Milton's Cosmology

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "cosmos" as "the world or universe as an ordered and harmonious system," from the Greek, "kosmos," referring to an ordered and/or ornamental thing.

When God created the world he had this in mind. To have a harmonious system in the universe where everything can live in peace and free of all worry. God was on top and everything was peaceful. Until the angles in Milton's Paradise Lost had a fight. After the fight God banished these bad angels and had the last part of his universe created, hell. This completed a very complex picture of Milton's vision of the universe in the beginning.

In the picture, as you see above, all the parts of Milton's universe are clearly shown and go exactly with the description that Milton gives us in the story Paradise Lost.

Using what I know from religion and from what I so far read in Paradise Lost I will try to explain each piece separately and explain it significance to the picture, the story and our own understanding of the story.

The light on the top of the mountain can only symbolize one thing. That is where God sits. From the highest peak he sits so he can oversee everything that is happening under him. He sees what is going on in heaven, earth and everything that is below and can do things to control what is going on. The reason that there is a major blast of light that surrounds this peak is because it is understood that the presence of God is blinding and that he also gives us the light for the whole world. That is also why Milton's universe is also lighted because God light is shown through out the world no matter how dark or bad anything can be. He is on that mountain for a different amount of reasons as well. One reason, like I said before is to see what is going on through out the world because God is supposed to be all knowing. He also sits on top of the mountain because he is the highest "being" that anybody should know. He sits on top of the biggest mountain to, pretty much, show his position. Also, God sits alone with no one able to see him; no one is supposed to ever see him, so the mountain also acts like isolation from the rest of heaven.

The next part is heaven. Heaven is in the lighted part of Milton's universe and is surrounded by gates (St. Peter's Gates) with the mountain of God right in the middle of it. Heaven is lighted because this is where all the people of God are located. So that means that his is where all of the good in Milton's universe is located, except, of course, the fight of the angels, which created hell. There is a pathway from the beginning of the gates to the foot of the mountain. I guess this serves as a walkway for either God or anybody else to walk to and from earth.

The earth is connected to the foot of the pathway and the gates by a chain. The reason for this chain is for earth to be close to heaven and so that God, on his mountain, can get a good look at what is going on there. The pathway in this case can also be God's vision path to earth. Earth, or the world, though is in a strange place in Milton's world. It is the only thing in this picture that is not either completely in the dark. This can mean a couple of things. This means, first of all, that earth or the world can have both good and bad things living in it that is doesn't swing predominantly to any side; almost neutral. The light is still surrounding