PLOT SUMMARY OF PARADISE LOST

Book VIII

BY SIMON JACKSON

Book VIII continues the conversation between Raphael and Adam. (Eve, present at first, soon leaves her husband and the angel to talk in private, preferring to wait to hear her husband relate the angel's words to her.) Adam initially asks the angel about the nature of the universe and the movements of the planets, but Raphael leaves his questions unanswered, encouraging Adam to turn his attention instead to the earth, and not to the hidden secrets of heaven. Cleared of doubt by the angel's reply, Adam seeks to prolong their conversation, and describes to the angel his experiences since his creation - his birth, his first views of Paradise, his first conversations with God, and finally the creation of Eve. This leads to a discussion of the nature of love. The day is drawing to a close, and Raphael departs, once more encouraging Adam to resist temptation.

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Milton and the Critics