The summary
The story opens in hell, where Satan and his followers are recovering from defeat in a war they waged against God. They build a palace, called Pandemonium（混战场）, where they hold council to determine whether or not to return to battle.
Lucifer and Satan
Lucifer ~ the name by which Satan is known before his fall from Heaven. The name is Latin, meaning "light-bearer." See Satan
Satan ~ generally acclaimed as the most compelling and complex character in the epic, Satan becomes known by this name (which means "enemy" or "adversary" in Hebrew) after his expulsion from Heaven. Formerly he was called Lucifer and was one of the highest ranking angels, but envy drove him to rebel against God.
Eve
Eve ~ the mother of all mankind, the first and most beautiful woman, and wife of Adam, having been made by God from Adam's rib.
Raphael
Raphael ~ the angel God sends to visit Adam and Eve in Eden to warn them about Satan. He is the poem‘s narrator of the account of Satan’s rebellion in heaven and the creation of the world, as told to the human couple. He is “sociably mild”（和蔼 可亲的） in contrast to the stern（严肃的）, military angels, Michael and Gabriel.
Satan gains entrance into the Garden of Eden, where he finds Adam and Eve and becomes jealous of them. He overhears them speak of God's commandment that they should not eat the forbidden fruit.
Instead they decide to explore a new world prophesied （预言） to be created, where a safer course of revenge can be planned. Satan undertakes the mission alone.
Michael
Michael ~ the archangel（大天使） who leads the loyal angelic army against the rebels in the war in Heaven. Wielding（使用） a mighty sword, he duels(决斗） with Lucifer and wounds him [vi.245]. He later descends to Earth to expel Adam and Eve from Paradise [Books XI, XII].
作品介绍
Paradise Lost
INTRODUCTION
A Brief summary
Paradise Lost is about Adam and Eve--how they came to be created and how they came to lose their place in the Garden of Eden, also called Paradise.
At the gate of hell, he meets his offspring, Sin and Death, who unbar（打开） the gates for him. He journeys across chaos（混沌） till he sees the new universe floating near the larger globe which is heaven.
He was considered as the allegorical personification of evil, originator of evil, father of Sin and Death, adversary of God, and destroyer of Eden.
God
Their innocence is lost and they become aware of their nakedness. In shame and despair, they become hostile to each other.
the Son of God descends to earth to judge the sinners, mercifully delaying their sentence of death. Upon his return to hell, instead of a celebration of victory, Satan and his crew are turned into serpents as punishment.
God ~ the Creator of the universe, of angels, Heaven, Hell, and man. The Supreme Being, omniscient(全知的）, omnipotent（全能的）, omnipresent（无所不在的）, and ruler of all.
Dramatis Personae
---- the characters in the poem
Adam the first human being, created by God by his
own hand and breath; husband of Eve, who was created from his rib. Described as the "goodliest man of men" [iv.323], given the tasks of naming the animals and tending the Garden of Eden.
Originally, he was called Lucifer, an angel in heaven who led his followers in a war against God, and was ultimately sent with them to hell. Thirst for revenge led him to cause man's downfall by turning into a serpent and tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fre story you find in the first pages of Genesis, expanded by Milton into a very long, detailed, narrative poem. It also includes the story of the origin of Satan.
Paradise Lost
1、作者介绍 2、创作的背景 3、概述《失乐园》 4、作品中的人物介绍 5、《失乐园》插图中的一些图片欣赏
背景介绍:
生活在欧洲社会的转折时代，约翰·弥尔顿经历了英国史 上的一个黑暗时代。当时复辟后的斯图亚特王朝，对清教 徒资产阶级革命家残酷报复，疯狂迫害，不少人经不起斗 争的考验，投降变节。弥尔顿虽屡遭迫害，生活艰苦，然 而仍不屈不挠，顽强斗争，始终不丧失其鲜明立场，不改 变原有的革命信仰，不放弃先前的革命原则。在黑暗的时 代，弥尔顿不畏强暴，以笔为旗，决心重振诗才，以暮年 之力，克服双目失明的重重困难，用口授的形式，由他女 儿和外甥笔录，创作了举世闻名的三部作品：史诗《失乐 园》（1667年）、《复乐园》（1671年）和诗剧《力士 参孙》（1671年），对复辟王朝进行勇敢的挑战，表现了 诗人对自由的渴望和对资产阶级革命的坚定信念。
God sees Satan flying towards this world and foretells the fall of man. His Son, who sits at his right hand, offers to sacrifice himself for man's salvation. Meanwhile, Satan enters the new universe. He flies to the sun, where he tricks an angel, Uriel, into showing him the way to man's home.