Introduction In the poem, Milton talks about the story of Adam and Eve and how they lost their place in paradise. He expands the story of creation by including more details and events that led to the creation and fall of man. He also presents a narrative of the activities that happened in the Garden of Eden. The theme of free will is deeply embedded in Milton’s Paradise Lost. It comes out clearly as he tries to explain the way of God towards human beings. Milton argues that the reason for creation of man was to allow man to assume the previous position held by Satan and his angels. This was primarily the reason for making man after the fall of Satan. Man was given the free will to choose what he wants. However, God still had full knowledge of what man was going to do if he uses the free will. This implies that God knew from the beginning that man would disobey the commandments given to him. As a result, it begs the questions as whether there was free will given in the first place. If man was truly given free will, God’s knowledge of how the world would eventually turn out raises so many questions. At the same time, man’s inability to make decisions beyond his human and physical nature further creates concerns as to the amount of freedom he has in making his decisions. This paper seeks to explore and develop an argument based on the theme of free will in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Synoptic background According to Milton, the war in heaven led to the defeat of Satan and later dismissal from heaven. He then built a pandemonium in hell where he held meetings with his followers. These meetings were aimed at planning a revenge mission after losing the war in heaven. In the meetings, it was decided that the mission shall aim at attacking God’s prophesied new creation, mankind. God, being omnipotent and all knowing, foretells the fall of man. When Satan got his way into the Garden of Eden, he became extremely jealous of them. He knew that the favor mankind was experiencing was supposed to be upon him. But, since he had rebelled against God, his destiny was destruction. Attacking God’s newly favored creation, he thought, was the best way to hit back at God. From this background, one is able to deduce that God knew how everything would transpire even before he created mankind. He was aware of the meeting Satan had with his followers in pandemonium. He knew their agendas and foretold of the fall of man. The concept of free will The concept of free will refers to the ability of individuals to make choices without the influence of external forces. The forces that impede someone from making free decisions can be physical, spiritual, mental, social, and metaphysical in nature. However, in the context of the poem, such forces are either metaphysical or spiritual. Therefore, if human beings were given the free will, according to Milton, it implies that they should be able to make choices without being constrained by God. This ability is evident in the poem. God makes Adam and Eve then gives the ability to make their decisions. He gives them a commandment and expects them to obey. Even though God knows what Adam and Eve are able to do with their free will, He still expects them