Political and Religious Factors in Paradise Lost and Beyond

“Paradise Lost” is an epic poem, written in free verse by John Milton in the mid seventeenth century. Milton was born on December 9th, 1608 in London, England. During the seventeenth century, England, along with the rest of Europe, was going through vast changes politically and religiously speaking. England went from being a monarchy, to being ruled by a Lord Protectorate, Oliver Cromwell, in a Puritanical government, back to being ruled by a king. When Milton was born, England was ruled by King James I, a Scottish man who was the main influence of Shakespeare’s book, Macbeth. Charles I was put into power after James, starting on March 27th, 1625, and was the king of England, Scotland and Ireland until his execution on January 30th, 1649. Charles was an advocate of the Divine Right of Kings, which stated that rulers acquired their right to rule based on the law of God and of nature. By the divine right doctrine, power is said to be appointed to a ruler of an erstwhile authoritative ancestral line whom had been put into authority by God himself. If one was to resist the rule of a king, it was sure that they would be damned. The Divine Right of Kings falls into a category combining religion and politics. In layman’s terms, the belief of Divine Right was that the king was a harbinger of the word of God.


In some ways, the Divine Right could have influenced “Paradise Lost,” but in other ways, it contradicts Milton’s opinion that a ruler should have to prove his right to rule. Milton’s main intention of writing “Paradise Lost” was to justify the ways of God to men. If the Divine Right states that kings were essentially God’s messengers, then Milton’s justification of God’s right to rule over mankind, in a way, was justification of the kings’ right to rule. Despite the fact that this was not an intention of Milton’s, it can still be considered true. Milton was a puritan throughout the entire course of his life. He believed that power corrupts human beings and that a ruler should show proof of his right to rule, but at the same time, he believed that people should have to serve those above them in the government. Living in a country run by a king was not something he wanted to do. He spoke out against Charles and soon after Charles’ execution, Oliver Cromwell came into power. Milton worked for Cromwell while he was the Lord Protectorate of England. The puritans’ intentions were not to separate from the church, but merely purify it, hence their name.


Two years after Cromwell’s death, the monarch was reestablished, and Milton had to hide. He championed absolute freedom of the individual. This absolute freedom included freedom of religious and political views. The Anglican Church was the main Church of England, and eventually, it divided into three parts: the High Anglican sect, the Moderate Anglican sect, and the Puritan/Presbyterian sect. This change, though seemingly minuscule, created remarkable changes in British society; it presented citizens with a wider variety of religious practice options, which began to satisfy Milton’s wishes. Even though the division of the Church was closer to what Milton had wanted to see in England, it still didn’t agree with his complete opinion on religion. Milton “believed that each individual Christian should be his own church, without any establishment to encumber him” (SparkNotes: Paradise Lost: Context). In time, “Milton advocated the complete abolishment of all church establishments, and kept his own private religion, close to the Calvinism practiced by Presbyterians but differing in some ways” (SparkNotes: Paradise Lost: Context). Milton thought of the church as an obstacle to one’s true faith. His idealistic and completely arbitrary views on Christianity establish “Paradise Lost” as more than a slightly altered version of the first few sections of the bible, but as his personal interpretation of the word of God.


This is just one example of how incredibly influential the culture and events in society are on the art and literature produced all over the world. Art and literature represent the feelings and emotions evoked in the artist by the ever changing society in which they live. In Japanese culture, for example, art is highly influenced by major political and religious issues or events. The seventeenth century, for Japan, brought forth art of the Edo period. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate gained control of the government, without resistance, and committed to stabilize the country politically and economically, along with bringing the country peace. For the most part, this plan succeeded and the shogunate lasted until 1867. “One of the dominant themes of the Edo period was the repressive policies of the shogunate and the attempts of the artists to escape these strictures” (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Path: Japanese Art).


The Edo period imposed strict codes on Japanese society, affecting every aspect of life. There were limitations set in place in respect to the clothes they wore, the person one married, and even the activities one could or could not pursue. Before the shogunate fully impacted Japanese life, however, the early years of the Edo period produced some of Japan’s most exceptional and admirable paintings and architecture. Katsura Detached Palace, a famous example of impeccable architecture, was inspired by Genji’s palace and is surrounded by a beautiful garden with walkways for people to view the entire scope of the palace. As to paintings during this time, there is one famous painter, Tawaraya Sotatsu, whose techniques influenced many aspiring artists, even centuries after his death. Sotatsu created his own decorative style by incorporating concepts from the natural world and using magnificent colors in his figures. Most of the art created in the Edo period utilized vibrant colors, serene settings, and natural beauty. This general theme was probably to express the amount of peace increasing throughout the country and to represent positive change within their society.