Milton has a great eye for surprising dramatic moments in the Bible. He does this by starting Paradise Lost with Satan. It is an odd and shocking place to begin. Why start with the villain? That question is worth considering but my main point is that Milton’s power, as a poet, is to pick the angle of the story that sparks the best drama.

Milton primarily surprises the reader by lengthening the story. Rather than merely reporting the actions of the character, Milton gives space to examine the decisions of the characters. Why did Satan do what he did? Why did Eve make her choice? What should Adam have done after Eve ate the fruit? In pondering these ideas with Milton, we gain wisdom about the nature of sin and the impact our actions have on the world around us. In many ways, we have not really left the garden where Satan is tempting us and so we must understand the nature of his plans so we can be prepared to fight and resist him.

A prime example of Milton exploring a decisive point in the story is how he separates Eve and Adam when Satan comes to tempt them. In having two temptation scenes, Milton forces us to consider how each will respond. I find it particularly interesting to consider how Adam receives Eve when she comes to him and offers the fruit to him. While the Genesis account says that Adam was with Eve, the reality is there was a moment, although brief, when Eve had eaten the fruit and then handed it to Adam. That precise moment is where Milton pauses the narrative and directs our attention: What should Adam do and why?
Milton works through Adam’s choice showing us that Adam chose to sin because he loved his wife too much: “But fondly overcome with Female charm.” Here we see that Adam should have refused his wife’s offer and instead done what Christ later does: taken the penalty of her sin.

Here we see one value of retelling the biblical narrative: we can see in a fresh way where a person acted wrongly and what we should do instead. A great poet finds the critical point in the narrative and directs the reader to ponder, explore, and learn.