For this assignment, I chose to make a painting illustrating the very end of Book 12 of Paradise Lost. I find Milton's wording of the last line to be quite interesting. Even though Adam and Eve have already departed from Eden, Milton writes "through Eden took their solitary way" (12.649), rather than 'from Eden'. To me, this suggests that despite having been cast out of God's version of paradise, Eve and Adam have not left paradise. They have changed as characters, and gained more knowledge, and thus their vision of paradise has shifted as well, and no longer wholly aligns with God's. To illustrate this, I painted a signpost with signs marked 'Eden' pointing in all directions to show that no matter which direction Adam and Eve go, and how they continue to develop as characters, they will be able to find some version of paradise. Additionally, I depicted Eve and Adam as being rather characterless conjoined black ink splotches as they walk "hand in hand" (12.648) to evoke a sense of uncertainty and to emphasize how relatively unformed they are as they embark on this new beginning. Really the only detail about them is the red apple Eve is carrying that serves as a reminder of their past, and also of the knowledge they now hold that has shaped them. I also left the forest pretty bare, as Milton writes that Adam and Eve "took their solitary way" (12.649), and I felt that a bare forest evoked a similar feeling of loneliness. Additionally, the future Eve and Adam are heading towards holds a great deal of uncertainty, and I felt this idea paired nicely with them heading towards a relatively featureless forest. Milton also references a "flaming brand" (12.643) and "fiery arms" (12.644) along the gate guarding Eden, and while I substituted this image for angel wings in the painting, I used a reddish color on the wings, almost as if there is a reflection of this hellish imagery on the backside of the wings
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