The Power of Free Will in Milton?s Paradise Lost Essay -- Milton Parad

The Power of Free Will in Miltons enlightenment LostEleanor Roosevelt once said, Remember always that you non plainly throw out to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one. To be an individual path to act by choice and make decisions with free will intensify by the power of knowledge. Only then are people accredited to themselves and to others. In paradise Lost, Milton clearly conveys this concept of acting freely to a lower place paragon. He shows the reader that only with the freedom to choose do a persons actions become meaningful and sincere. This idea also helps Milton to explain the importance of the befall and gods ultimate program. Throughout the book, free will is demonstrated not only by Adam and Eve, but also Satan and the other move angels, as well as idols Son. Each characters fate further explains why freedom is so important in expressing full-strength feelings. In Paradise Lost, Milton portrays his belief that Gods real desire is power. To ach ieve this power, God has given to while the freedom to choose. By giving mankind, more specifically Adam and Eve, this freedom, God will have undefeatable power because those following him will be true. As Eve later states, For we to him all praises owe, And daily thanks, I chiefly who knowSo far the happier lot, enjoying thee Pre-eminent by so much odds, while meterLike consort to thyself canst nowhere find (Milton, 4.444-48)By following God of their stimulate will, the praise Adam and Eve give to God is real. It is not a dreaded act done out of fear. To take away the freedom Adam and Eve are given would be winning away Gods power. This helps to convey the understanding among mankind that part of Gods ultimate plan of holding power is to allow people to act on their own free will. ... ...e, the decision to do so is much more meaningful. Thus, God has an even greater following, which again, fits into his ultimate plan. Without the freedom of choice, a persons actions are not s incere or meaningful. As a part of Gods ultimate plan, he gives the angels in Heaven and Adam and Eve free will in their actions. By doing so, God heightens his own power because his following is strong and faithful. Satans character, on the other hand, gains followers out of fear. As a result, he does not attain the same power that God does, which helps to support the thesis that true power can only be gained with free will. Milton also adds shrewdness to this concept by connecting the power of knowledge to free will. Works CitedEmpson, William. Miltons God. capital of the United Kingdom Chatto and Windus, 1961.Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Roy Flannagan. New York Macmillan, 1993.