John Milton’s Paradise Lost illustrates the fall of Mankind from the perspective of Satan and God. God believed Adam and Eve could withstand the temptations of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, yet they ultimately give in because of the Serpent. From that moment on, the rest of humanity was affected. In intertextuality, metafiction, and magical realism, Milton depicts the Bible in a certain light people disagree with (he had a few haters). Here is the link to Paradise Lost (this is my annotated version in Kami, so you can see my interpretation of Milton’s writing :))
Milton draws from and weaves religious and mythological texts into his work. Milton “consciously places himself in the tradition of prior epic writers, such as the ancients Homer and Virgil, and the Medieval and Renaissance poets Dante, Tasso, Ariosto, and Spense,” (Milton Argument). Milton uses characteristic traits from other poets and authors to incorporate them into his text, yet still makes it his own Christian Epic. This is what gives him that “spice”, if you will, that makes his text different than others during his period, and still during this time. Once people learned Milton used the qualities of these famous writers, they held his work to great expectations.
The whole purpose of Milton’s work was to interpret the Bible in his own way. He speaks of “Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree,” and Adam and Eve bringing “Death into the World,” (Milton ll. 1-3). This is the beginning of…well everything in the Bible, specifically Genesis. The intertextuality of the Bible in Milton’s Paradise Lost makes this a Christian Epic, rather than a Homer Epic as stated in the argument of Book 1. This is one of many examples in Paradise Lost. The whole book contains intertextuality of drawing from other religious texts in order to highlight Milton’s specific writing style (which was and still is a very cool way to interpret the Bible).
Carlos Greaves, “Sure, the Velociraptors are Still on the Loose, but That's No Reason not to Reopen Jurassic Park” Carlos Greaves (Here’s the link)
Although I did not mention intertextuality in my first Media Source, Carlos Greaves uses Jurassic Park to show us the stupidity of people during COVID. Greaves speaks of the company that runs the “wildly successful” (Greaves) Jurassic Park, then proceeds to tell us the velociraptors are loose and killing everyone and everything in their path. This represented the bigger companies (grocery stores, convenience stores, pet food stores, and many more) reopening during quarantine only to make a few bucks.
Both Greaves and Milton pull from other sources and twist them in their own way to make an amazing work. Even though Greaves uses wayyy more dark/black humor in his text (which I still get a good laugh out of) to make light out of a dark situation, Milton gives us a point of view that no one would have thought to make a story out of.
Although there are less frequent links to Metafiction in Book 4 of Paradise Lost, there are still times Milton directly addresses himself as an author. Milton states, “Descend from Heaven, Urania, by that name / If rightly thou art called.” (Milton ll. 32-33). Milton is calling upon Urania to enlighten him in his writing. He is turning the narrative back onto himself, as in a “Hey guys, I’m still here” type of way to comment and give his own opinion. This also shows his dependency on those who have come before him and the need for inspiration to continue with his work.
Gotye, "Somebody I Used to Know" Making Mirrors (Here’s the Link to the video, and here’s the link to the lyrics)
In Gotye’s representation of the song, he becomes part of the background, or the narrative in this case, for the woman that he used to love (I mean know…haha) which is a great example of Metafiction. This blurs the line between the artist and the audience, especially because he made a song that was relatable to those who have gone through something similar. When Gotye reaches the chorus, he sings “And I don't even need your love / But you treat me like a stranger, and that feels so rough,” (Gotye), he is turning the story to how he felt when the woman did him wrong, ultimately becoming apart of what he is singing about.
In relating themselves to their narrative, Milton and Gotye use metafiction to tell the audience they understand what they are talking about (I would hope so…). Even though they do this differently, we know why they include themselves and essentially “turn the camera” back onto individuality.
As Milton begins his story, he introduces the realm of Heaven, the pits of Hell, angels, God, Satan - the works. All of these elements within Paradise Lost are considered supernatural. Milton speaks of God having “mighty wings outspread / Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss…” (Milton ll. 20-21). God takes anyone in with open arms and gives light to those who are lost in the dark. The use of “mighty wings'' and “Dove-like” gives us those magical and fantastical elements that we see throughout Paradise Lost. The other-worldly settings given to us through imagery invoke a sense of Magical Realism.
E. E. Cummings, “[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]” Poetry Foundation (Here’s the link)
Although you could deem Cummings’ poem as lovey dovey, there is also the weird, crazy stalker side that I did not get at first from reading this poem. With the use of “dear” and “darling” (Cummings), and also how he never goes anywhere “without” (Cummings) the person’s heart he is explaining, it could come off as uncanny and…nevertheless downright creepy. One could even say a stalker, if you will. Especially with him telling the reader his “deepest secret nobody knows,” (Cummings)...I don’t think I want to know and you can keep that to yourself dude.
Milton and Cummings use Magical Realism in two different contexts. While Milton uses this postmodern trait through a sense of fantastical elements, Cummings uses it in a way of uncanny and grotesque. The contrast of the two works shows us how there are no limitations when it comes to writing literature.
From each postmodern quality, all writers aforementioned use them in different ways to highlight the true meaning of what they are conveying. Intertextuality, metafiction, and magical realism are used in multiple ways that I did not think of before comparing them!
Bell, Bill. “The Tree Of Knowledge 1 (eden).” Paradise, 09 Mar. 2020, fineartamerica, fineartamerica.com/featured/the- tree-of-knowledge-1-eden-bill-bell.html. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Flugel, Kaylee. “Love poem? Gross…” Source #2 - Postmodern Poems, 10 May 2024, Nerdy Digital Publishing,
nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/read-between-the-lines?commentId=c0ea9006-2501-4f8e-91b4- 4231360b3836. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Flugel, Kaylee. “People ahem... I mean Dinosaurs Going Crazy” Soure #1 - Postmodern Essays, 01 May 2024, Nerdy Digital Publishing, nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/source-1?commentId=e0e4cc26-bf1f-40f8-a5d9- a299cfc99e78. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Flugel, Kaylee. “Weird Music Video, Deep Meaning.” Source #3 - Postmodern Music/Videos, 10 May 2024, Nerdy Digital Publishing, nerdypublisher.wixsite.com/website/post/10-famous-authors-on-their-favorite-books-1? postId=b958c877-84f8-4e68-9da3-4546746af825&commentId=cc8c7c9b-56e1-4b0f-bf59-66eb49b64c48. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Gotye. “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Making Mirrors, 05 Jul. 2011, Genius,
genius.com/Gotye-somebody-that-i-used-to-know-lyrics. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Gotye. “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Making Mirrors, 05 Jul. 2011, Youtube, www.youtube.com/watch? v=8UVNT4wvIGY. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Kirk, Geoffrey. “Homer.” Poets A-K, 22 Apr. 2024, Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Homer-Greek-poet. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Williams, Roberts. “Virgil.” Poets L-Z, 23 Apr. 2024, Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Dante-Alighieri. Accessed 10 May 2024.
Quinones, Ricardo. “Dante.” Poets A-K, 23 Apr. 2024, Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Dante-Alighieri. Accessed 10 May 2024.