Choosing Rest in Paradise Lost

Abstract

As they depart the Garden of Eden at the end of Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve must “choose their place of rest” in the world. Most scholarly treatments of this “rest” place it in the eschatological context of Hebrews 4. Our paper highlights the neglected worldly significance of rest in Paradise Lost. Adam and Eve come to understand rest in relation to work, speech, understanding, eating, and sexual expression, both before the fall and after. Our article enables readers to identify with “our first parents” in seeking a “place of rest” in this world.