Department of English

This thesis explores the gendering of seeing and hearing in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and the role these faculties play in acquiring higher knowledge and understanding. Although we might assume that Adam and Eve’s perceptual faculties work perfectly before the fall, I show that seeing and hearing operate imperfectly both prior to and after the fall. Adam and Eve abuse the faculties of sight and sound by placing undue confidence in their ability to accurately represent the world around them. However, I claim that Milton’s poem does not treat either sense as lost; instead, it demonstrates that when both senses are used in conjunction with the imagination, individuals can experience divine revelation. I suggest Milton’s conception of the imagination moves between all the senses, embodying a wandering cognitive movement necessary for free will. Ultimately, I argue that Paradise Lost justifies both seeing and hearing, despite the fact that Eve introduces humanity to evil by listening to Satan.