| Summary: | 博士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 97 === This dissertation uses the method of hermeneutics to understand and interpret the major themes of Paradise Lost—salvation, love, wedlock, and creation. And the extremely important concept of rebellion and obedience is proved to saturate the individual parts of these major themes, playing the part of the backbone in uniting these sub-concepts. Therefore, Chapter Six entitled “Rebellion and Obedience: the Voice of Myself” makes the essential component in the analysis of the meaning and significance of the text. The Word/Logos, in a sense, counts in everything. And finally, it is proposed that suffering indeed is a blessing in disguise, for it serves to teach a rebellious individual, race, or nation to learn the moral lesson of obedience, which can pave a way for handy salvation.
In addition, the main ideas in each chapter are stated as follows. In “Introduction,” Heidegger’s hermeneutic conception of fore-structure is used to delineate the author’s horizon, while I unfold the first three chapters of Genesis as the reader’s horizon with a hope that a fusion of horizons can be reached. Second, the first chapter is an introduction to explain how I employ the method of hermeneutics. Third, Chapter Two, Chapter Four, and Chapter Five aim to explain the main themes of this epic. And Chapter Three is indeed an inter-textual reading of Paradise Lost, for a deeper understanding of God’s salvation can enhance our understanding of human history in which causes and effects have been linked logically and reasonably. Finally, in “Conclusion,” free will emerges as the focal point for man to decide his own salvation.
Key Words: Milton, Paradise Lost, hermeneutics, rebellion, obedience, Logos, the Word
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