The Challenging Task Of Teaching Classical Poetry Inspired From Divine Texts: Case Of Milton’s “paradise Lost” And Sacred Texts.

Résumé: The present article highlights the challenge of teaching English literature inspired from devine texts. It is also a literary analysis and a reflection on Paradise Lost the masterpiece of John Milton. This English epic rewrites the Universal Story of the creation of Adam and Eve, Satan’s envy and temptations leading to the original sin and Fall of Mankind. This story present in the Bible, and in the Quran in many verses, was rewritten by Milton with special aesthetic and poetic effects that made of it a classic, that is still today generating many inquiries in literary criticism. What inspired Milton to write his great Epic are not human texts, but sacred texts. Critics have always aknowledeged the Bible as the source of Milton; but they scarsely, if ever, talk about the Quran’s influence. In this article, we will use two passages from Milton’s Epic to demonstrate that the bible was not the only source of Milton, but that there is a direct influence of the Quran too; many translated versions of Quran were available during his lifetime. We will also explain how teaching such texts as Paradise Lost in an EFL class is truly an enriching experience, but a much demanding task too.

Publié dans la revue: مجلة البحوث التربوية والتعليمية