ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -God makes it clear that Adam will fall through his own “fault.” Even though this sounds like predestination, it’s actually foreknowledge. God sees all events – past, present, and future – as simultaneous or present, including Adam’s fall, which hasn’t happened yet (in the poem).

Detailed explanation-2: -He sees that man will fall, of his own fault, because God gave him free will-yet without that will, man would not be capable of sincere love. Man would merely go through the motions. While it would be just to punish man for his own actions, God determines that he will act primarily out of love and mercy.

Detailed explanation-3: -As a near perfect human, Adam is ruled by reason. He immediately understands Eve’s sin in eating the apple, but he willfully ignores his reason and eats because of his love and desire for her. Adam’s uxorious attitude toward Eve, which perverts the hierarchy of Earth and Paradise, leads directly to his fall.

Detailed explanation-4: -“Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.”.

Detailed explanation-5: -Adam is a strong, intelligent, and rational character possessed of a remarkable relationship with God. In fact, before the fall, he is as perfect as a human being can be. He has an enormous capacity for reason, and can understand the most sophisticated ideas instantly.