Paradise Lost

Lines 1-26 Declares subject: humankind’s first act of disobedience toward God, and the consequences Adam and Eve’s eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge (Genesis) Original sin brought death to human beings – lost our paradise – until Jesus comes

Invokes the muse Not the muses of Classical literature, but the muse of Moses – the holy spirit He will accomplish more than the classical poets because his muse is greater than theirs (ambitious) Asks for help from the Holy Spirit (humble)

Line 26: Theme “To explain the ways of God to man” Wants to show man that the fall of humankind into sin and death was part of God’s greater plan

Explains how Adam and Eve’s disobedience occurred – their actions were partly due to a serpent’s deception Serpent is Satan – we join he and his followers in Hell where they have just been cast after being defeated by God in Heaven

Introduction to Satan Satan lies stunned beside his second-in-command Beelzebub, in a lake of fire that gives off darkness instead of light. Breaking the awful silence, Satan bemoans his terrible position, but does not repent of his rebellion against God He suggests how they might gather their forces for another attack

Beelzebub is doubtful He now believes that God cannot be overpowered. Satan does not contradict him, but suggests that they could at least pervert God’s good works to evil purposes

The two devils rise up and spread their wings, fly over to the dry land next to the flaming lake They can do this only because God has allowed them to loose their chains

All the devils were formerly angels who chose to follow Satan in his rebellion God still intends to turn their evil deeds toward the good

Once out of the lake, Satan becomes more optimistic about their situation. He calls the rest of the fallen angels (his legions) to join him on land They immediately obey and, despite their wounds and suffering, fly up to gather on the plain

Catalog of Warriors Milton lists some of the more notable of the angels whose names have been erased from the books of Heaven He notes that in a later time, many of these devils will be worshipped as gods Moloch – requires human sacrifices Belial – lewd and lustful

Still in war gear, these fallen angels have thousands of banners raised and their shields and spears in hand Even in defeat they are awesome to behold

Satan’s unrepentant evil nature is unwavering. Even cast down in defeat, he does not consider changing his ways: he insists to his fellow devils that their delight will be in doing evil, not good

He explains to Beelzebub he wishes to pervert God’s will and find a way to make evil out of good

It is not easy for Satan to maintain this determination; the battle has just demonstrated God’s overwhelming power, and the devils could not even have lifted themselves off the lake of fire unless God had allowed it God allows it precisely because he intends to turn their evil designs toward a greater good

Satan’s envy of the Son’s chosen status led him to rebel and consequently to be condemned His continued envy and search for freedom leads him to believe that he would rather be a king in Hell than a servant in Heaven

Satan’s pride has caused him to believe that his own free intellect is as great as God’s will Satan remarks that the mind can make its own Hell out of Heaven, or in his case, its own Heaven out of Hell (humanism)

Satan addresses his comrades and acknowledges their shame in falling to the heavenly forces, but urges them to gather in order to consider whether another war is feasible

Instantly the legions of devils dig into the bowels of the ground, unearthing gold and other minerals. With their inhuman powers, they construct a great temple in a short time (Pandemonium: all the demons) The hundreds of thousands of demonic troups gather there to hold a summit

Being spirits, they can easily shrink from huge winged creatures to the smallest size – compacting themselves, they enter Pandemonium and the debate begins