Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost consistently refers to the maze in the context of pursuit of knowledge. The archangel Raphael warns Adam not to question God’s world too much lest he find himself in a maze. When Satan disguises himself as a serpent to approach Eve, he compares the slinkiness of his body to a maze. This symbol is important because it provides a rather perplexing imagery of the pursuit of knowledge. On one hand, a maze is frightening because one can get lost or trapped inside. The more you try to solve the maze, the more stuck you can become. On the other hand, mazes do have an exit, so it is possible to successfully endure and traverse the maze. The maze connotes that every answer to a question introduces another set of questions. The more you question (or search through the maze), the more you run into other problems. Those who never enter the maze in the first place are always completely safe, for they are not risking their well-being for knowledge. The maze is a warning to not get caught up in the pursuit of knowledge.