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9 - Language and knowledge in Paradise Lost

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 May 2006

By
John Leonard
Edited by
Dennis Danielson
Dennis Danielson
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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Summary

In Book 8 of Paradise Lost, Adam recalls his first experiences on waking into life:

My self I then perused, and limb by limb Surveyed, and sometimes went, and sometimes ran With supple joints, and lively vigour led: But who I was, or where, or from what cause, Knew not; to speak I tried, and forthwith spake, My tongue obeyed and readily could name What e'er I saw. Thou sun, said I, fair light, And thou enlightened earth, so fresh and gay, Ye hills and dales, ye rivers, woods, and plains, And ye that live and move, fair creatures, tell, Tell, if ye saw, how came I thus, how here?

(8.267‒77)

It is surprising to hear the newly created Adam speak so 'readily'; we might have expected him to take more time in finding words with which to express himself. We might even say that Adam takes speech and language for granted, but he is right to do so - precisely because they are granted to him. Unlike his descendants, Adam has no need to acquire language laboriously. In a word, Adam's language is natural, not conventional.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Milton , pp. 130 - 143
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1999

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