Exercises

Questions:

1. What were the two struggling parties during the Bourgeois Revolution in England, and what class interests were concealed behind each of the parties?

2. How long did the Republic last and what political order marked the end of the whole revolutionary epoch of the 17^th century in England.

3. Comment on Milton's education in his native country and on his travels abroad.

4. What was Milton's work during the Bourgeois Revolution?

5. What made Milton become a champion of the Puritan Revolutionaries?

6. Did Milton share the ideas of the Puritans regarding poetry?

7. Enumerate Milton's chief works.

8. Wherein lies the duality in Milton's literary works?

Tasks:

1. Tell the story of "Paradise Lost".

2. Explain in what way Milton intended to depict the characters of God and Satan, and how they came out in the work.

3. Describe Satan's rebellious character. Why did he hate God? What makes him pity the rebel-angels?

4. Speak about Milton's humanism as shown in his characterization of Adam and Eve. Compare them with Adam and Eve, the sinners in the conventional Bible story. What makes all the difference?

Review Questions

1. What was the leading form of literature during the Bourgeois Revolution in England? Give reasons for your answer.

2. What was Milton's literary work during the Revolution and directly after?

3. What made Milton return to poetry?

4. Why is "Paradise Lost" the greatest work reflecting the Revolution in English literature? How does Milton express revolutionary ideas in this work?

"A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday."

Swift