious eyes'; 'wantonly repaid'; 'in lust they burn'; ‘dalliance move’.
• Gustatory imagery conveys Adam's powerful appetite, implying he wants to devour Eve like a fruit.
• The etymological root of 'sapience' (sapere - to taste in Latin) links physical and intellectual appetite taught by Satan.
• Adam's reasoning suggests the act of transgressing causes his changed state of mind rather than any chemical aspect of the fruit.
• Adam's flawed thinking suggests that there is something "thrilling" about sinful thoughts and actions.
• Adam hinting at the Ten Commandments that ‘it might be wished. / For this one Tree had been forbidden ten.'

Contrasting States

• Postlapsarian lack of control contrasts with earlier restraint.
• Postlapsarian speech is frantic, opposite to the calm and measured one earlier in Book IX.
• Their speech vs Adam's ‘mild answer' and 'healing words', and Eve's 'accent sweet'.
• Their gardening initially shows control over the garden: 'what we by day / Lop overgrown...Tending to the wild.'
• The implication is that they have become as ‘wanton' and 'wild' as the vegetation.

Comparison of Sex Scenes

• Postlapsarian actions are hurried like Eve's eyes ‘darted', and her hand is 'seized' by Adam.
• Prelapsarian actions are eased and slow where they ‘eased' off their ‘disguises' and ‘side by side were laid.'
• Flowers appear in both scenes, but the postlapsarian bower has different flowers.
• Different flowers include ‘pansies, and violets, and asphodel', none of which appear in the prelapsarian bower.
• 'Hyacinth[s]' appear in both scenes and can be read a CLASSICAL ALLUSION.
• Alliterative link between solace and sin establishes a connection between comfort and sinful behaviour.
• Postlapsarian sex description is sensual, containing Olfactory imagery.
• The 'unkindly fumes contrast with the ‘sweet-smelling herbs'.
• The metaphor suggests sweaty bodies (‘dewy sleep') and primal behavior.

Changes Imposed

• Eating the fruit robbed them of their God-given ability to enable Reason to rule their passions and appetites.
• They lose the virtues of 'innocence', 'just confidence', 'native righteousness', and 'honour'.
• Instead, they must learn new ‘fallen virtues', such as penitence, forgiveness, and mutual supportiveness to reflect the human experience.