Artigenda
Pandemonium Day
When: annually, July 14.
So, Pandemonium Day. July 14, anually. A day day is linked to John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. De dag gaat om chaos.
John Milton - Paradise Lost
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
The word Pandemonium is hugely significant because it is a reference to the poem Paradise Lost by John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674). Milton wrote this poem after losing his eyesight. Central to this poem is the fall of man at the hand of Adam and Eve, by the fallen angel (Satan) and that with the forced departure, paradise came to an end.
Thanks to Project Gutenberg, it is possible to read Paradise Lost by yourself. Do not be alarmed, as it involves no less than ten volumes. It is therefore safe to compare Milton’s work to that of another literary great: La Divina Commedia by Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321). Even when it comes to theme, there are strong similarities between the two’s work. As in Alighieri’s work, the underworld, or rather hell, plays an emphatic role.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
About Paradise Lost
Het lijkt erop dat Milton Paradise Lost niet in een keer schreef. Er zijn aanwijzingen dat delen al veel eerder dan 1658 geschreven zijn. Dat zou de jaar geweest zijn waarin hij begon met schrijven. Delen zouden mogelijk ook geschreven kunnen zijn tijdens zijn jeugd. In ieder geval eindigde hij zijn werk in 1663. Milton was toen inmiddels al blind geworden en was afhankelijk van anderen geworden die zijn woorden overnamen.
Ook zijn er aanwijzingen dat het misschien helemaal niet de bedoeling was geweest om een relatie te leggen met de bijbel. Misschien was het eerder de bedoeling om een relatie te leggen met de oude Saksische legenden, zoals die van Koning Arthur. Dat beweerde althans John Leonard in een boek dat in 2000 verscheen over Paradise Lost (bron).
Hoewel de voorpagina meldt dat het om tien boeken gaat, zijn het er eigenlijk twaalf. Dit heeft te maken met de uitgave van 1674 en het toevoegen van extra korte samenvattingen aan het begin van ieder boekdeel.
Wie speelt de hoofdrol?
The question is who plays the lead role now? Is it Satan (The Prince of Darkness, Lucifer), is it Adam or is it Eve?
The Prince of Darkness
You would be inclined to assume that in all this, this Prince of Darkness is the main protagonist. This is because of the attempts to disrupt everything. He is also the first to be introduced in the story. His role, i.e. how he was portrayed by Milton, has been considered by many. Think, for instance, of Lord Byron (1788 – 1824) or C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963). They disagreed with the idea that Milton was portraying Satan as an anti-hero in this case. An account of why this might be the case can be read, for example, at this website. For all clarity, this is not an argument in favour of Satanism. This is only an explanation of how Milton might have presented things. In short, this is an interpretation.
Adam
Another interpretation could be that the true hero of all this is simply Adam. Isn’t it he who was the first man on earth according to the Bible and thus had an edge anyway? He was able to ask for more because his request for a companion was granted. That led to the arrival of Eve. That story is described in the Bible and of course, we don’t need Milton for that. Unlike what happens in the Bible, so in Milton’s story, Adam gets a glimpse of the future. What lies ahead for humanity? A kind of: “You should have listened better!” moment you might say.
Eve
Then there is Eve. Milton portrays her precisely differently from what happens in the Bible. Perhaps even more rebellious. Isn’t this a woman who is the opposite? Perhaps it might even be argued that she is the one with more knowledge. In any case, enough to know that a relationship with Adam is only going to work when she has some time to herself at certain times. It is precisely at these moments that the anti-hero Milton introduced earlier, the Prince of Darkness, comes around the corner. In the guise of the snake. Then comes the well-known seduction. Yet it takes the necessary persuasion to get her to that act.
Michael and Raphael?
Does it stop there? Certainly not, as Michael could perhaps also be considered the protagonist. The archangel. He shows Adam what lies ahead for mankind. Moreover, he gets to send Adam and Eve away from Paradise after they eat the forbidden fruit. Only he is not the only archangel. For instance, there is also an archangel named Raphael. Perhaps he is more important than Michael because he was sent by God to Paradise to protect Adam and Eve from Satan. The story he then tells the two takes up a large part, so it is more plausible that this makes his position among the archangels more important. Yet Raphael fails to protect the two from the Fall to come. Perhaps this is because Raphael overvalues Satan in his story. This could be yet another proof that Milton thus designates Satan as the protagonist.
God?
So what about God himself? Is it not logical to assume that Milton simply meant God the Father as the protagonist? Let’s face it, just like in the Bible, Milton believed that God too created everything. He even went so far as to argue that Satan with his army of fallen angels was incapable of overthrowing God in any way. Logical, anyone with a religious background will say. Others point out that despite this, his chair legs are being sawn away by Adam and Eve eating that forbidden fruit anyway. Before we get bogged down in a theological discussion: it could be Milton meant God as the protagonist.
Someone else?
Then there is someone else, who does not feature emphatically in all this. The son-of. Jesus Christ, in other words. Milton does not mention him by name. At most, he uses the word Son (capital, important) for interpretation. In this case, too, you could say: logical. Logical, because when you look at it from a Christian point of view: the story of Adam and Eve belongs in the Old Testament. That is not to say, by the way, that the story of Adam and Eve is bound to Christianity alone. According to the Hebrew Bible and according to the Qur’an, these were also the first people on earth. Except that Paradise Lost was written by John Milton and he was a Puritanist by birth. This is a breakaway from the Anglican Church, which, according to the followers of Puritanism, was too Vatican-centric or still contained too many elements of Roman Catholicism.
It is clear, however, that Milton portrays this Son as someone capable of making things change. Although Archangel Michael eventually sends Adam and Eve away, it is this Son who comes to break the news. In addition, it is this Son who drives Satan and his army towards hell. Adam is also shown in a vision how later there is talk of being saved by this Son.
A succession of religious poetry?
So does Paradise Lost make it a succession of religious poetry? Actually, no. In the first place, it is not “just rhyming poetry. Firstly, not because it is such an elaborate work (of course). In addition, because of the style used. Milton used a style we now know as blank verse or blank verse (English). This form of poetry should not be confused with free poetry or free verse(English). By using this form of poetry, he was ahead of his time. Until then, the style was not widely used in the kind of poetry he wrote.
Later, others would make countless analyses of it. On the way, he wrote poetry. One of the most comprehensive analyses is by Robert Bridges (1844 – 1930) entitled Milton’s Prosody. Start there if you want to know more about the rhythm, the sound, the emphasis or phonology of Paradise Lost.
Criticism
Yet that is not the only thing special about all this. You might think this is all about a story based on the one found in the Bible. That is partly true. Partly, because Milton’s work may also be regarded as criticism. For example, the criticism of marriage and the position of women. Wasn’t Eve the one who insisted on me time? Besides, it seriously seems that she was just a bit smarter than Adam. That might even be the case when it comes to that forbidden fruit. Again, it just doesn’t speak in her favour: when she wanted to talk to God, she was only allowed to do so through Adam.
Republican
Slightly more spectacular and certainly for the time: Milton’s views on statecraft. For the record, he was a republican, as can be read via this page. However he had to hold back because of the political climate. In Paradise Lost, you could perhaps think of the battle between God and Satan as a civil war. This could be a reference to the battle against Charles I (1600 – 1649). He was executed in 1649 and this led to the creation of the Commonwealth of England. It was not until 1660 that the monarchy was restored and Charles II became the new king of England. So between 1649 and 1660, England was a republic.
Het kan ook zijn dat de kritiek gericht was tegen Charles I en niet in het bijzonder de monarchie.
Criticism of temples and places of worship
Compared to any other subject, the point about the monarchy, if it played a role at all, is perhaps a child’s play with something else that plays a role in Paradise Lost. Milton posits what is indeed a very bold thesis for its time, which brings us to its relation to this day, Pandemonium Day. He not only criticises the construction of temples and other buildings that he considers to be places of worship. According to him, these are examples of idolatry. This is clarified by a conversation between archangel Michael and Adam. Michael tells Adam that it is not necessary to erect an altar to engage in worship. A physical object, Milton argues in Book XI, is not the way to atone for sins, according to Michael. To clarify this, the archangel cites the example of Pandæmonium.
What is Pandæmonium?
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
As is the case in La Divina Commedia, there is a city present in hell in Paradise Lost. In Alighieri’s story, it is the city of Dis. This is where the violent are punished. This is the seventh circle of hell.
Milton has Michael tell him about the city of Pandæmonium (Pandemonium), the capital of hell. The name is a derivation of the Greek words all and demon. Together, therefore, you get all demons. The city was designed as a citadel by Mulciber, who previously designed all the heavenly palaces. That was before his fall from heaven. Mulciber is another name for the Roman god Vulcan, son of Jupiter and Juno and husband of Venus. According to the Romans, this was the god of volcanoes, fire, goldsmiths and blacksmiths. The origin of this god can be traced back to the Greek god Hephaistos, which in turn has Etruscan origins (Sethklans).
Already in the first part of the book, the city appears as “the High Capital, of Satan and his Peers.” This city is simultaneously too small to house all the fallen angels and demons, but at the same time, it is not. This has to do with the possibility of stripping those present in the city and thus reducing their size so that there is always enough space.
This city is not just any city, Milton compares it to a Biblical, holy place: King Solomon’s temple. The point then is that building a temple like this one could lead to immoral states. Some see this as proof that Milton is establishing a relationship between St Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon in Rome. Both are examples of how he believes idolatry can go wrong. This would be consistent with his religious views on the matter.
Another option that could be possible is that the Pandæmonium should not be taken literally at all. That it would be about the position of the king. That it does not make sense that there could be some relationship between church and state or that a monarch should not appropriate that power because a religion would allow or enable it. Milton would thus reject the idea of a monarch being crowned on behalf of or by a religious leader.
Is that all Pandemonium Day?
Admittedly, that all sounds pretty intense for “just” a special day, doesn’t it? You might ask the question, “Is it all Pandemonium Day?” Does it have to be so ‘heavy’? Isn’t this a little too much of a good thing?
Well, pandemonium is more than just what Milton has offered us as a legacy in a literary sense. It is more than just Paradise Lost. The word is primarily a reference to and fictional city in his work. Just as much as the city of Dis is. Only that’s not the basis of a special day.
If you search further for the meaning of the word, you will have to rely on sources like Merriam-Webster. On this website you can read that synonyms are a wild uproar or a chaotic situation. Plus, of course, the references to Milton’s work. So, there it is. It’s a day about chaos. Well, in a normal way.
What is Pandemonium Day really about?
It’s just an excuse to just let everything go. That pile of papers you need to sort out? You’ll do that tomorrow. Cleaning the windows? You do that tomorrow. Only, it doesn’t have to stop there… it’s all about chaos.
If you feel the need to do something you wouldn’t normally do, you could do this. Don’t get me wrong, I am not calling for illegal things or disrupting things. Think of innocent things. Turn right instead of left, or vice versa. Combine colours you wouldn’t normally combine when it comes to clothes.
Where did it come from? Ha, maybe that’s the same chaos as the day itself. Its origins are unknown. More is known about Milton’s poem than about the origins of Pandemonium Day. Hence, you have mainly been able to read background information on Paradise Lost. Perhaps that fits well with Pandemonium Day. You expected something but got something else.
