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Milton: PARADISE LOST

Analyzes Milton's use of language in PARADISE LOST. Focuses on how Milton used the word "event" to mean "outcome," in contrast to its common use then or now.

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In Paradise Lost, Milton uses the word "event" with a meaning that is quite different from the way the word conveys meaning today and in a way that was even different from the general usage of the word in his own time. The meaning Milton ascribes to the word parallels the French meaning of the word and also harks back to the roots that make up the word. In addition, Milton includes in portmanteau-like way a reference to Eve which fits well with the underlying sense he is communicating through the word. For the most part, Milton is consistent in using "event" to mean "outcome," not in the sense of an activity or occurrence but in the sense of a consequence or result.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (1989), "event" derives from the Latin eventus, or occurrence, which is very

For Milton this would be an alien way of thinking. . "Event" means outcome and thebeginning of the action to lead to the next stage, step, level, decision,or whatever. He shows this in Paradise Lost ashe details how things came about and what the consequences were. . An event,an occurrence, is only important for the consequences it brings about. Personalresponsibility also may be disjointed in this fashion so that we stop beingresponsible for one thing and turn to another, without seeing that thereare links which cannot be broken in our lives. In French, however, the word is evenire andmeans to come out, to happen, or to result. We thinkmore in terms of separate events, ending one era but not necessarilybeginning another. The whole is presented as part of a process of action-reaction,endings and beginnings. Always, "event" is active rather thanpassive, part of a process of movement from one place to another and fromone time and place to another. 624) Th'event is fear'd; should we again provoke (II. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (1989), "event" derivesfrom the Latin eventus, or occurrence, which is very much the way we usethe word today. It is theend of one phase and the beginning of another. It is notthe events themselves but their consequences that are central. (116-121)Milton conveys a meaning with "event" that is essentially synonymous withour "eventuality." We need to read carefully to see that Milton does notmean "event" in the sense of an occurrence but in the sense of an outcometo the fighting, and it is the outcome that is being experienced ratherthan the act of fighting itself. The use of "event" in different contexts is fairly consistent inMilton. We would tend to think of outcome as being the end ofa process, while Eve is the beginning of the process as she is thebeginning of the human race. The action and the process are preserved in the way Miltonincludes each in "event." The fact that event is both an ending and abeginning is seen as well in the fact that Eve herself is both thebeginning of humankind and the end of the period of innocence. 74 ), thepoet uses the word to have the same meaning but in a different way, notingthat "in event" others will know something of the character and the actionsof the speaker. Thislinks the place and the activity. In the previous quote (V. . 334) Of thy presum'd return, event perverse (IX. . Forhim, reigning in hell is the outcome of being cast out of heaven. Milton thinks in terms of outcomes, of aprogression from one place to another. His particulartheology is in opposition only to the sense of finality in Calvinistdoctrine, which held that some were among the select and some were not andthat one could not change one's position but only reflect it. He did this by accepting the doctrines of Arminius, whoagreed that man was dependent in all that concerns his salvation upon thespirit and the grace of God but who also managed to make man responsiblefor his own damnation: "In the Calvinistic theology the decrees of God areabsolute; in the Arminian they are conditional" (229). In a reading of parts of Book I, it seems to be used more inkeeping with our modern usage and with the general usage of Milton's time,but knowing that Milton usually means "outcome," the passage should be readcarefully: . Hanford (1961) writes:"Milton announces with equal vehemence the moral responsibility of theindividual" (229). (622-625)The word is used in the same sense in Book V: Matter to me of glory, whom their hate Illustrates, when they see all regal power Giv'n me to quell their pride, and in event Know whether I be dextrous to subdue Thy rebels, or be found the worst in heav'n. . The word "event" thus includes both thebeginning and end of the process, and since the speaker in each caseresponds to the outcome by reacting in some fashion, the end involves a newbeginning. 969) Such happy interview and fair event (XI. Several of theserepetitions of "event" sound much like the way we would utilize the wordtoday, while others have this sense of outcome. Miltonsees "event" in terms of the acquisition of knowledge (V.74 ) or reactionto circumstances (I.118; I.134). Milton isinterested in the process and emphasizes the ongoing action of life. In personal terms, thiscould be seen as reducing individual responsibility for those events. since by fate the strength of gods And this empyreal substance cannot fail, Since through experience of this great event In arms not worse, in foresight much advanced We may with more successful hope resolve, To wage by force or guile eternal war. This wasthe Calvinist position, and Milton rejected it. It is also possible to see how the word evolved from its origins toits present use and how related words, such as "eventuality," have takenover some of the meanings previously attributed to the root word. New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts, 1961. Outcome for Milton is a matter of personal responsibility becausemankind has the choice, much as Satan has made a choice in Paradise Lost.Milton's concern for outcome thus has a moral perspective as it emphasizesthe active rather than the passive nature of outcome. That is,Calvin believed that those who lived good lives were not earning salvationbut reflecting the fact that they had it. Miltonuses such links to expand what he is saying and to link ideas. . There is a theological meaning to this view of cause and effect.Events as occurrences, our modern usage, would imply that consequences maycome about as the result of circumstances, with the event standing as asingular occurrence created by outside forces. The word "event" embodies two such meanings which agreewith the earlier analysis. In this sense, "event" means both theoccurrence being discussed and its outcome, linking cause and consequencedirectly and permanently. In the passage quoted above (I.117), Milton usesthe word "empyreal," which derives from "in fire" and which refers to thehighest heaven. . In Book IX, Eve speaks to Adam with the words: . Milton's attitude toward human responsibility and the link betweensuch responsibility and the outcome of different processes and decisions isimportant in the themes he explores in Paradise Lost. 984) Found so erroneous, thence by just event (X. . For Milton, salvation is aprocess in which personal responsibility and is always present and in whichactions are necessary to produce effects. (IX.983-986).Here, Eve is talking Adam into tasting the fruit of the tree of knowledge,and the use of "event" clearly means outcome. It isinteresting that the French meaning still retains precisely that definitionintended by Milton, while the English word has become specific to the causeand not to the effect or outcome. It is also an outcome linkedto personal responsibility, in this case to the choice made by Adam and Eveleading to the Fall from Grace and thus to all the later occurrences inwhich personal responsibility has been involved and to the need forsalvation which is at the core of the debate over personal responsibilityversus God's grace in the Reformation. In Paradise Lost, Milton uses the word "event" with a meaning that isquite different from the way the word conveys meaning today and in a waythat was even different from the general usage of the word in his own time. She is boththe source of humankind's burden and the hope for the future as sheproduces the next generation tending toward progress for the whole humanrace. The references for theword are as follows: Since through experience of this great event (I.118) Too well I see and rue the dire event (I.134) Was not inglorious, though the event was dire (I. It could also mean "issue," which is much closer to theway Milton uses the word. The event-outcome nexus is maintained as a processof ongoing conclusions and new beginnings, whether for good or ill. (X.967-97 ).Here again "event" as outcome is linked to personal action andresponsibility on the part of Eve, in this case with the outcome being"unfortunate" because the outcome of her words was the downfall ofhumankind. In Book X, after the Fall, Eve states the following to Adam: Adam, by sad experiment I know How little weight my words with thee can find, Found so erroneous, thence by just event Found so unfortunate. InReformation theology, this was seen in the general tendency to minimizeman's part in salvation and to ascribe all outcomes to the grace of God.The "event" or outcome would then be a passive happening, something takencare of by a higher power, or by forces outside the individual. The inclusion in the root of a reference to Eve contributes to thesense of a process. . The roots of the word are e-(out) and venire (to come). The shading that Milton gives the word is retained today in the phrase"in the event of," and the Oxford English Dictionary notes how the word"event" was used in this sense as far back as 1573 in Sempill Ball.: "Weillmicht the counsals beir ane gude euend." Heywood used the word in GoldenAge in the same sense: "Causes best friended haue the best euent." Milton uses the word 12 times in Paradise Lost. For Adam and Eve, thedecision to eat the forbidden fruit is the end of innocence and thebeginning of a new relationship and a new search in life. . Milton is also given to the use of puns as a way of offering twomeanings at once. Satan is a charactercast out of heaven for his overweening pride, but he is also a characterwho takes responsibility and who indeed revels in that responsibility. "Event" links cause and effect. Combined they are "outcome," the precisemeaning that Milton gives to the word in Paradise Lost. (738-742)In Book IX, Milton writes: Such happy interview and fair event Of love and youth not lost. Inaddition, Milton includes in portmanteau-like way a reference to Eve whichfits well with the underlying sense he is communicating through the word.For the most part, Milton is consistent in using "event" to mean "outcome,"not in the sense of an activity or occurrence but in the sense of aconsequence or result. 82) In sad event, when to the unwiser son (IV. The term "in event" indicates what the result orconsequence will be. . Work CitedHanford, James Holly, A Milton Handbook. 593) In Book I, at line 624, the word occurs in the context of explainingthe outcome of the war: O myriads of immortal Spirits, O Powers Matchless, but with th' Almighty, and that strife Was not inglorious, though th' event was dire, As this place testifies. (593-594)In each case, "event" means "outcome," not an incident but a consequence.The reference in Book IX shows this as the poet refers to the outcome of"love and youth not lost" rather than to a specific moment or incident inwhich love and youth is not lost. . It is likely that this signals a changein our way of thinking about time from what Milton thought of the matterand perhaps from what his contemporaries thought of the matter. An event is not an occurrence frozen intime but is rather a moment between ending and beginning. . It also conjures "imperial" and a sense of ruling. forMilton, time does not stand still. We talk of "starting over" as if it were a completelynew beginning, without any relationship to what went before. 4 5) Farr otherwise thy event, not death, but life (IX. 74 ) Favour from heav'n, our witness from the event (IX. For Milton, "event" indicates that anaction or series of circumstances has taken place, and their outcome,"event," or "issue" is then described. The meaning Milton ascribes to the word parallels the French meaning ofthe word and also harks back to the roots that make up the word. 716) Giv'n me to quell their pride, and in event (V. but I feel Farr otherwise th'event, not Death, but Life Augmented, op'n'd Eyes, new Hopes, new Joys, Taste so Divine. Opposites arebrought together in terms of outcome and beginning, both combined in"event." Milton's theology shows a continuity in the movement of time sothat any one moment selected and held in stasis for a moment shows where itcame from and where it is going combined in the moment. Outcome is a processthat can be influenced by the decisions made by each individual. .

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