The Fall Due to Disturbance of Reason

In Paradise Lost, Milton displays a personal concern to discover the answers tot he political and religious turmoil of his time and the Fall of Man was one of those hotly debated issues.  Paradise Lost is in a way a new Bible containing answers to the debated theological and political issues during this time.  The previous Puritan ideas concerning the Fall of Man saw the reason for original sin as purely sexual for which Milton offered a different explanation.  Milton determines that the split of reason in Adam and Eve led to the Fall.  It is through reason that man achieves a heavenly love transcending carnal love (VIII. 590-93).  Satan rather disturbs human's reason in order to enact The Fall.  Satan utilizes the need for true knowledge due to a feeling of insecurity to disturb the reason and therefore lead to The Fall.  

Parallels with Aeneid and Odyssey

I found it interesting in the introduction that Milton invoked recognizable epic scenes and conventions from other epics like Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's, The Odyssey not to claim his place in such a long-standing tradition, but rather proclaim his superiority over it.  Even the first line of Milton's epic echoes the opening lines of the Odyssey and Aeneid.  

"Of man's first disobedience and the fruit" (1.1)

"Arms and the man I sing" Aeneid (1.1)

Both emphasize the poem's major subject in their opening lines.  Instead of a heroism like that of Aeneas in the Aeneid, Milton's focus is on the disobedience suggesting that the Adam and Eve's first disobedience with the fruit will be followed with numerous other instances of disobedience.  

In the first couple line's Milton invokes a muse similarly again to the traditional muses invoked in The Odyssey and Aeneid.  Yet, Milton ambitiously claims a superiority since his Muse is God 

"Sing Heavenly Muse" (1.6)

"Invoke they aid to my adventurous song" (1.13)

Interesting and helpful website:

www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/index.shtml - 2k