Before and after the Fall: Contrasting Modes in Paradise Lost

Before and After the Fall explores for the first time that radically different principles and epistemologies that govern the unfallen and fallen universes in Paradise Lost. From Kathleen Swaim's detailed examinations of the visits and instructions of the angelic messengers Raphael and Michael emerges a new understanding of the contrasting psychological and spiritual conditions before and after the fall. The book presents an in-depth comparison of the pedagogy, logic, poetics, and faculty psychology of the two archangels within the context of Milton's prose works, in particular his textbook The Art of Logic, his pamphlet Of Education, and his theological treatise Christian Doctrine. Because Milton deliberately deployed Raphael and Michael for purposes of such contrast, Swaim's thorough examination of the content and intent of these two major characters the six books of Paradise Lost in which they appear enables her to provide new perspectives on the whole epic's design and themes.