ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the process whereby Milton's Poet both makes and mars the poem he depicts himself as creating, suggesting that Milton feared that his own poetic endeavour was potentially idolatrous. It explores the tensions apparent in Milton's treatment of God's justice. The chapter suggests that Milton's awareness of the potential 'idolatry' of his poetic ambitions leads him to deliberately create some of the 'flaws' he has been criticized for. Perhaps his fascinating but repellent Father is intended to be the view of a sinner, and therefore distorted. The chapter also suggests that Paradise Lost concerns, not only the Redemption of Mankind, but also the future possibility of the fallen Poet's salvation. The invocations show that the hubris of the Poet's undertaking distances him from God. Similarly, the narrative of Paradise Lost shows a movement from intimacy with God towards alienation. The invocations thus move from direct plea-prayer to alienation from God.
