第3部分 17世纪英国文学 (1616-1688)
第5章 资产阶级革命与弥尔顿
1What historical elements caused the English Bourgeois Revolution and why is it also called the Puritan Revolution?
Key: The 17th century was one of the stormiest periods in English history. Until the end of the Tudor rule, the bourgeoisie had collaborated with the monarchy to crush enemies such as Spain and the Roman Catholic Church abroad and the old aristocrats at home. Queen Elizabeth had to be tactful in her handling of the Parliament though, and the political situation on the whole was stable. But, with the fast growth of business and trade, gradually the bourgeois class no longer needed the protection of the king/ queen. What is more, the monarchy that still represented the interests of feudal lords stood in the way of further development of capitalism. When it came to King Charles I of the Stuart House, who ascended the throne in 1625, the conflicts between the two sides reached the climax. In order to deal a fatal blow at the bourgeois power, the king dissolved the Parliament but was forced to summon it again in 1640 due to his paramount need for money to raise an army to suppress the Scots. This Parliament lasted till 1653 and is known in history as the Long Parliament, during which period the bourgeoisie drew up the “Grand Remonstrance”, accusing the king of tyranny and demanding more freedom of trade and commerce. As the situation was getting out of control, in 1642 Charles I left London to gather troops, intending to use military power against the uncontrollable Parliament. Thus the civil war broke out in 1642. In 1649, defeated by the army of the Parliament led by Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Charles I was sentenced to be executed by the High Court of Justice, which denounced him as a tyrant and an enemy of the state. With the victory of the bourgeois class England was proclaimed as a republic or the Commonwealth. This civil war is what we call the Bourgeois Revolution of England.
Because most of the bourgeois class was Puritans and they got support from the great masses of poor peasants and townspeople.
2Tell what you know about Milton’s life.
Key: John Milton was born in a Puritan family. He was sent to St. Paul’s School in London and received additional tutoring at home. He entered the Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1625 and graduated with an M. A. degree in 1632.
After graduation Milton settled down for about six years at his father’s country seat and studied diligently to prepare himself to be a great poet. He read widely, but mainly literary works.
In 1638 Milton went to the Continent on an educational tour to broaden his own views. In Florence he met Galileo. Their meeting left a profound impression on the young Milton.
In 1652, he lost his sight. Milton was always against monarchy. After he was thrown in prison and released by the domineering king Charles Ⅱ, he began living a poor, lonely and dark life. In his last years he suffered more and more from gout and he died of it in 1674.
3Make some comments on the epic poem Paradise Lost.
Key: a) Milton states more than once that this poem is to justify the ways of God to men. Some people blame God for not stopping Satan, or for letting Adam and Eve fall. Here we must make it clear that it is true that God knows what will happen beforehand, because He is omniscient. But God’s not preventing Adam and Eve from following Satan is not the cause of man’s fall. Man is responsible for his own fall, because he chooses to disobey by will. God creates human beings and gives them free will. Therefore, their fall is their own choice and in choosing to disobey their creator they sin. Naturally or logically they are to be punished for this sin. In this sense, God is like a judge, very strict yet fair in dealing with men. However, God shows mercy at the same time. His Son offers to be born as Jesus Christ and to take men’s punishment on Himself in order that men may be saved. In this way good is finally brought out of Satan’s evil. That is why Christians like to call this fall a happy fall. If Adam had never fallen, Christ would not have been born to change hellish hate into heavenly love. And also because of the fall, human beings have learned to be humble, to be more understanding, more sympathetic toward fellow creatures.
b) In the past, our teaching of Paradise Lost was centered upon the first two books, in which Satan who has just fallen into Hell speaks like a heroic fighter and challenges God whom he calls a tyrant. Without the whole view of Satan’s deterioration, it is easy to be moved by the fighting spirit of the fallen angels. In fact, the 19th-century romantic poets Shelley and Byron, out of their special historical situation, stood by Satan and praised him for his courage in opposing God the tyrant. For this they are named Satanic Group half-jokingly by critics. The former Soviet literary critics not only took up the view-point of the Satanic Group, but further emphasised that Milton’s personal situation as a Puritan fighter, blind and defeated, but never yielded to the restoration monarchy, must have influenced his depiction of Satan with admiration. Such readings of Paradise Lost are one-sided. Milton’s intention is to justify God’s ways to men. The poet has never meant to prettify Satan and the devils. The description of Satan with his daughter-wife Sin and their son Death is a convincing example of how hideous Milton’s Satan is. Satan in the first two books has just fallen and it is natural and more dramatic too, to present him and his fellow devils as not subdued yet. As we read on, we will see his gradual reductive changes from a big tiger to a bird, to an ugly toad, and finally to a hissing snake. Therefore, it is not faithful to the text to say that Milton has sympathy for Satan and in Satan he has seen himself waging a futile struggle against the English monarchy.
c) The poem is extremely rich and to understand it well, we must know the Bible and Christian thought well, especially the relationship between good and evil according to Christian ideas. The above-mentioned Christian way of looking at the loss of Paradise as a happy fall is a good illustration to the dialectic nature of the event. In fact, Paradise Lost, as well as the Fall story in the Bible, is full of dialectic implications. First, we can look at the relationship between good and evil as dialectic. Before Adam and Eve take the apple of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they are innocent or ignorant. Even they can be regarded as absolutely good, such good is meaningless, because they do not know what is good. The life in Paradise is happy without worry and their labour to tend the garden is not really necessary, for everything there is taken good care of by God. A well-known critic remarks about that kind of life in Paradise as old pensioners’ life. Only after they learn what is evil, can they appreciate what is good. And only after they enter the world and toil to support their own life, can they know the real happiness labour brings them. Good can only exist in contrast to evil. Through redeeming evil, men can turn their bad mistake into a good learning experience. And in saving men from their fallen status, God and His Son will eventually bring good out of evil.
4In what way does Samson’s last heroic deed remind us of Milton’s last phase of life?
Key: Samson’s last heroic deed reminds us of Milton’s last phase of life. Samson’s failure and imprisonment stand for the fallen Puritan cause, his resolute and brave deed mirrors Milton’s fighting spirit, and his victorious death expresses Milton’s belief that the revolutionary goals will eventually triumph.