"𝕴𝖓𝖙𝖔 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖉 𝕬𝖇𝖞𝖘𝖘 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖔𝖒𝖇 𝖔𝖋 𝕹𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖊, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖘 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖛𝖊" - John Milton 🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷🕷 This keeps happening... the month's end is in sight and the scratch that I have left on the surface is imperceptible! Throughout November, slowly and quietly I have been exploring the ways in which 🦇Nature is Gothic🦇. Though the majority of the discoveries and discussions I wished to share with you must remain until next time, I cannot move on without mentioning Milton first. 🍎 First published in 1667, 'Paradise Lost' takes the fall of man as its subject. Various themes of nature are ripe for the picking in the Garden of Eden - in Milton, the Bible, and wider lore. In the poem specifically, Satan, Adam, God and his Son are all at odds, representing the multiplicitous nature of [hu]man and evil of all! [It's a little more nuanced than that, but my wordcount limit is a little tighter than Milton's was.] 🍎 Formed from the language of cathedrals and churches, religion echoes throughout the early gothic. Though not strictly big 'G' Gothic itself, many of the markers are there. Milton's epic is also one of the four formative texts that Frankenstein's creature reads in Shelley's magnum opus... 🍎 I imagine that the story of Original Sin will be familiar to many of you, whether you've made Milton's acquaintance or not. As a species, we have been attempting to unravel ourselves right from the start - to decipher the good and the bad that exists at our core. If you're interested in theological-flavoured existential exploration influenced by Greek mythology and influencing the Gothic, Milton is your man! . #natureisgothic #paradiselost #johnmilton #bookstagram #englishliterature #classics2020 #classicliterature #spookynerd #bookworm #books #bookreview #darkacademia #academic #litnerd #epic #poetry #gothic #literary #classics https://www.instagram.com/p/CIJs-PHgHsI/?igshid=v52yvjml4w9p