The State of Innocence The State of Innocence The State of Innocence was intended to be performed as an opera, with the libretto written in 1674, (first published in 1677) by John Dryden. It is basically a musical stage adaptation of John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost", a tribute to Milton rather than a satire of the poem. That Dryden was an admirer of Milton's is surprising as the two men were politically opposed. Milton was against the restoration of the British monarchy, while the royalist Dryden was created England’s first Poet Laureate by the restored Charles II. So great an admirer of Milton
Adam and Eve has close affinities to the "Conflict" as noted by August Dillmann. Some modern scholars, such as James Barr, Moshe Greenberg, and Michael Fishbane, see the story of Adam and Eve as a representation of a rise to moral agency, at least as much as, if not more than the story of a fall from grace. Carol Meyers and Bruce Naidoff view the tale as an explanation of agricultural conditions in the highlands of Canaan. It was also recognized in ancient Judaism, that there are two distinct accounts for the creation of man. The first account says "male and female [God]