Paradise Regained, while not at the same level of rhetoric and literacy as Paradise Lost,
does offer an interesting insight into Jesus' temptation in the
wilderness. Milton uses language in order to assert Jesus as the
Messiah, and Satan as an agent of evil, which is being used by God, to
help that assertion. Paradise Regained is largely static.
There is no real rise and fall of tension and there is no real climax,
either. Rather, all of the stress is placed on the importance of
language and silence.
When comparing Satan and Jesus' speeches, there is an immediate difference: Satan's speech is clouded in "persuasive rhetoric,"
whereas everything that Jesus says is plain and accessible. Jesus does
not need fancy language in order to convey His message. Instead of
trying to make Himself more confusing, the Messiah takes language back
to its roots and uses it as Adam did (in a way that would be able to
communicate with God directly) by keeping it as simple and as close to
God as He can.
In his brilliant essay, "The Muting of Satan: Language and Redemption in Paradise Regained,"
Steven Goldsmith argues that the language Jesus is using is not the
same as the language Satan is using. Rather than stay silent while
Satan tempts Him, Jesus uses the fallen language in order to thwart
Satan and beat him at his own game. In the process of using this
language, Jesus is paving His way towards becoming the Messiah by
silencing Satan so that His voice will be heard. Underneath all of
Satan's fancy word plays lays absolutely nothing. He is the "linguistic anti-christ," who "has nothing to express."
Jesus finally asserts Himself as Messiah and readies Himself to be "all in all" with God towards the end of the poem:
"To whom thus Jesus: Also it is written,
Tempt not the Lord they God, he said and stood.
But Satan smitten with amazement fell."
At
first glance, it is easy to see that Jesus and Satan are opposites: one
is standing and the other is falling. However, the fact that Jesus "said and stood"
is important. It parallels God's perfect speech during the creation of
the world: "God said... and there was." This is the pinnacle of the
poem - the point where Christ has officially triumphed over Satan and
can now go public as Messiah. Satan is allowed to roam the fallen world
and has even created a kingdom of his own in Hell and in the sky
(according to Milton) where he perversely "blesses" people with wealth,
glory, etc. Jesus has to enter the fallen world and first silence its
biggest voice before He can redeem it.
"Queller of Satan, on thy glorious work
Now enter, and begin to save mankind."
According to Goldsmith, "the process of verification that is the purpose of Paradise Regained has been accomplished." By using language, Milton paralleled Jesus' own entrance into the world as Messiah by silencing Satan and glorifying Christ.
While I still believe this is not nearly as fascinating as Paradise Lost
(and is also much shorter), it's still well worth the read if you've
read the former. They really are two parts of a whole. Satan's
temptation of Christ not only mimics his temptation of Eve, but it is
also referenced throughout the entire poem whenever he feels foiled.
This is the finale to Paradise Lost.
4 musical stars.
The book is nothing like the musical.
I
just thought I'd give everyone a heads up in case they're thoroughly in
love with the musical and don't want to read anything that deviates
from it, even though technically the musical deviated from the book. I
read a few reviews where the reviewers were disappointed because the
book was so inherently different. That being said, while I'm a fan of the musical,
I have never been 100% in love with it. In fact, it turns out I prefer the book over the musical.
The book holds a much more complicated relationship with
the reader than the musical does with the viewer. There is more going on in the plot, there are more plots
in general, and it is just over-the-top, gothic horror fun. I am
surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this! It is almost a satire of itself. It is overdone, dramatic and juvenile. Christine is so virginal, Raoul is so heroic (yet gentle), and the Phantom is so creepy (yet pathetic).
What
struck me the most was that this was a re-telling of the Persephone and
Hades story from Greek mythology -- and it was a solid re-telling that
added more depth to the story, making it more complex. (Of course, it also has traditonal Christian elements as well: Christine (Christ) and The Angel of Music (a common occupation for the Devil/Lucifer). I have seen the
movie adaptations of the musical, I've seen the musical itself on
Broadway, but never have I connected the dots so clearly as when I was
reading it. The lake to the Phantom's house is the lake to the
Underworld. This underworld is where the Phantom (Hades) dwells and he
goes to the upper world to capture the beautiful Christine (Persephone)
to make her his. What impressed me was that there were flowers in the
Phantom's underground chamber. Persephone, in classical Greek mythology, loved three things: sunshine,
laughter and wildflowers.
Although all the
characters themselves felt sympathy for the Phantom, I never once did, and I'm not entirely sure how much Leroux wanted me to. Certainly, the Phantom is a victim of his time, but being a victim does not give one the right to become a villain.
It was hard for me to feel sympathetic for a sociopath, hellbent on getting what he wants, everyone else be damned. I know there are many readers who love the Phantom, but
even in the musical version where he is presented as a much more
sympathetic character, I could never bring myself to like him.
Either
way, this book is a quick read, hilarious and I would recommend it to everyone.
You may love it, hate it or feel ambivalent about it, but I definitely
think it's a book worth reading once in your life.
