Question

HELP!! ASAP!!

Take a few lines from Paradise Lost that weren’t explored in the lesson. Rewrite these lines in more modern or straightforward language. Then reflect briefly in one paragraph what was lost or gained from the translation.

Answer 1

Milton uses the following excerpt to describe Satan’s first visit to Eden:

From this Assyrian Garden, where the Fiend

Saw undelighted all delight, all kind

Of living Creatures new to sight and strange:

Rewritten in more straightforward language, these lines might read as follows:

Satan was not pleased to see creatures that he had never seen before living joyfully in the Garden of Eden.

The straightforward language is easier to understand than Milton's verses, but it lacks the elevated tone of the original text. For example, the word fiend emphasizes Satan's evil nature. Similarly, the line "saw undelighted all delight" emphasizes the contrast between the joy that Satan saw in Eden and his envious reaction to it.

The modern rewriting does not convey the subtlety in tone that Milton creates with his complex syntax. It also loses the rhythm and flow of the original poetic verse, simply stating things in unadorned language. Such nuances in the poem are essential to the aesthetic value of the text and establishing its tone.

(PLATO)

Answer 2

The Earth was formed, but in the womb as yet
Of waters, embryon immature involved,
Appeared not: over all the face of Earth
Main ocean flowed, not idle; but, with warm
Prolific humor softening all her globe

The Earth was formed, but was still underwater, like an embryo that has not yet developed and has not yet appeared. All over the face of the Earth the ocean flowed. It wasn't stagnant or motionless, but flowed with warm currents, softening the entire globe.

Translating it to common English helps to better understand its meaning, but the poetic nature is lost. Metaphors and other literary devices also lose much of their effectiveness.