“He who can say how he burns, burns little.” When approaching Plutarch’s quote, it must not be taken for granted that He still burns. His speech reflects his state of being. He cannot help but approach the fire and consequently his relationship to it except within the context of his experience. It is this type of linguistic self-knowledge that Milton explores in Paradise Lost. The burning experienced by the fallen angels and humans in the poem is that of their choice to sin. Their burning originates in Hell. Sin inherently alters a being’s reason which necessarily affects his speech since it is through language that ideas and thoughts are communicated. The speeches and dialogue of this work impose upon the reader a sense of t
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