PARADISE LOST -BOOK-I 

LINE BY LINE SUMMARY

SECTION-I (1-26 lines)

First 26 lines discuss the Theme and Subject of the poem

• Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
• The poem introduces its primary topic: humanity's original act of rebellion against God, punning on the word "Fruit" to mean both the literal apple eaten by Adam and Eve and the tragic consequences of their actions.
• Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast
• This specifies the source of the sin—eating from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge—and notes its fatal ("mortal") taste, which brought mortality to mankind.
• Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
• The consequence of this original sin was the introduction of physical and spiritual death, alongside all human suffering and sorrow, into what was previously a perfect world.
• With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
• Humanity lost their paradise in the Garden of Eden, but Milton immediately provides hope, foreshadowing the arrival of "one greater Man"—Jesus Christ.
• Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,
• This greater Man will eventually redeem humanity, restore our relationship with God, and win back our heavenly home ("the blissful Seat").
• SingHeav'nly Muse, that on the secret top
• Milton calls upon his source of inspiration. Rather than a classical Greek muse, he invokes the "Heav'nly Muse" (the Holy Spirit), who operates from hidden, sacred mountaintops.
• Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
• He references Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai—the sacred locations where God spoke directly to humanity in the Old Testament.
• That Shepherd(=Moses), who first taught the chosen Seed,
• The Muse is the same power that inspired "That Shepherd"—Moses—who led the Israelites ("the chosen Seed") and received the divine law.
• In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth
• Moses was instructed by this divine source on how the universe was formed at the dawn of time, as recorded in the Book of Genesis.
• Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill
• The universe emerged out of raw, formless Chaos. Milton adds that if Mount Zion (the holy hill of Jerusalem) pleases the Muse more than Mount Sinai...
• Delight thee more, and Siloa's Brook that flow'd
• ...or if the Muse prefers the sacred Siloam stream, which flowed gently...
• Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence
• ...right next to the Jewish Temple ("the Oracle of God"), Milton will call upon the Muse from that holy place instead.
• Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song,
• He formally requests the Muse's guidance for his incredibly bold and daring epic poem ("adventrous Song").
• That with no middle flight intends to soar
• Milton states that his poem will not take an ordinary, low-altitude path; it aims to rise to the highest intellectual and spiritual heights.
• Above th' Aonian Mount, while it pursues
• His work will fly higher than the "Aonian Mount" (Mount Helicon, the traditional home of the classical Greek Muses), meaning his Christian epic will surpass pagan myths like Homer's Iliad or Virgil's Aeneid.
• Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime.
• He boldly declares his intent to write about grand cosmic themes that no writer in human history has ever dared to attempt before.

 

• And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer  
• Milton shifts his focus from the Muse of Moses to address the Holy Spirit directly, identifying it as the primary ("chiefly") source of his inspiration.
• Before all Temples th' upright heart and pure,
• He highlights a core theological point: the Holy Spirit values a morally upright, sincere, and pure human heart far more than any grand, physical temple building.
• Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first
• He asks the Spirit for direct education and knowledge, noting that the Spirit knows all things because it was present at the very beginning of existence.
• Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread
• The Spirit was active before creation, stretching its powerful, massive wings across the unformed universe.
• Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss
• In a famous image blending the Genesis creation story with the New Testament baptism of Christ, the Spirit sat like a nesting dove over the empty, chaotic void ("the vast Abyss").
• And mad'st it pregnant: What in me is dark
• By "brooding" over Chaos, the Spirit infused it with life and fertility to create the world. Milton transitions this cosmic power to his own mind, asking the Spirit to bring light to the dark areas of his understanding.
• Illumin, what is low raise and support;
• He prays for spiritual illumination, asking the Spirit to lift up his low human thoughts and support his limited strength.
• That to the highth of this great Argument  
• He needs this divine elevation so that he can rise to the immense physical, intellectual, and spiritual scale of his massive subject matter ("great Argument").
• I may assert Eternal Providence,
• With the Spirit's help, he intends to firmly declare, defend, and demonstrate the reality of God's timeless, all-knowing plan for humanity.
• And justifie the wayes of God to men.
• He states the ultimate thesis of the entire epic: to explain, vindicate, and show the absolute justice of God's actions and decisions in dealing with humanity.

 

Note: Line number 1-16 are one sentence, and the remaining ten lines are another sentence,    the 39^th word (=Sing) is the main verb in the first 16 lines.

SECTION-II

Lines 27-40

• The Question (Lines 27–33): The narrator asks the all-knowing Spirit (Muse)- (nothing in Heaven or Hell is hidden from her.)to reveal what could possibly have motivated "our Grand Parents" (Adam and Eve) to turn away from God. He notes how incredibly tragic their fall is, given they were deeply loved by Heaven and ruled over the entire world, restricted by only one single rule (not eating from the Tree of Knowledge).-they were otherwise lords of the whole world.
• The Answer (Lines 33–40): The narrator immediately answers that the "infernal Serpent" (Satan) was the one who tricked them. Driven by intense jealousy, pride, and a desire for revenge, Satan deceived Eve ("the Mother of Mankind") after he and his army of rebel angels were cast out of Heaven. His downfall was caused by his supreme arrogance—believing he could equal or overthrow most High (God Almighty).

Lines 41–43

If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim / Against the Throne and Monarchy of God / Rais'd impious War in Heav'n and Battel proud

• Summary: Driven by intense, misguided ambition, Satan targeted God's absolute sovereignty and kingdom. He started an unholy, highly disrespectful civil war in Heaven, leading his forces with immense, arrogant pride.
• Important Phrases:
• Throne and Monarchy of God: This frames Heaven not just as a spiritual space, but as a formal political state under a rightful king.
• Impious War / Battel proud:Impious means unholy or lacking reverence. Satan's pride blinds him to the fact that fighting his own Creator is morally corrupt.

Lines 44–46

With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power / Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie / With hideous ruine and combustion down

• Summary: However, Satan's military uprising was completely useless and futile.In response, God's supreme power instantly defeated him, casting Satan headfirst and burning out of the pure, celestial skies. He plunged downward through a violent, exploding wake of total destruction.
• Important Phrases:
• Vain attempt: A crucial pivot meaning a completely futile or pointless effort. Milton uses this to establish immediately that Satan never stood a single chance against omnipotence.
• Headlong= too quickly
• Hurld headlong flaming: A highly kinetic sequence where the language mimics the fast, chaotic, downward acceleration of Satan's fall.
• Ethereal Skie: Celestial or heavenly skies, implying a pure, light, spiritual matter.

Lines 47–49

To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, / Who durst defieth' Omnipotent to Arms.

• Summary: Satan fell straight into the infinite abyss of Hell's damnation. He is condemned to live there forever, bound tightly in unbreakable, legendary chains and tortured by punishing fires. This severe sentence was handed down simply because he was foolish enough to challenge the all-powerful God to physical combat.
• Important Phrases:
• Bottomless perdition:Perdition means utter spiritual ruin or damnation. Describing it as bottomless emphasizes that Hell is an infinite psychological and physical abyss.
• Adamantine Chains: Made of "adamant," a mythical stone known in classical literature for being completely unbreakable and indestructible.
• Penal Fire: Fire meant strictly for judicial punishment. It burns with immense agony but produces no light ("darkness visible").
• Th' Omnipotent to Arms:Omnipotent means All-Powerful. Placing this divine title right next to Satan's challenge to arms (weapons) highlights the supreme delusion of his pride.

Line 50

Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night

• Summary: Following this violent crash, Satan and his fallen angels lay completely paralyzed, stunned, and defeated at the bottom of Hell for a duration equal to nine full human days and nights.
• Important Phrases:
• Nine times the Space: A direct nod to classical epic conventions. Milton adapts this structural timeline from ancient mythology (where defeated Titans fell for nine days to reach the underworld) to anchor his own epic.

Lines 51–53

To mortal men, he with his horrid crew / Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe / Confounded though immortal:

• Summary: Measured in human terms, Satan and his terrifying army of rebel angels lay completely defeated, helplessly rolling around in the blazing abyssof Hell. They are physically and mentally shattered, yet they are cursed to remain alive because they cannot die (immortal).
• Important Phrases:
• Horrid crew: The army of fallen angels; "horrid" carries its classic Latin meaning of something bristling, terrifying, or causing hair to stand on end.
• Fiery Gulfe: The vast, churning chasm or abyss of flames that makes up Hell.
• Confounded though immortal: Mentally crushed and ruined (confounded), yet unable to escape their suffering through death due to their eternal nature.

Lines 53–55

But his doom / Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought / Both of lost happiness and lasting pain

• Summary: However, Satan's ultimate judgment kept him conscious only to experience even greater divine anger. His true torture begins now, as his mind forces him to think about the perfect joy he threw away in Heaven alongside the never-ending agony he must now endure.
• Important Phrases:
• Doom: His permanent, inescapable judgment or sentence.
• The thought / Both of lost happiness and lasting pain: This introduces the core theme of psychological torment. Satan's worst punishment is not physical fire, but his own memory contrasting past paradise with present agony.

Lines 56–58

Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes / That witness'd huge affliction and dismay / Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate:

• Summary: These thoughts deeply torture him. Satan rolls his sorrowful, malice-filled eyes to scan his surroundings. His gaze reveals a complex mix of emotions: profound suffering and terror, blended with stubborn, unyielding arrogance and unshakeable hatred toward God.
• Important Phrases:
• Baleful eyes: Eyes full of deep sorrow, despair, and active malice or evil intent.
• Witness'd huge affliction: In this context, witness'd means "bore witness to" or expressed. His eyes project the immense suffering happening inside his mind.
• Obdurate pride and stedfasthate:Obdurate means hardened and completely stubborn. Despite his terrifying defeat, Satan completely refuses to repent, choosing permanent hatred over submission.

 

Lines 59–60

At once as far as Angels kenn he views / The dismal Situation waste and wilde,

• Summary: Looking all at once, as far as an angel's powerful vision can possibly stretch, he examines the depressing layout of his new environment—a landscape that is completely ruined, barren, and chaotic.
• Important Phrases:
• Angels kenn: The horizon or range of an angel's sight, which is infinitely more powerful and vast than human vision.
• Dismal Situation:Situation here refers to a physical location or site. Dismal carries its historical weight of being sinister, dark, and deeply depressing.
• Waste and wilde: A completely ruined, lawless, and desolate wilderness.

Lines 61–62

A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round / As one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flames

• Summary: Satan sees that his new home is a terrifying dungeon that burns like a massive, roaring oven in every direction. Paradoxically, even though there are massive flames everywhere, they do not behave like normal fire.
• Important Phrases:
• A Dungeon horrible: Establishes Hell not just as a location, but as a tight, inescapable, penal prison managed by God.
• As one great Furnace flam'd: A powerful simile comparing the endless landscape of Hell to a localized, intensely concentrated source of industrial heat.

Lines 63–64

No light, but rather darkness visible / Serv'donely to discover sights of woe,

• Summary: The flames yield absolutely no light; instead, they produce a strange, paradoxical darkness that somehow allows a person to see. This unnatural darkness functions only to reveal terrifying scenes of misery and suffering.
• Important Phrases:
• Darkness visible:This is one of the most famous oxymorons in English literature. Milton suggests that Hell's fire is spiritual and punitive; it provides the searing heat of agony without the divine blessing of light. The darkness itself has a physical, heavy presence.
• Sights of woe: The tragic visual landscape of suffering that Satan is forced to witness.

 

Lines 65–67

Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace / And rest can never dwell, hope never comes / That comes to all; but torture without end

• Summary: This is a territory defined entirely by grief and melancholy shadows where peace and physical rest can never exist. Even "hope," a basic comfort available to every living human creature, is completely barred from entering this place; instead, infinite, unceasing torture aggressively presses upon its inhabitants.
• Important Phrases:
• Doleful shades: Sorrowful, bleak, and gloomy dark spaces.
• Hope never comes / That comes to all: A deliberate echo of Dante’s Inferno ("Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"). In Milton's theology, hope stems from God; because the rebel angels have totally broken from God, they are fundamentally cut off from hope.
• Torture without end: Confirms the eternal, static nature of their damnation—there is no countdown to a release date.

Lines 68–70

Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed / With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd: / Such place Eternal Justice had prepar'd

• Summary: The endless punishment continues to afflict them, characterized by a massive, sweeping flood of fire that is fueled by a supply of burning sulfur (brimstone) that never burns away or turns to ash. This is the exact destination that God's unwavering, cosmic eternaljustice built specifically for the rebels.
• Important Phrases:
• Fiery Deluge: A flood of fire. This is a brilliant linguistic subversion by Milton; a deluge is typically a flood of water (like Noah's flood), but in Hell, even the fluids are burning.
• Sulphur unconsum'd: Brimstone that burns eternally without turning to ash. This defies the natural laws of physics, emphasizing that Hell operates on supernatural, punitive laws.
• Eternal Justice had prepar'd: Milton firmly attributes the construction of Hell to God’s absolute justice. This reinforces his stated epic goal from the beginning of the poem: to "justify the ways of God to men".

Lines 71–74

For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordain'd / In utter darkness, and thir portion set / As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n / As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole.

• Summary: God designated this prison specifically for the rebel angels, condemning them to total darkness. He placed their new territory as far away from God and the pure light of Heaven as three times the distance from the center of the Earth to the absolute outer edge of the universe.
• Important Phrases:
• Thir portion set: Their assigned fate, territory, or inheritance. God has mathematically divided the cosmos, separating the wicked from the holy.
• Thrice to th' utmost Pole: Milton uses contemporary astronomical calculations to map out the spiritual geography of the universe. He implies that Hell is situated at an unimaginable, cosmic distance beneath the rest of creation.

Line 75

O how unlike the place from whence they fell!

• Summary: The narrator laments out loud, emphasizing just how brutally different this horrific prison is from the beautiful, glorious Heaven they were cast out of.
• Important Phrases:
• O how unlike: A sudden, emotional exclamation from the narrator that contrasts the physical heights of Heaven with the absolute depths of Hell.

Lines 76–79

There the companions of his fall, o'rewhelm'd / With Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous fire, / He soon discerns, and weltring by his side / One next himself in power, and next in crime,

• Summary: Looking closely at his surroundings, Satan spots the other fallen angels completely buried and crushed under floods and spinning tornadoes of violent fire. Tossing helplessly next to him on the burning lake, he recognizes one specific angel who is second only to Satan in terms of both military authority and sinful rebellion.
• Important Phrases:
• Tempestuous fire: Stormy, chaotic, and violently wind-driven fire.
• Weltring: Tossing, rolling, or wallowing helplessly in a liquid (in this case, a liquid lake of fire).
• Next in power, and next in crime: Establishes the political hierarchy of the rebel angels. The angel who shares the highest rank also shares the highest level of guilt.

Lines 80–83

Long after known in Palestine, and nam'd / Beelzebub. To whom th' Arch-Enemy, / And thence in Heav'n call'd Satan, with bold / words / Breaking the horrid silence thus began.

• Summary: This angel would much later be worshipped on Earth by the people of Palestine under the name Beelzebub. Satan, the ultimate Arch-Enemy of God (whose name literally means "adversary" in Hebrew), speaks aloud to him. Defying his physical agony, he breaks the terrifying silence of Hell and begins his speech with arrogant, bold words.
• Important Phrases:
• Long after known in Palestine: Milton establishes a historical link between the fallen angels and the pagan gods worshipped by ancient Middle Eastern civilizations later in history.
• Th' Arch-Enemy / Satan: The poet reminds the reader of Satan's primary role. In Heaven, he had a beautiful name (Lucifer), but his rebellion changed his identity entirely to the "Adversary."
• Breaking the horrid silence: Hell is described as a place of terrifying, heavy silence until Satan chooses to speak, marking a major turning point where action begins.

 

 

SECTION-II

Satan's speech to Beelzebub (84-127)

Lines 84-95

Myriads=very large number;

Lustre= shine

•  “If thou beest he; But O how fall’n! how chang’d”
• Satan addresses Beelzebub: “Are you really the same person?” He is shocked at how degraded and altered Beelzebub now appears.
• “From him, who in the happy Realms of Light”
• He contrasts this with Beelzebub’s former self in Heaven, the “happy realms of light.”

·         “Cloth’d with transcendent brightness didst out-shine”

o    In Heaven, Beelzebub was clothed in extraordinary, surpassing radiance.

·         “Myriads though bright”

o    He outshone countless other angels, even though they too were bright.

·         “If he Whom mutual league,”

o    Satan asks whether this is truly the companion who once made a mutual alliance with him.

·         “United thoughts and counsels, equal hope”

o    They had shared the same thoughts, plans, and hopes.

·         “And hazard in the Glorious Enterprize,”

o    They also shared the risks of their “glorious enterprise”—their rebellion against God.

• “Joynd with me once, now misery hath joynd”
• Beelzebub once joined Satan in rebellion; now misery has joined them together instead.
• “In equal ruin: into what Pit thou seest”
• They are now equally ruined, and Beelzebub can see the dreadful pit—Hell—around them.
• “From what highthfall’n, so much the stronger prov’d”
• They have fallen from an immense height; this proves how much stronger their opponent was.
• “He with his Thunder: and till then who knew”
• That opponent is God, whose “Thunder” represents His overwhelming power. Until this defeat, no one knew its full force.
• “The force of those dire Arms? yet not for those,”
• Satan refers to God’s terrifying weapons. But he insists that their defeat was not caused by those weapons alone.
• “Nor what the Potent Victor in his rage”
• Nor was it merely because the powerful victor—God—acted in rage.

 

Satan looks at Beelzebub and can barely recognize him because he has changed so drastically from the brilliant, radiant angel he was in Heaven. Satan recalls how they were once perfect partners—united by the same plans, hopes, and dangers in their rebellion against God. Now, that partnership has bound them together in total, miserable ruin. Looking around at the horrific pit of Hell, Satan rationalizes their defeat by stating that God only won because of his superior weapons (thunder), claiming that no one could have foreseen how powerful God's arms actually were.

 

Lines 96-115

Contention=argument

Durst=dare

·         “Can else inflict, do I repent or change,”

o   Satan says that no further punishment God can inflict will make him repent or change his rebellious attitude.

·         “Though chang’d in outward lustre; that fixt mind”

o   Though he has lost his former heavenly brightness, his mind remains fixed and unchanged.

·         “And high disdain, from sence of injur’d merit,”

o   He retains intense contempt, arising from his belief that he deserved greater honor but was wronged.

·         “That with the mightiest rais’d me to contend,”

o   That pride led him to challenge the mightiest being—God.

·         “And to the fierce contention brought along”

o   It also led him to bring others into the fierce conflict.

·         “Innumerable force of Spirits arm’d”

o   He gathered countless armed spirits—the rebel angels.

·         “That durst dislike his reign, and me preferring,”

o   These angels dared to oppose God’s rule and chose to follow Satan instead.

·         “His utmost power with adverse power oppos’d”

o   They opposed God’s utmost power with their own opposing force.

·         “In dubious Battel on the Plains of Heav’n,”

o   They fought an uncertain, fiercely contested battle on Heaven’s plains.

·         “And shook his throne. What though the field be lost?”

o   They even shook God’s throne. Satan asks: so what if they lost this particular battle?

·         “All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,”

o   He declares that everything is not lost, because his will remains unconquerable.

·         “And study of revenge, immortal hate,”

o   He still possesses the determination to take revenge and an everlasting hatred toward God.

·         “And courage never to submit or yield:”

o   He also retains the courage never to submit or surrender.

·         “And what is else not to be overcome?”

o   In his view, if the will remains free and defiant, one has not truly been overcome.

·         “That Glory never shall his wrath or might”

o   Satan vows that God’s anger or power will never take from him a particular kind of glory.

·         “To bow and sue for grace”

o   That glory is the refusal to bow down and beg for mercy.

·         “With suppliant knee, and deifie his power,”

o   He refuses to kneel humbly or treat God’s power as divine and worthy of worship.

·         “Who from the terrour of this Arm so late”

o   He claims that God only recently feared Satan’s armed strength.

·         “Doubted his Empire, that were low indeed,”

o   If Satan now submitted, it would suggest that God had doubted His own rule because of that threat. To Satan, such submission would be deeply humiliating.

·         “That were an ignominy and shame beneath”

o   Bowing to God would be disgrace and shame.

 

Satan declares that no matter what else God inflicts upon him, he will never repent or change his ways, even if his outward appearance has lost its heavenly brightness. Driven by a "fixed mind" and an intense sense of "injured merit" (feeling unfairly treated by God), he recalls leading an innumerable army of angels into a fierce, uncertain battle that actually shook God's throne. He famously declares, "What though the field be lost? All is not lost." He vows that he still possesses his unconquerable will, a thirst for revenge, immortal hate, and the courage to never surrender. He refuses to bow down and beg God for mercy, stating that humiliating himself like that would be a worse shame than falling into Hell.

 

Lines 116-127

·         “This downfall; since by Fate the strength of Gods”

o   Satan continues from the previous idea that submission would be more shameful than their fall. He claims that Fate protects the strength of beings like gods.

·         “And this Empyreal substance cannot fail,”

o   He says their celestial, fiery, angelic substance is indestructible and cannot ultimately fail.

·         “Since through experience of this great event”

o   Because they have experienced this great event—their defeat and fall—

·         “In Arms not worse, in foresight much advanc’t,”

o   They are no weaker in weapons or fighting ability, and they are now far wiser and more foresighted.

·         “We may with more successful hope resolve”

o   Therefore, they can decide to act again with better hope of success.

·         “To wage by force or guile eternal Warr”

o   They may wage an everlasting war against God, using either open force or cunning deception.

·         “Irreconcileable, to our grand Foe,”

o   This war will admit no reconciliation with their great enemy—God.

·         “Who now triumphs, and in th’ excess of joy”

o   God now celebrates His victory with excessive joy.

·         “Sole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heav’n.”

o   Satan calls God’s undisputed rule over Heaven a tyranny, implying that God rules alone and oppressively.

·         “So spaketh’ Apostate Angel, though in pain,”

o   The narrator says this is what the “apostate angel”—Satan, who abandoned God—said, even while suffering.

·         “Vaunting aloud, but rackt with deep despair:”

o   Satan boasts loudly, but inwardly he is tormented by profound despair.

·         “And him thus answer’d soon his bold Compeer.”
Soon, his bold companion—Beelzebub—answers him.

 

Summary:Satan argues that because they are divine beings made of immortal "heavenly substance," they cannot truly be destroyed. He claims that this terrible defeat has actually given them invaluable experience, making them much wiser in strategic foresight. Bolstered by this, he resolves to wage an eternal, unforgiving war against God through either strength or trickery ("force or guile"). Satan looks up at Heaven bitterly, viewing God as a tyrant who is currently celebrating a joyful victory. The narrator breaks in to reveal that while Satan is boasting loudly, he is secretly tortured by deep despair and pain.

 

☞Beelzebub's reply and Satan's second speech (128-191)

Lines 128-135

Seraphim=an angel of the highest rank according to the Bible

bold compeer = brave equal companion

·         “O Prince, O Chief of many Throned Powers,”

o   Beelzebub addresses Satan with high honor, calling him the prince and leader of the many powerful angelic orders.

·         “That led th’ imbattelld Seraphim to Warr”

o   He praises Satan for leading the Seraphim—high-ranking angels—into battle in organized military formation.

·         “Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds”

o   Under Satan’s command, they performed terrifying and extraordinary acts of war.

·         “Fearless, endanger’d Heav’n’s perpetual King;”

o   Fearlessly, they threatened Heaven’s eternal King—God.

·         “And put to proof his high Supremacy,”

o   They tested whether God’s supreme authority was real.

·         “Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate,”

o   They wanted to discover whether God’s rule rested on genuine strength, mere chance, or Fate.

·         “Too well I see and rue the dire event,”

o   Beelzebub says he now sees—and deeply regrets—the terrible outcome of their rebellion.

·         “That with sad overthrow and foul defeat”

o   Their disastrous overthrow and shameful defeat have brought this result.

 

Beelzebub ("his bold Compeer") then replies, addressing Satan with deep respect as the leader who fearlessly led them to war and shook the authority of Heaven's King. However, unlike the stubbornly optimistic Satan, Beelzebub honestly admits that he deeply regrets and fears the absolute, devastating ruin of their defeat.

 

Lines 136-156

Invincible=too powerful to be defeated

thrall= slave

errands=a short journey

·         “Hath lost us Heav’n, and all this mighty Host”

o   Their defeat has cost them Heaven and has brought down their entire mighty army of angels.

·         “In horrible destruction laid thus low,”

o   They have been cast down in horrific destruction.

·         “As far as Gods and Heav’nly Essences”

o   This is as close to destruction as divine beings or heavenly essences can come.

·         “Can perish: for the mind and spirit remains”

o   They cannot fully die, because their minds and spirits continue to exist.

·         “Invincible, and vigour soon returns,”

o   Their inner life is unconquerable, and their strength will soon return.

·         “Though all our Glory extinct, and happy state”

o   Yet all their former glory has been extinguished, and their former happiness—

·         “Here swallow’d up in endless misery.”

o   —has been swallowed up by endless misery in Hell.

·         “But what if he our Conquerour, (whom I now”

o   Beelzebub then raises a troubling possibility: what if their conqueror—God—

·         “Of force believe Almighty, since no less”

o   —whom he is now compelled to believe is Almighty, because nothing less than omnipotence—

·         “Then such could hav’ o’repow’rd such force as ours)”

o   —could have overcome their immense power—

·         “Have left us this our spirit and strength intire”

o   —has intentionally left their spirit and strength intact?

·         “Strongly to suffer and support our pains,”

o   Perhaps they have been left strong enough only to endure their torments.

·         “That we may so suffice his vengeful ire,”

o   Their suffering may simply satisfy God’s vengeful anger.

·         “Or do him mightier service as his thralls”

o   Or they may be forced to serve Him as slaves.

·         “By right of Warr, what e’re his business be”

o   As prisoners taken by right of war, they may be made to do whatever work He assigns.

·         “Here in the heart of Hell to work in Fire,”

o   That work may be laboring amid fire in the center of Hell.

·         “Or do his Errands in the gloomy Deep;”

o   Or carrying out His commands in the dark depths of the underworld.

·         “What can it then avail though yet we feel”

o   Beelzebub asks: what good is it if they still feel—

·         “Strength undiminisht, or eternal being”

o   —undiminished strength or eternal existence—

·         “To undergo eternal punishment?”

o   —if they must suffer eternal punishment?

·         “Whereto with speedy words th’ Arch-fiend reply’d”

o   Satan, the “arch-fiend,” immediately replies to this despairing argument.

 

Beelzebub acknowledges the devastating truth: their rebellion has cost them Heaven and left their entire army completely ruined, damaged as much as immortal beings possibly can be. He agrees with Satan that their minds, spirits, and energy are indestructible and will soon return. However, he introduces a terrifying counter-argument: What if God let them keep their strength just so they could endure more torture?

Beelzebub admits he now believes God is truly Almighty, since no one less powerful could have beaten them. He worries that God left them alive either to act as an outlet for His endless vengeance, or to force them to serve as slaves (thralls) of war, working in Hell's fires or running errands in the dark abyss. If that is the case, Beelzebub asks, what good is having an indestructible spirit if it only exists to suffer eternal punishment? Hearing this threat to his army's morale, Satan ("th' Arch-fiend") quickly interrupts him.

 

 

Section-III

Lines 157-180

Satan= the Arch-Fiend

Beelzebub =Fall'n Cherub

Providence= divine care, guidance

precipice = very steep or vertical rock face or cliff

"Spent his shafts"=to run out of arrows/thunders or ammunition.

satiate Satisfy (a desire or an appetite) to the full.

·         “Fall’nCherube, to be weak is miserable”
Satan calls Beelzebub a “fallen cherub” and says that weakness is miserable.

·         “Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,”
Whether one is weak while doing or while suffering, weakness brings misery. But, he says, be certain of this:

·         “To do ought good never will be our task,”
Doing any good will never be their mission.

·         “But ever to do ill our sole delight,”
Instead, doing evil will be their only pleasure and purpose.

·         “As being the contrary to his high will”
They choose evil precisely because it opposes the high will of God.

·         “Whom we resist.”
God is the one whom they continue to resist.

·         “If then his Providence”
Satan then considers God’s providence—God’s ability to govern events and bring about His purposes.

·         “Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,”
If God tries to produce good out of their evil actions,

·         “Our labour must be to pervert that end,”
Their task must be to spoil or frustrate that good outcome.

·         “And out of good still to find means of evil;”
They must also find ways to turn good things into sources of evil.

·         “Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps”
Sometimes this plan may succeed, perhaps enough to—

·         “Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb”
—cause God grief, if Satan does not fail, and disturb—

·         “His inmost counsels from thir first-destin’d aim.”
—God’s deepest plans, diverting them from their intended purpose.

·         “But see the angry Victor hath recall’d”
Satan then notices that the angry victor—God—has recalled—

·         “His Ministers of vengeance(led by Michael and Gabriel) and pursuit”
—His agents of punishment and pursuit—

·         “Back to the Gates of Heav’n:”
—back to Heaven’s gates.

·         “The Sulphurous Hail”
The burning, sulphurous hail—

·         “Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid”
—fired after them in a storm, has now been blown over and has calmed—

·         “The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice”
—the fiery surge that came from Heaven’s cliff or edge—

·         “Of Heav’n receiv’d us falling, and the Thunder,”
—and received them as they fell, along with the thunder—

·         “Wing’d (=propelled) with red Lightning and impetuous (=quick) rage,”
—accompanied by red lightning and violent rage—

·         “Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now”
—may have used up its weapons and has now stopped—

·         “To bellow (=to roar) through the vast and boundless Deep.”
—roaring through the vast, limitless abyss.

·         “Let us not slip th’ occasion, whether scorn,”
Satan urges that they must not waste this opportunity, whether God has withdrawn out of contempt—

·         “Or satiatefury yield it from our Foe.”
—or because His fury has been satisfied.

·         “Seest thou yon dreary Plain, forlorn and wilde,”
He asks Beelzebub whether he sees that dreary, deserted, wild plain ahead.

 

Summary:Satan reprimands Beelzebub, declaring that being weak—whether actively fighting or passively suffering—is the worst kind of misery. He establishes their eternal mission: they will never do good; their only joy will be doing evil, purely to oppose God's will. If God's divine plan ("Providence") tries to turn their evil deeds into good outcomes, Satan vows that their continuous work will be to twist that good back into evil.

Satan then notices a physical change in Hell: God has recalled His pursuing angels, and the violent storm of sulfur, thunder, and red lightning that drove them out of Heaven has finally calmed down. Whether God stopped out of supreme contempt or because His anger is satisfied, Satan urges Beelzebub not to waste this opportunity. He points toward a dreary, wild plain in Hell and suggests they move there to regroup.

 

☞Satan's and Beelzebub's quitting the lake of fire (192-282)

Lines 181-195

"Livid" = from the Latin lividus, meaning a dark, bruised, purplish-blue color.

"Save" means "except."

thith·er= To or toward that place.

 

·         “The seat of desolation, voyd of light,”
Satan describes the distant shore as a place of utter desolation, without real light.

·         “Save what the glimmering of these livid flames”
The only illumination comes from the faint, sickly glow of the flames around them.

·         “Casts pale and dreadful?”
That glow makes the scene look pale and terrifying rather than comforting.

·         “Thither let us tend”
He proposes that they move toward that shore.

·         “From off the tossing of these fiery waves,”
They should escape the tossing, burning waves of the lake of fire.

·         “There rest, if any rest can harbour there,”
They may rest there—if rest is even possible in such a place.

·         “And reassembling our afflicted Powers,”
They should gather their suffering, defeated forces together.

·         “Consult how we may henceforth most offend”
Then they must plan how to offend—or harm—their enemy most effectively.

·         “Our Enemy, our own loss how repair,”
They must also consider how to recover from their own losses.

·         “How overcome this dire Calamity,”
They must decide how to overcome this terrible disaster.

·         “What reinforcement we may gain from Hope,”
They should ask what strength they can draw from hope.

·         “If not what resolution from despare.”
If hope is unavailable, they can at least find resolve in despair.

·         “Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate(=Beelzebub)”
The narrator explains that Satan is speaking these words to Beelzebub, his closest companion.

·         “With Head up-lift above the wave, and Eyes”
Satan keeps his head raised above the fiery waves.

·         “That sparkling blaz’d,”
His eyes blaze with a fierce, sparkling light.

·         “His other Parts besides”
The rest of his body—

·         “Prone on the Flood, extended long and large”
—lies face-down on the flood, stretched out enormously.

 

Summary:Satan points toward a desolate plain in Hell, which has no light except for the pale, terrifying glimmer cast by the surrounding flames. He urges Beelzebub to move away from the tossing, violent waves of fire to rest on this dry land—if any true rest is even possible in Hell. Once there, he plans to gather their defeated, traumatized army ("afflicted Powers") to strategize. They will consult on how to best attack and offend God ("Our Enemy"), how to repair their massive losses, and how to survive this catastrophe. He concludes by saying they will look for strength in hope, or if hope is gone, they will find fierce determination born out of pure despair. The narrator then describes Satan floating in the fiery flood, raising only his head and blazing eyes, while the rest of his massive, colossal body stretches out endlessly across the liquid fire.

 

Lines 196-210

·         “Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge”
Satan’s body floats across many “roods” (a rood is a large measure of length), and his size is enormous.

·         “As whom the Fables name of monstrous size,”
Milton compares him to the gigantic beings of ancient myths.

·         “Titanian, or Earth-born, that warr’d on Jove,”
These include the Titans or Earth-born giants who fought against Jove (Jupiter/Zeus), the king of the classical gods.

·         “Briareos or Typhon, whom the Den”
Satan is also likened to Briareos, a hundred-handed giant, and Typhon, a monstrous rebel against Zeus.

·         “By ancient Tarsus held,”
Typhon was said to be imprisoned beneath or near ancient Tarsus.

·         “or that Sea-beast”
Milton then offers another comparison: a huge sea creature.

·         “Leviathan, which God of all his works”
This is Leviathan, the biblical sea monster.

·         “Created hugest that swim th’ Ocean stream:”
Satan is as huge as the largest creature God made to swim in the ocean.

·         “Him haply slumbring on the Norway foam”
The simile imagines Leviathan sleeping near the Norwegian coast.

·         “The Pilot of some small night-founder’d Skiff,”
A sailor piloting a small boat lost in the night approaches it.

·         “Deeming some Island, oft, as Sea-men tell,”
The sailor mistakes the sleeping monster for an island, as sailors’ stories often say.

·         “With fixed Anchor in his skaly rind”
He anchors his boat into the creature’s scaly skin.

·         “Moors by his side under the Lee,”
The boat is secured beside Leviathan, in its sheltered, wind-protected side.

·         “while Night / Invests the Sea, and wished Morn delayes:”
Night covers the sea, and the sailor waits anxiously for morning, which seems slow to arrive.

·         “So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend lay”
In the same way, Satan—the arch-fiend—lies stretched out at enormous length.

·         “Chain’d on the burning Lake, nor ever thence”
He lies chained upon the lake of fire, and the sentence continues into the next lines.

 

Summary:Satan’s body stretches across the fiery lake, covering a massive distance ("many a rood"). The narrator compares his immense size to the ancient mythological Titans and giants who waged war against the Greek god Jove (Jupiter), specifically naming Briareos and the multi-headed monster Typhon.

The narrator then compares Satan to the Leviathan, the massive sea beast created by God. He shares a famous sailors' legend: a pilot of a tiny, night-stranded boat (skiff) mistakes the sleeping Leviathan for an island in the Norwegian sea. The sailor drops his anchor directly into the monster's scaly skin and parks his boat beside it, waiting through the dark night for morning to come. The passage concludes by reminding us that just like this colossal beast, the massive Arch-fiend lies stretched out and chained upon the burning lake of Hell.

 

Lines 211-220

• “Had ris’n or heav’d his head, but that the will”
  Satan would never have raised his head from the burning lake unless—
• “And high permission of all-ruling Heaven”
  —the will and supreme permission of God, who rules everything, allowed it.
• “Left him at large to his own dark designs,”
  God leaves Satan free to pursue his own wicked plans.
• “That with reiterated crimes he might”
  Through repeated acts of evil,
• “Heap on himself damnation, while he sought”
  Satan will increase his own damnation while trying—

Heap on himself: Satan thinks he is attacking God, but the narrator reveals that Satan is actually destroying himself. The more evil Satan commits, the worse his ultimate punishment and torment will be.

• “Evil to others, and enrag’d might see”
  —to harm others. In his rage, he will come to see—
• “How all his malice serv’d but to bring forth”
  —that all his hatred ultimately produces—
• “Infinite goodness, grace and mercy shewn”
  —God’s infinite goodness, grace, and mercy.
• “On Man by him seduc’t, but on himself”
  These blessings will be shown to humanity, whom Satan will seduce; but Satan himself will receive—
• “Treble confusion, wrath and vengeance pour’d.”
  —threefold confusion, divine anger, and vengeance.

Lines 221-225

Satan Rises from the Burning Lake

• “Forthwith upright he rears from off the Pool”
  At once, Satan rises upright from the fiery pool.
• “His mighty Stature; on each hand the flames”
  His huge body rises, and the flames on either side—
• “Drivn backward slope thir pointing spires, and rowld”
  —are pushed back, slanting like pointed spires and rolling—
• “In billows, leave i’th’ midst a horrid Vale.”
  —in waves, leaving a dreadful hollow space in the middle.
• “Then with expanded wings he stears his flight”
  Satan then spreads his wings and begins to fly.

Summary:The narrator explains that Satan would never have been able to rise or lift his head from the lake if the all-ruling will and permission of Heaven had not intentionally left him free to pursue his dark plans. God allows this so that Satan, by committing crime after crime, will pile even more damnation upon himself. While Satan thinks he is successfully spreading evil to others, he will be forced to watch in rage as his malice is twisted by God to bring about infinite goodness, grace, and mercy for mankind (whom Satan will eventually tempt). Meanwhile, Satan will only bring triple the amount of wrath, confusion, and vengeance upon his own head.

With this divine permission, Satan finally raises his massive body upright from the pool. As he stands, the flames on either side are driven backward, curling into waves and leaving a terrifying, open valley in the middle of the lake. He then spreads his enormous wings and flies upward.

 

Lines 226-240

Aloft= in the air,

Entrails= internal,

·         “Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air”
Satan rises into the dark air, pressing down upon it with his enormous weight.

·         “That felt unusual weight, till on dry Land”
The air seems to feel this unusual burden until Satan lands on dry land.

·         “He lights, if it were Land that ever burn’d”
He touches down—but Milton questions whether it can truly be called “land,” since it has burned.

·         “With solid, as the Lake with liquid fire;”
The land burns with solid fire, just as the lake burns with liquid fire.

·         “And such appear’d in hue, as when the force”
Its appearance resembles the aftermath of a volcanic explosion.

·         “Of subterranean wind transports a Hill”
When underground winds blast apart and move a hill—

·         “Torn from Pelorus, or the shatter’d side”
—such as land torn from Pelorus, a promontory in Sicily, or from the broken side—

·         “Of thundringÆtna,”
—of Mount Etna, the famous erupting volcano.

·         “whose combustible / And fewel’dentrals thence conceiving Fire,”
Etna’s flammable, fuel-filled interior catches fire.

·         “Sublim’d with Mineral fury, aid the Winds,”
Its mineral fury intensifies the eruption and helps drive the winds.

·         “And leave a singed bottom all involv’d”
The eruption leaves scorched ground—

·         “With stench and smoak:”
—covered in foul stench and smoke.

·         “Such resting found the sole / Of unblest feet.”
Satan’s cursed feet find a resting place just like that scorched volcanic ground.

·         “Him followed his next Mate,”
Beelzebub, Satan’s closest companion, follows him.

·         “Both glorying to have scap’t the Stygian flood”
Both rejoice that they have escaped the Stygian flood—the lake of fire in Hell.(of River Styx)

·         “As Gods, and by thir own recover’d strength,”
They boast as if they were gods, believing they escaped by their own recovered strength.

 

Summary:Satan flies through the heavy, dark air of Hell, his massive size weighing it down, until he finally lands on dry land. However, this land offers no relief—it burns with solid fire just as terribly as the lake burned with liquid fire. The narrator describes the landscape by comparing it to the aftermath of a massive volcanic eruption, like Mount Etna or Cape Pelorus being torn apart by earthquakes and underground winds, leaving behind a scorched, smoking basin filled with sulfurous stench. This ruined ground is where Satan ("unblest feet") finally steps. Beelzebub follows right behind him. Both of them arrogantly celebrate their escape from the fiery lake ("the Stygian flood"), pridefully believing they freed themselves like independent gods using their own recovered strength, completely blind to the fact that God allowed it.

 

Lines 241-255

·         “Not by the sufferance of supernal Power.”
Satan corrects Beelzebub: they did not escape because Heaven merely permitted or tolerated it.

·         “Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime,”
He asks bitterly: Is this the region, ground, and climate—

·         “Said then the lost Arch-Angel, this the seat”
—the place, says the fallen archangel—

·         “That we must change for Heav’n, this mournful gloom”
—that they must now accept instead of Heaven? Is this mournful darkness—

·         “For that celestial light?”
—their replacement for Heaven’s celestial light?

·         “Be it so, since he / Who now is Sovran can dispose and bid / What shall be right:”
He accepts it, because the present ruler—God—has the power to decide what counts as right.

·         “Fardest from him is best”
Satan says it is best to remain as far from God as possible.

·         “Whom reason hath equald, force hath made supream / Above his equals.”
In Satan’s view, God is only equal to other beings by reason, but has become supreme through force over his equals.

o   He argues that the only reason God rules supreme over them is not because God is inherently better or more righteous, but simply because God possesses superior physical power and thunderbolts.

·         “Farewel happy Fields / Where Joy for ever dwells:”
He bids farewell to Heaven’s happy fields, where eternal joy lives.

·         “Hail horrours, hail / Infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell”
He greets horrors, the infernal world, and the deepest Hell.

·         “Receive thy new Possessor:”
He tells Hell to receive him as its new master.

·         “One who brings / A mind not to be chang’d by Place or Time.”
He claims to bring a mind that no place or time can change.

·         “The mind is its own place, and in it self

·         Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.
His famous declaration: the mind creates its own inner world; it can make Hell feel like Heaven, or Heaven feel like Hell.

 

Summary:The narrator notes that Satan and Beelzebub still falsely believe they escaped the lake through their own strength, not because God ("supernal Power") permitted it. Satan then looks around at his bleak surroundings, asking bitterly if this mournful gloom is the region they must accept in exchange for Heaven’s celestial light. He accepts it ("Be it so"), reasoning that God is now the sovereign ruler who dictates what is "right" simply because He has the power to do so. Satan declares that being as far away from God as possible is best. He insults God, claiming they are equals in intellect and reason, and that God only sits on the throne because of superior physical force.

Satan then bids farewell to the happy fields of Heaven and boldly welcomes his new home: "Hail horrours, hail / Infernal world." He proclaims himself Hell's new master, a being who brings a mind that cannot be altered by time or location. He delivers the legendary philosophy: the mind is its own place, and it can create a mental Heaven out of Hell, or a Hell out of Heaven.

 

Lines 256-270

·         “What matter where, if I be still the same,”

o   Satan says it does not matter where he is, as long as he remains inwardly the same.

o   It doesn't matter where I am physically (Heaven or Hell), as long as my mind, identity, and inner strength remain unchanged."

·         “And what I should be, all but less then he”

o   He claims he is still what he ought to be—second only to God.

·         “Whom Thunder hath made greater?”

o   God is greater only, in Satan’s view, because His thunder and force have made Him so.

·         “Here at least / We shall be free;”

o   In Hell, Satan claims, they will at least be free.

·         “Th’ Almighty hath not built / Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:”

o   God did not create Hell out of envy and will not drive them out of it.

Hell is a place of punishment, meaning God has no interest in occupying or reclaiming it.Because God does not envy or want this space, Satan realizes the fallen angels are finally safe from being expelled or displaced.

 

·         “Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce”

o   Therefore, they can rule securely in Hell; Satan says that, by his own choice—

·         “To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:”

o   —ruling is a worthy ambition, even in Hell.

·         “Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n.”

o   He would rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.

·         “But wherefore let we then our faithful friends,”

o   He then asks why they should leave their loyal followers—

·         “Th’ associates and copartners of our loss”

o   —the companions who shared their defeat—

·         “Lye thus astonisht on th’ oblivious Pool,”

o   —lying stunned in the lake of forgetfulness and fire.

·         “And call them not to share with us their part”

o   Why not call them to share their portion—

·         “In this unhappy Mansion (=hell), or once more”

o   —in this miserable dwelling place, or once more—

·         “With rallied Arms to try what may be yet / Regaind in Heav’n, or what more lost in Hell?”

o   —gather their weapons and try either to regain something in Heaven or discover what further losses Hell may bring.

To see what we might still win back in Heaven, or—if we fail—what further risks and losses we might face in Hell.

 

Summary:Satan declares that it does not matter where he physically is, so long as his mind remains completely unchanged, maintaining that he is only slightly less powerful than the God who defeated him purely through superior power ("Thunder"). He finds comfort in Hell for one specific reason: absolute freedom. He notes that God did not build this dark realm to be an object of envy and will never bother to drive them out of it.

Satan proudly proclaims that they can rule securely here, declaring that ruling is a goal worthy of ambition, even if that rule is over Hell itself. After delivering his ultimate manifesto, he shifts back to business, asking Beelzebub why they are leaving their faithful allies and fellow losers lying paralyzed and stunned on the forgetful lake of fire. He urges that they must call their army to join them on dry land, either to launch another desperate attack to regain Heaven or to see what else they might lose in Hell.

 

Lines 271-283

Beelzebub addresses Satan again

·         “So Satan spake, and him Beelzebub / Thus answer’d.”

o   After Satan finishes speaking, Beelzebub replies.

·         “Leader of those Armies bright,”

o   He addresses Satan as leader of the once-radiant angelic armies.

·         “Which but th’ Omnipotent none could have foyl’d,”

o   He says only the Omnipotent—God—could have defeated them.

·         “If once they hear that voyce, thir liveliest pledge”

o   If the fallen angels hear Satan’s voice, it will be their strongest source of hope.

·         “Of hope in fears and dangers, heard so oft”

o   They have often heard it in times of fear and danger.

·         “In worst extreams, and on the perilous edge / Of battel when itrag’d,”

o   His voice encouraged them in the worst crises and at the most dangerous moments of battle.

·         “In all assaults / Thir surest signal,”

o   In every attack, his voice was their most reliable signal.

·         “they will soon resume / New courage and revive,”

o   Hearing him, they will quickly regain courage and revive.

·         “though now they lye / Groveling and prostrate on yon Lake of Fire,”

o   Even though they now lie flattened and helpless on the lake of fire.

·         “As we erewhile, astounded and amaz’d,”

o   They are in the same stunned, shocked condition that Satan and Beelzebub were in earlier.

·         “No wonder, fall’n such a pernicious highth.”

o   Beelzebub says it is no wonder they are dazed, since they have fallen from such a disastrously high place.

 

Summary:Beelzebub addresses Satan with immense respect, calling him the leader of the brilliant armies that no one except the Almighty could have ever defeated. He assures Satan that if the fallen angels hear his voice—which has always been their ultimate source of hope during terrifying battles—they will instantly regain their courage and come back to life. Beelzebub notes that it is completely understandable that the army is currently lying flat and paralyzed on the lake of fire, considering the catastrophic, destructive height from which they were just thrown out of Heaven.

 

SECTION-IV

Satan rallying his Devils (Line 283-633)

• "He scarce had ceas't when the superiour Fiend"
• Satan (the "superior Fiend") had finished speaking his defiant speech to Beelzebub
• "Was moving toward the shoar; his ponderous shield"
• When he began walking toward the shore of the burning lake, carrying his heavy, massive shield.
• "Ethereal temper, massy, large and round,"
• The shield was forged of heavenly metal ("ethereal temper"), weighty, enormous, and perfectly circular.
• Ethereal= extremely delicate, light, or seeming not of this world
• "Behind him cast; the broad circumference"
• He slung it across his back, and its massive, wide perimeter
• "Hung on his shoulders like the Moon (shield =Moon), whose Orb(=globe)"
• Hung over his shoulders looking just like the glowing, round circle of the full Moon.
• "Through Optic Glass the Tuscan Artist views"
• It mimics the Moon that the Italian astronomer Galileo (the "Tuscan Artist") looks at through his telescope ("optic glass")-Tuscany in central Italy
• "At Ev'ning from the top of Fesole,"(Fiesole is a town inFlorence)
• In the evening from the high hills of Fiesole
• "Or in Valdarno, to descry (=trying to spot) new Lands,"
• Or from the Arno Valley, trying to spot undiscovered lands,
• Valdarno= scenic valley of the Arno River in Tuscany, Italy
• "Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe=(moon)."
• And map out the rivers or mountain ranges on the cratered, imperfect surface of the Moon.
• "His Spear, to equal which the tallest Pine"(spear=pine tree)
• He carried a spear so colossally large that by comparison, the tallest pine tree
• "Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the Mast"
• Chopped down on the mountains of Norway to serve as the main mast
• Hewn= cut with a large sharp tool
• "Of some great Ammiral, were but a wand,"
• For a massive flagship naval vessel ("Ammiral"), would look like nothing more than a tiny twig or walking stick.
• "He walkt with to support uneasie steps"
• He leaned on this spear to brace himself and stabilize his painful, difficult steps
• "Over the burning Marle, not like those steps"
• As he trudged across the red-hot, glowing soil ("marle") of Hell—a brutal contrast to how he used to walk
• Marle (or Marl): An old-fashioned or geological term for asoil consisting of clay
• "On Heavens Azure, and the torrid Clime"
• Upon the beautiful blue pavements of Heaven. Meanwhile, the scorching, oppressive atmosphere
• "Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with Fire;"
• Battered him mercilessly from all sides, under a sky that formed a literal roof of trapped fire.
• Smote=To hit something
• "Nathless he so endur'd, till on the Beach"
• Nevertheless ("Nathless"), he pushed through the agony until he reached the edge
• "Of that inflamed Sea, he stood and call'd"
• Of that blazing lake of fire, where he stopped and shouted out to
• "His Legions, Angel Forms, who lay intrans't"
• His massive army of fallen angels, who were still lying paralyzed and stunned
• "Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strow the Brooks"(Fallen Angels=autumn leaves)
• Covering the fiery water as thickly as fallen autumn leaves blanket the streams
• "In Vallombrosa, where th' Etrurian shades"(Shades=tree shade/dark ghosts)
• In the famous, shady woods of Vallombrosa, Italy,
• "In Vallombrosa"= A real place in Tuscany, Italy. literally translates to "Shady Valley", visited by Milton in 1638.
• "Etrurian" refers to Etruria, the ancient classical name for the Tuscany region.
• "High overarch'timbowr; or scatterd sedge" (=scattered seaweed)
• Where the tall forest canopy forms a dark, vaulted ceiling; or like tangled, floating seaweed ("sedge")
• Imbower (also spelled embower) is an archaic poetic verb meaning to enclose
• "Afloat, when with fierce Winds Orion arm'd"
• Tossed on the waves when the stormy constellation Orion rises up with fierce winds.
• They are no longer the vibrant "Flower of Heaven"—they are now just debris cluttering the floor of Hell

In classical mythology, Orion is a giant hunter who was placed in the stars as a constellation(typically in late autumn and winter),  was famous among ancient sailors for bringing violent storms, heavy rain, and fierce winds.

 

·         "Hath vext the Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew"

o    Orion's storms which violently agitate the coast of the Red Sea, the very waters that famously crashed down and destroyed

·         "Busiris and his Memphian Chivalry,"

o    Pharaoh (whom Milton calls "Busiris") and his elite Egyptian elite horsemen and chariot drivers ("Memphian Chivalry"),Pharaoh's army drowning in the Red Sea,When the Egyptian Pharaoh and his charioteers chasing the fleeing Israelites. event traditionally associated with the biblical Exodus.

·         "While with perfidious hatred they pursu'd"

o    While they were relentlessly pursuing, with treacherous and oath-breaking hatred,

·         "The Sojourners of Goshen, who beheld"

o    The Hebrew people (the Israelites who had been living in the land of Goshen in Egyption region), who stood safely on the opposite shore and watched

·         "From the safe shore thir floating Carkases"

o    The dead, bloated bodies of the Egyptian soldiers bobbing on the water,

·         "And broken Chariot Wheels, so thick bestrown"

o    Along with the shattered wheels of their war chariots, scattered densely across the sea.

·         "Abject and lost lay these, covering the Flood,"

o    Just like those drowned Egyptians, the fallen angels lay utterly defeated, ruined, and scattered all over the surface of the fiery lake,

·         "Under amazement of thir hideous change."

o    Paralysed with utter shock and horror at the terrifying transformation from glorious angels to ruined demons.

·         "He call'd so loud, that all the hollow Deep"

o    Satan bellowed out so incredibly loudly that the entire cavernous, empty expanse

·         "Of Hell resounded. Princes, Potentates,"

o    Of Hell echoed with his voice. He shouted: "Princes! Rulers!

·         "Warriers, the Flowr of Heav'n, once yours, now lost,"

o    Warriors! You who were once the very best and brightest of Heaven—a home that is now lost to you!

·         "If such astonishment as this can sieze"

o    Is it even possible that a paralyzing shock like this can conquer

·         "Eternal spirits; or have ye chos'n this place"

o    Immortal, divine beings? Or have you intentionally chosen this horrific place

·         "After the toyl of Battel to repose"

o    To lie down and rest after the exhausting hard work of our war?

·         "Your wearied vertue, for the ease you find"

o    Are you relaxing your tired courage and strength because of the wonderful 'comfort' you find here on this lake of fire?"

·         "To slumber here, as in the Vales of Heav'n?"

o    "Did you come here to sleep, as if you were relaxing in the peaceful valleys of Heaven?"

·         "Or in this abject posture have ye sworn"

o    "Or have you decided, while lying here in this humiliated, defeated position, to swear an oath"(abject=without hope)

·         "To adore the Conquerour? who now beholds"

o    "To worship God, our Conqueror? Who right now is looking down from above and watching"(behold=to see)

·         "Cherube and Seraph rowling in the Flood"

o    "His highest ranks of angels—Cherubim and Seraphim—tossing and turning helplessly in this lake of fire,"

·         "With scatter'd Arms and Ensigns (=military banners), till anon"

o    "God's fast-chasing angels looking out from the gates of Heaven notice"

·         "His swift pursuers from Heav'n Gates discern"

o    "God's fast-chasing angels looking out from the gates of Heaven notice"

·         "Th' advantage, and descending tread us down"

o    "Our vulnerable position, fly down, and tread us into the ground"

·         "Thus drooping, or with linked Thunderbolts"

o    "While we are lying here so weak and helpless; or, they will use chained lightning bolts to"

·         "Transfix us to the bottom of this Gulfe."

o    "Pin us down permanently to the absolute bottom of this fiery abyss."

·         "Awake, arise, or be for everfall'n."

o    "Wake up, stand up and fight, or accept being completely defeated and doomed forever!"

·         "They heard, and were abasht, and up they sprung"

o    The fallen angels heard Satan's stinging words, felt deeply ashamed ("abasht") of their vulnerability, and instantly leaped upward

·         "Upon the wing, as when men wont (=want)to watch"

o    Into the air on their wings—behaving just like soldiers who are supposed to be standing guard on night watch duty,

·         "On duty, sleeping found by whom they dread (=fear),"

o    But are caught fast asleep by the commanding officer whom they fear most,

·         "Rouse and bestir (=to become active) themselves ere (=earlier) well awake."

o    And violently startle themselves awake, scrambling frantically to get to their feet before they are even fully conscious.

·         "Nor did they not perceave the evil plight"

o    It was not that they failed to realize the terrible, agonizing situation [Milton uses a double negative here to mean they fully realized the horrific state]

·         "In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel;"

o    They were in, nor were they numb to the searing, agonizing pain of the fire;

·         "Yet to thirGenerals Voyce they soon obeyd"

o    Nevertheless, they immediately obeyed the commanding voice of their general (Satan),

·         "Innumerable. As when the potent Rod"

o    Rising up in numbers too vast to count. They were just like the time when the powerful staff

·         "Of Amrams Son in Egyptsevill day"

o    Of Moses (referred to biblically as the "Son of Amram") during the plagues of ancient Egypt,

·         "Wav'd round the Coast, up call'd a pitchy cloud"

o    Was waved over the land, summoning a massive, pitch-black ("pitchy") cloud

·         "Of Locusts, warping on the Eastern Wind,"

o    Of locusts swarming and flying heavily on the blowing East Wind,

·         "That ore the Realm of impious Pharaoh hung"

o    Which hovered threateningly over the kingdom of the wicked ("impious") Pharaoh

·         "Like Night, and darken'd all the Land of Nile:"

o    Like total nighttime, completely blocking out the sun across the entire Nile valley:

·         "So numberless were those bad Angels seen"

o    In that exact same, terrifyingly infinite quantity, the wicked angels were seen

·         "Hovering on wing under the Cope of Hell"

o    Flying and hovering under the massive, vaulted ceiling ("cope") of Hell.

The Simile: Milton writes that just as Moses waved his powerful ("potent") staff ("rod") to summon a massive,dark cloud of locusts that blocked out the sun over Pharaoh’s realm, the numberless bad angels rose up on their wings, hovering over the fires of Hell, completely filling the view.

·         "'Twixt upper, nether, and surrounding Fires;"

o    They flew trapped between the fires above them, the fires below them ("nether"), and the fires surrounding them on every side;

·         "Till, as a signal giv'n, th' uplifted Spear"

o    Until, acting as a command, the raised spear

·         "Of thir great Sultan waving to direct"

o    Of their absolute ruler (Satan, called a "Sultan" here) waved through the air to guide

·         "Thir course, in even ballance down they light"

o    Their flight path, causing them to glide downward in a steady, controlled balance and land

·         "On the firm brimstone, and fill all the Plain;"

o    Onto the solid sulfur ("brimstone") ground, completely blanketing the vast desert floor;

·         "A multitude, like which the populous North"

o    An army so massive that even the heavily populated regions of Northern Europe

·         "Pour'd never from her frozen loyns, to pass"

o    Never generated ("poured from her frozen loins") such numbers when they crossed

o    "loins" as a poetic and biblical term for the human reproductive organs.

·         "Rhene or the Danaw, when her barbarous Sons"

o    The Rhine ("Rhene") or the Danube ("Danaw") rivers, when those invading barbarian tribes. (vast populations moving acrossRhine and Danube rivers).

·         "Came like a Deluge on the South, and spread"

o    Flooded down like a destructive tidal wave ("deluge") over Southern Europe, destroying everything and scattering

·         "Beneath Gibralter to the Lybian sands."

o    From south of the Straits of Gibraltar (Spain) all the way across to the deserts of North Africa ("Libya").

·         "Forthwith from every Squadron and each Band"

o    Immediately, from every military division and distinct troop,

·         "The Heads and Leaders thither hast where stood"

o    The chiefs and commanders hurried over to the exact spot where

·         "Thirgreat Commander; Godlike shapes and forms"

o    Their top general (Satan) was standing—displaying magnificent, godlike bodies and statures

·         "Excelling human, Princely Dignities,"

o    That far surpassed human limitations, looking like royal royalty,

·         "And Powers that earst in Heaven sat on Thrones;"

o    And mighty rulers who formerly ("earst") sat on glorious thrones in Heaven.

 

·         "Though of thir Names in heav'nly Records now"

o    Even though there is absolutely no mention of their original names in the archives of Heaven now,

·         "Be no memorial blotted out and ras'd"

o    Because every single trace and memory of them was completely erased and wiped clean ("ras'd")

·         "By thir Rebellion, from the Books of Life."

o    From the celestial "Books of Life" as a direct punishment for their treasonous revolt.

o    Books of life = a heavenly ledger or record book kept by God

·         "Nor had they yet among the Sons of Eve"

o    Furthermore, they had not yet interacted with human beings (the "Sons of Eve")

·         "Got them new Names, till wandring ore the Earth,"

o    Or acquired the new names they would later hold, until they began roaming all across the Earth—

·         "Through Gods high sufferance for the tryal of man,"

o    Which was allowed only because of God's supreme permission ("sufferance") to test human free will,(Satan and the fallen angels are allowed to roam and tempt humanity.)

·         "By falsities and lyes the greatest part"

o    And using deception, illusions, and outright lies, the vast majority

·         "Of Mankind they corrupted to forsake"

o    Of the human race was successfully tricked by them into abandoning

·         "God thir Creator, and th' invisible"

o    God, their true Creator, and discarding the unseen,

·         "Glory of him that made them, to transform"

o    Magnificent spirit of the One who built them, choosing instead to foolishly change

·         "Oft to the Image of a Brute, adorn'd"

o    Their worship toward the physical likeness of common animals and beasts ("a brute"), which were decorated

·         "With gay Religions full of Pomp and Gold,"

o    With flashy, superficial religious rituals ("gay") packed with theatrical arrogance, wealth, and gold,Instead of worshipping the true God, humans turned to false, glittering religions.Underneath this gold and pomp

·         "And Devils to adore for Deities:"

o    Bowing down to worship literal demons as if they were holy gods.

·         "Then were they known to men by various Names,"

o    It was only after this corruption took root that humans began identifying these demons by different titles,

·         "And various Idols through the Heathen World."

o    Constructing different physical statues to worship them throughout the ancient, non-Christian ("Heathen") world.("heathen" =label non-believers)

·         "Say, Muse, thir Names then known, who first, who last,"

o    Tell me, divine Muse, what names they eventually became known by—who was the very first to step forward, and who was the last,

·         "Rous'd from the slumber, on that fiery Couch,"

o    As they woke up from their paralyzed state on that burning bed ("couch") of fire,

·         "At thirgreat Emperors(=Satan’s) call, as next in worth"

o    Responding to the command of their great Emperor (Satan), and ranked in order of their power and status ("worth")

·         "Came singly where he stood on the bare strand,"

o    Walked up one by one to the exact spot where Satan stood on the barren shoreline,

·         "While the promiscuous croud stood yet aloof?"

o    While the disorganized, ordinary mass of common soldiers ("promiscuous crowd") still stood further back at a distance?

·         "The chief were those who from the Pit of Hell"

o    The most prominent leaders were the ones who, escaping from the abyss of Hell,

·         "Roaming to seek thir prey on earth, durst fix"

o    Roamed across the Earth hunting for human souls, and later had the sheer audacity ("durst") to build

·         "Thir Seats long after next the Seat of God,"

o    Their own temples and thrones right next to the temple and throne of the true God,

·         "Thir Altars by his Altar, Gods ador'd"

o    Setting up their pagan altars right beside His holy altar, getting themselves worshipped as gods

·         "Among the Nations round, and durst abide"

o    By all the surrounding kingdoms, and even dared to stand their ground and live right next to

·         "Jehovahthundring out of Sion, thron'd"

o    The Lord (Jehovah), who sends down thunder from Mount Zion and sits enthroned

·         "Between the Cherubim; yea, often plac'd"

o    Between the golden statues of the Cherubim; yes, these demons frequently went so far as to place

·         "Within his Sanctuary it itself thir Shrines,"

o    Their own unholy shrines directly inside God's most sacred temple sanctuary itself—

·         "Abominations; and with cursed things"

o    Bringing absolute desecrations ("abominations") and forbidden, unclean items inside,

·         "His holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan'd,"

o    Contaminating God's sacred rituals and holy religious festivals,

·         "And with thir darkness durst affront his light."

o    And brazenly using their spiritual darkness to insult, mock, and confront His divine light.

·         The main leaders of Satan's army were the ones who would later leave Hell to roam the Earth, hunting for human souls like prey. In the future, they would have the ultimate nerve ("durst fix") to set up their own worship spaces and statues right next to the true God's temple.

·         They became the false gods worshipped by the nations surrounding Israel. They even dared to stand ground against Jehovah (God), who rules from Mount Zion between the golden statues of the Cherubim. In fact, these demons frequently managed to get their own horrific idols ("abominations") placed directly inside God's sacred temple. By doing this, they ruined holy ceremonies, corrupted religious festivals, and aggressively forced their spiritual darkness to insult and challenge God’s divine light.

 

Moloch:

·         First Moloch, horrid King besmear'd with blood

o    First comes Moloch, a terrifying king covered in blood

·         Of human sacrifice, and parents tears,

o    from killing humans as offerings, which makes their parents weep.

·         Though for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels (=a small hand drum) loud

o    Even though the loud noise of drums and tambourines

·         Thirchildrens cries unheard, that past through fire

o    drowned out the screams of children who were burned alive

·         To his grim Idol. Him the Ammonite

o    in front of his cruel statue. The Ammonite people

·         Worshipt in Rabba and her watry Plain,

o    worshipped him in their capital city, Rabba, and its wet plains,

·         In Argob and in Basan, to the stream

o    as well as in the regions of Argob and Bashan, all the way to the river

·         Of utmost Arnon. Nor content with such

o    of far-off Arnon. But Moloch was not satisfied with just

·         Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart

o    living so boldly close to God’s land. He tricked the very wise heart

·         Of Solomon he led by fraud to build

o    of King Solomon into building

·         His Temple right against the Temple of God

o    an idol temple directly facing the true Temple of God

·         On that opprobrious Hill, and made his Grove

o    on a shameful hill. He also turned his sacred ritual trees into

o    (Opprobrious = expressing severe criticism, blame)

·         The pleasant Vally of Hinnom, Tophet thence

o    the once-beautiful Valley of Hinnom, which was later called Tophet

o    Valley of Hinnom= a lush valley just south of Jerusalem; Greek and Latin translation of "Valley of Hinnom" became Gehenna.

·         And black Gehenna call'd, the Type of Hell.

o    and dark Gehenna, serving as an earthly symbol of Hell itself.

 

Chemos

·         Next Chemos, th' obscene dread of Moabs Sons,

o    Next in the procession of fallen angels is Chemos, the repulsive and terrifying god worshipped by the Moabites.

·         From Aroar to Nebo, and the wild

o    His worship extended from the city of Aroer to Mount Nebo, and across the wilderness...

·         Of Southmost Abarim; in Hesebon

o    ...of the southernmost Abarim mountain range, as well as in the cities of Heshbon...

·         And Horonaim, Seons Realm, beyond)

o     ...and Horonaim, which were part of the kingdom once ruled by the Amorite king Sihon, stretching past...

·         The flowry Dale of Sibma clad with Vines,

o     ...the fertile, flower-filled valley of Sibmah, which was famous for its abundant grapevines...

·         And Eleale to th' Asphaltick Pool.

o     ...all the way to the town of Elealeh (in Jordan) and down to the Dead Sea (referred to here as the Asphaltick Pool, as natural bitumen (asphalt) frequently floats to its surface).

·         Peor his other Name, when he entic'd

o    Chemos was also known by his other name, Baal-Peor, which he used when he tempted...

·         Israel in Sittim on thir march from Nile

o     ...the Israelites while they were camped at Shittim during their exodus journey out of Egypt...

·         To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe.

o    While camped at Shittim, the Israelite men were enticed by Moabite and Midianite women to worship Chemos/Baal-Peor through fertility rituals and sacred prostitution ("wanton rites"). This angered God, resulting in a devastating plague that killed 24,000 Israelites ("cost them woe").

·         Yet thence his lustful Orgies he enlarg'd

o     Later on, he expanded the reach of his depraved rituals and worship even further...

·         Even to that Hill of scandal, by the Grove

o     ...right up onto the Hill of scandal (=Mount of Olives/ Mount of Corruption)(because shrines to idols were built there, In east of Jerusalem), right next to the sacred grove...

·         Of Moloch homicide, lust hard by hate;

o    Chemos's (=god of lust) altar was built right next to the sacred grove of next door to hate,Moloch(=god of murder)., the Ammonite god notorious for child sacrifice ("homicide")....

·         Till good Josiah drove them thence to Hell.

o     These idols remained there for generations until the righteous King Josiah(of Israel) destroyed the shrines and banished the demons back to Hell.

·         With these came they, who from the bordring flood

o    Along with these specific demons came a massive crowd of other fallen spirits, whose worship stretched from the flowing border...

·         Of old Euphrates to the Brook that parts

o     ...of the ancient Euphrates River (located in modern-day Iraq) all the way down to the small river (the Brook of Egypt- historical seasonal river Wadi el-Arish) that divides...

·         Egypt from Syrian ground, had general Names

o    ...the land of Egypt from the region of Syria, and who were known collectively by broader, general titles (like Baal and Ashtaroth).

Baalim

·         "Of Baalim and Ashtaroth, those male / These Feminine":

o    Baalim is the plural form of Baal (male gods/lords), and Ashtaroth is the plural form of Astarte (female fertility goddesses).

·         "For Spirits when they please / Can either Sex assume, or both":

o    Angels and demons do not have fixed biological sexes. They can manifest as male, female, or an androgynous combination of both depending on their goals.

·         "So soft / And uncompounded is thir Essence pure":

o    Their spiritual substance is simple, unified, and pure energy. It is not made of complex, heavy elements.

·         "Not ti'd or manacl'd with joynt or limb / Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones, / Like cumbrous flesh":

o    Unlike humans, who are locked into clumsy, heavy ("cumbrous") bodies held together by fragile bones and joints, spirits are entirely free.

·         "Dilated or condens't, bright or obscure":

o    They can expand to giant sizes (dilated) or shrink down (condens't). They can glow with celestial light (bright) or hide in darkness (obscure).

·         "Can execute thiraerie purposes / And works of love or enmity fulfill":

o    This fluid nature allows them to carry out their supernatural plans, whether they are acts of spiritual love or malicious hatred (enmity).

·         "For those the Race of Israel oft forsook / Thir living strength":

o    "Thir living strength" refers to God. Because these demons could change shapes and appeal to different human desires, the Israelites repeatedly abandoned God to worship them.

·         "And unfrequented left / His righteous Altar, bowing lowly down / To bestial Gods":

o    The temples of God were left empty (unfrequented) while the people bowed to idols shaped like animals or false deities. (bestial gods = animalistic deities)

·         "For which thir heads as low / Bow'd down in Battel, sunk before the Spear / Of despicable foes":

o    Milton uses poetic irony here. Because the Israelites bowed down spiritually to false gods, God punished them by making them bow down physically in defeat on the battlefield, crushed by neighbouring enemy nations they despised.

Astoreth

·         "With these in troop / Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians call'd"

• Marching along with the other fallen angels (demons) came Astoreth (the singular form of Ashtaroth), a powerful pagan goddess. Milton notes that the Phoenicians knew her by this name.(Phoenicians = ancient Semitic-speaking Canaanite civilization)

·         "Astarte, Queen of Heav'n, with crescent Horns;"

• She was also called Astarte, revered by her followers as the "Queen of Heaven." She is described as having "crescent horns," which visually link her to the crescent moon, symbolizing her association with fertility, the night, and the moon goddess.

·         "To whose bright Image nightly by the Moon[440 ]"

• Under the light of the moon each night, her followers gathered around her radiant idols and statues.

·         "Sidonian Virgins paid thir Vows and Songs,"

• Young, unmarried women from Sidon (a major Phoenician city) offered rituals, made sacred promises, and sang devotional hymns to her.

·         "In Sion also not unsung, where stood"

• Her praises were also sung in Sion (Zion/Jerusalem), meaning her worship dangerously corrupted God's chosen people, the Israelites.

·         "Her Temple on th' offensive Mountain, built"

• A temple was constructed for her on the Mount of Olives, which Milton calls the "offensive mountain" (or the Mount of Corruption) because it was defiled by pagan worship directly outside Jerusalem.

·         "By that uxorious King, whose heart though large,"

• This temple was built by King Solomon (had 700 wives and 300 concubines), who is described as "uxorious" (meaning excessively fond of, submissive to, or doting on his wives). Milton notes that Solomon possessed a "large" (wise and expansive) heart, making his downfall even more tragic.

·         "Beguil'd by fair Idolatresses, fell[445 ]"

• Deceived and led astray by his many foreign, pagan wives (the "fair idolatresses" who worshiped false gods), Solomon succumbed to their influence.

·         "To Idols foul."

• He ultimately fell from God's grace by turning away from the true God to worship repulsive, pagan idols.To please his wives, Solomon committed idolatry by building temples to pagan gods like Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molech, turning away from the God of Israel.

 

Thammuz

·         "Thammuz came next behind,"

• Following directly after Astoreth in the procession of fallen angels came Thammuz (the Syrian/Babylonian god of agriculture and fertility, later associated with the Greek Adonis).

·         "Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur'd"

• According to mythology, Thammuz was slain by a wild boar (=male pig) every year in the Lebanon mountains. The story of this yearly death enticed his followers.

·         "The Syrian Damsels to lament his fate"

• Young Syrian women gathered annually to weep for him, mourning his death as part of a seasonal ritual to ensure the return of spring.(Damsels =a young, unmarried woman)

·         "In amorous dittyes all a Summers day,"

• They spent entire summer days singing highly emotional, passionate, and romantic love songs dedicated to the dying god.[amorous (relating to love or romance) with ditties (short, simple songs).]

·         "While smooth Adonis from his native Rock"

• Meanwhile, the Adonis River (named after the god), flowing calmly from its source in the Lebanese mountains, underwent a dramatic physical change.

·         "Ran purple to the Sea, suppos'd with blood"

• The Adonis river water turned a deep reddish-purple as it flowed into the Mediterranean Sea, which onlookers believed was tinged with the actual blood of the freshly wounded Thammuz. (Note: This was actually a natural phenomenon caused by red iron-rich soil washing into the river during seasonal rains).

·         "Of Thammuz yearly wounded: the Love-tale"

• This recurring display and the romantic tragedy surrounding it created a powerful, seductive narrative.

·         "Infected Sions daughters with like heat,"

• This foreign pagan ritual corrupted ("infected") the women of Jerusalem ("Sion's daughters"), filling them with the same forbidden, passionate religious fervor.("like heat"= with same passion)

·         "Whose wanton passions in the sacred Porch"

• They brought these lustful, pagan mourning rituals directly into the porch of God’s holy temple in Jerusalem.

·         "Ezekiel saw, when by the Vision led"

• The biblical prophet Ezekiel witnessed this defilement firsthand when God gave him a divine vision of the corruption inside the Jerusalem temple.

·         "His eye survay'd the dark Idolatries"

• Ezekiel's eyes scanned the secretive, forbidden pagan practices taking place within the holy grounds.

·         "Of alienated Judah.

• He saw how the Kingdom of Judah (an Israelite kingdom) had turned its back on and alienated itself from God. The poem then shifts its focus to the next demon in line.

 

Dagon

·         …… Next came one"

·         “Who mourn'd in earnest, when the Captive Ark"

• This next demon had genuine reason to grieve when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and placed it inside his temple as a trophy.(Ark of the Covenant is a sacred, gold-covered wooden chest)

·         "Maim'd his brute Image, head and hands lopt off"

• The presence of the Ark triggered a divine intervention that shattered his animalistic idol, cutting off both its head and hands. (maimed (ruined))

·         "In his own Temple, on the grunsel edge,"

• The broken pieces of the idol fell directly onto the "grunsel edge" (the threshold or doorsill) of his own house of worship.

·         "Where he fell flat, and sham'd his Worshipers:"

• The idol was found face-down on the floor, completely humiliated in front of his priests, proving his utter powerlessness against the God of Israel.

·         "Dagon his Name, Sea Monster, upward Man"

• The name of this demon is Dagon. Milton describes him as a grotesque creature of the ocean, possessing the upper torso, chest, and head of a human being.

·         "And downward Fish: yet had his Temple high"

• From the waist down, his body takes the form of a fish, making him a merman-like deity. Despite his monstrous appearance, his human followers built grand, towering temples to worship him.

·         "Rear'd in Azotus, dreaded through the Coast"

• His primary, magnificent temple was constructed in the city of Azotus (also known as Ashdod), and his terrifying religious influence spread across the entire Mediterranean coastline.

·         "Of Palestine, in Gath and Ascalon"

• His power dominated the region of Philistia (Palestine), specifically striking fear into the major ancient strongholds of Gath (the home of Goliath) and Ascalon (Ashkelon).

·         "And Accaron and Gaza's frontier bounds."

o   His cult extended all the way through the cities of Accaron (Ekron) and down to the very borders of Gaza, mapping out the five great royal cities of the Philistines.

Rimmon

·         "Him follow'dRimmon, whose delightful Seat"

o    Right after Dagon came Rimmon (a Syrian storm god), whose beautiful capital city and throne...

·         "Was fair Damascus, on the fertil Banks"

o    ...was the lovely city of Damascus, built right along the rich, green riverbanks...

·         "Of Abbana and Pharphar, lucid streams."

o    ...of the Abana and Pharphar rivers, which were famous for their crystal-clear waters.

·         "He also against the house of God was bold:"

o    Like the other demons, Rimmon was arrogant and aggressively opposed the Temple and people of the true God.

·         "A Leper once he lost and gain'd a King,"

o    He lost a worshipper when Naaman (a Syrian general with leprosy) was miraculously cured by Israelite prophet Elisha and is completely cured of his leprosy after dipping himself seven times in the Jordan Riverand stopped worshipping idols. In return, Rimmon gained a new follower: the King of Judah.

·         "Ahaz his sottishConquerour, whom he drew"

o    This king was Ahaz, whom Milton calls "sottish" (foolish/drunken) because Ahaz conquered the Syrians in battle, he foolishly chose to worship the defeated Syrians' gods.

·         "Gods Altar to disparage and displace"

o    ...into disrespecting ("disparaging") and physically moving ("displacing") the holy altar inside God’s Temple in Jerusalem...

·         "For one of Syrian mode, whereon to burn"

o    ...and replacing it with a copy of a pagan altar built in the Syrian style, where Ahaz began to burn...

·         "His odious off'rings, and adore the Gods"

o    ...his disgusting and hateful ("odious") animal sacrifices, choosing to bow down to and worship the deities...

·         "Whom he had vanquisht."

o    ...that he himself had just conquered ("vanquisht") and beaten in war.He bowed down to the very same gods that had just failed to protect the Syrians from him.

 

Egyptian Gods: Osris, Isis and Orus

• "After these appear'd"
• Following the previous group of fallen angels (the Syrian and Phoenician deities like Moloch and Astarte), the next group came forward.
• "A crew who under Names of old Renown,"
• A band of demons who later took on famous, widely celebrated names in human history.
• "Osiris, Isis, Orus and their Train"
• These demons assumed the identities of the famous Egyptian gods: Osiris (god of the underworld), Isis (goddess of nature/motherhood), Horus/Orus (god of the sky), and their followers/lesser deities.
• "With monstrous shapes and sorceries abus'd"
• They used terrifying, half-animal appearances and magical deceptions to trick and corrupt...
• "Fanatic Egypt and her Priests, to seek [ 480 ]"
• ...the highly superstitious people of Egypt and their religious leaders, causing them to search for...
• "Thirwandring Gods disguis'd in brutish forms"
• ...their fleeing deities, who hid themselves in the shapes of beasts (like cattle, cats, and birds)...
• "Rather then human. Nor did Israel scape"
• ...instead of taking dignified human shapes. Furthermore, the nation of Israel did not escape...
• "Th' infection when thirborrow'd Gold compos'd"
• ...this spiritual disease (idolatry), which took root when the gold they borrowed from the Egyptians was melted down to create...
• "The Calf in Oreb: and the Rebel King"
• ...the Golden Calf at Mount Horeb (Sinai). Later on, the rebellious King Jeroboam-I...
• Golden Calf with borrowed Egyptian gold at Mount Horeb ("Oreb") by the Israelites
• "Doubl'd that sin in Bethel and in Dan, [ 485 ]"
• ...repeated and magnified that sin by setting up two new golden calves in the northern cities of Bethel and Dan...
• By making two idols instead of one, he literally "doubled" the original sin of the Golden Calf
• "Lik'ning his Maker (=God) to the Grazed Ox,"
• ...insultingly comparing God, his Creator, to a common ox that eats grass.
• By creating an ox-god, the Israelites and the Rebel King reverse the natural order—instead of serving the Creator who made them
• "Jehovah, who in one Night when he pass'd"
• This was the same true God (Jehovah) who, during the night of the Passover...
• "From Egypt marching, equal'd with one stroke"
• ...as He led His people out of Egypt, destroyed with a single decisive blow...
• "Both her first born and all her bleating Gods."
• ...both the firstborn children of the Egyptians and all their animal-headed, powerless idols. (bleating= weak, cry of a sheep or calf)

Before the Israelites became a nation, they were slaves in Egypt. God decided to rescue them by sending ten terrible plagues to punish the Egyptian Pharaoh.The Final Plague ("In one Night"): In a single night, God passed through Egypt and took the lives of all the firstborn children and firstborn animals. When God struck down the Egyptian firstborn animals, he proved these animal gods were completely helpless. They were just "bleating" beasts. Pharaoh was terrified and finally let the Israelites go. The fallen angels (demons) were behind all of this, laughing as they tricked humans into worshipping cows instead of the Creator.

 

Belial

·         "Belial came last, then whom a Spirit more lewd"

o    Belial is the final fallen angel introduced in the formal procession of devils. Milton states that there was no spirit more wicked, vulgar, or morally corrupt ("lewd") than him.

·         "Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love"

o    No angel who fell from Heaven was more basic, crude, or driven ("gross") by pure indulgence.

·         "Vice for itself: To him no Temple stood"

o    Belial loves wickedness ("vice") simply for the sake of being wicked, rather than for power or glory. Unlike the other devils, ancient humans did not build specific physical temples dedicated to his name.

·         "Or Altar smoak'd; yet who more oft then hee"

o    No ritual sacrifices were burned ("altar smoak'd") directly for him; yet, despite having no formal religion, Belial is present in religious spaces more often than any other demon.

·         "In Temples and at Altars, when the Priest"

o    He thrives inside holy temples and right next to sacred altars whenever the religious leaders lose their faith.

·         "Turns Atheist, as did Ely's Sons, who fill'd"

o    He takes over when priests become hypocrites or non-believers ("turns atheist"). Milton points to the biblical sons of the High Priest Eli (Hophni and Phinehas) as a historic example.

·         "With lust and violence the house of God."

o    Eli's corrupt sons desecrated the tabernacle by stealing sacrificial meats and abusing women, filling God's holy house with sexual sin ("lust") and corruption ("violence").

·         "In Courts and Palaces he also Reigns"

o    Belial's influence is not limited to corrupted churches; he also rules over royal political courts and grand government palaces.

·         "And in luxurious Cities, where the noyse"

o    He dominates wealthy, decadent ("luxurious") cities where the chaotic sounds of sin and overindulgence echo.

·         "Of riot ascends above thir loftiest Towrs,"

o    The loud clamour of wild parties, lawlessness, and drunken behavior ("riot") rises higher than the tallest city buildings.

·         "And injury and outrage: And when Night"

o    The sounds of people hurting one another ("injury") and committing criminal acts ("outrage") fill the air. When darkness falls over the city...

·         "Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons"

o    ...and the streets become dark, dangerous groups of people roam around, whom Milton labels the metaphorical "Sons of Belial."

o    Sons of Belial": A biblical phrase to describe wicked, lawless men

·         "Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine."

o    These late-night troublemakers wander the streets, completely overflowing ("flown"), arrogant (with insolence), and drunk (“wine").

·         "Witness the Streets of Sodom, and that night"

o    Look at the historical behavior in the biblical city of Sodom as proof of Belial's influence, specifically the infamous night the city mob surrounded Lot's house.

·         "In Gibeah, when the hospitable door"

o    Look also at the horrific night in the biblical city of Gibeah (from the Book of Judges), where a host opened his door to a violent mob.

·         "Expos'd a Matron to avoid worse rape."

o    The host forced a woman (a Levite's concubine/wife) outside to be abused by the crowd in order to protect his male guest from being sexually assaulted ("worse rape").

In Old Testament (Judges 19). In the story, a traveling Levite and his concubine (the "Matron") seek shelter in the city of Gibeah. An angry, violent mob surrounded the house where she and her husband were staying. To protect the male guest inside, the host and the husband pushed the woman out the door to the mob. The crowd abused her violently all through the night.The next morning, she collapsed at the doorstep and died from the abuse.

 

Greek Demons (Titan, Saturn and Jove)

·         "These were the prime in order and in might;"

o    The demons just listed (from Moloch to Belial) were the chief leaders ("prime") in terms of their rank, power, and importance in Satan's army.

·         "The rest were long to tell, though far renown'd,"

o    It would take too long to list all the remaining fallen angels individually, even though many of them became highly famous ("far renown'd") among humans.

·         "Th' Ionian(=Greek)Gods, of Javans Issue held"

o    These remaining demons became the Greek gods ("Ionian Gods"), worshipped by the descendants of Javan (Noah's grandson, traditionally considered the ancestor of the Greeks).

·         "Gods, yet confest later then Heav'n and Earth"

o    Though humans worshipped them as gods, classical mythology itself admits ("confest") these deities were born after the creation of the universe (Heaven and Earth).

·         "Thir boasted Parents; TitanHeav'ns first born"

o    Heaven and Earth were the claimed parents of the Titans. The oldest Titan (Hyperion or Uranus) was the firstborn of Heaven.

·         "With his enormous brood, and birthright seis'd"

o    Titan had a great family, but his rightful inheritance right to rule stolen ("seis'd").

·         "By younger Saturn, he from mightier Jove"

o    Titan's younger brother, Saturn (Cronus), overthrew him. Later, Saturn suffered the exact same fate when he was overthrown by the even more powerful Jove (Jupiter/Zeus).

·         "His own and Rhea's Son like measure found;"

o    Jove—who was Saturn and Rhea's own child—dethroned his father, giving Saturn a taste of his own medicine ("like measure found").

·         "So Jove usurping reign'd: these first in Creet"

o    This is how Jove (zeus) became the illegal ruler. These fallen angels were first worshiped on the island of Crete.

 

• "And Ida known, thence on the Snowy top"
• They were known on Mount Ida, and from there they moved to the snowy peak...
• "Of cold Olympus rul'd the middle Air"
• ...of Mount Olympus. They ruled the upper atmosphere, which they considered...
• "Thir highest Heav'n; or on the Delphian Cliff,"
• ...their version of heaven. They were also worshiped at the cliffs of Delphi (famous for the oracle)...
• "Or in Dodona, and through all the bounds"
• ...or in the sacred groves of Dodona, and all across the borders...
• "Of Doric Land; or who with Saturn old"
• ...of Greece (Doric land). Others followed the old god Saturn when he fled...
• "Fled over Adria to th' Hesperian Fields,"
• ...across the Adriatic Sea to Italy (the Hesperian fields)...
• "And ore the Celtic roam'd the utmost Isles."
• ...and traveled across France/Britain (Celtic lands) to the absolute edges(the British Isles) of the known world.

 

• "All these and more came flocking; but with looks"
• All these false gods (who were actually demons) came gathering around Satan, but they looked...
• "Down cast and damp, yet such wherein appear'd"
• ...depressed and miserable. Even so, you could still see...
• "Obscure some glimps of joy, to have found thir chief"
• ...a faint glimmer of happiness in them, because they saw that their leader (Satan)...
• "Not in despair, to have found themselves not lost"
• ...had not given up hope, and because they realised they weren't completely destroyed...
• "In loss itself; which on his count'nance cast"
• ...even though they had lost everything. Seeing their mixed emotions made Satan's own face look...
• "Like doubtful hue: but he his wonted pride"
• ...similarly conflicted. However, Satan quickly dragged back his usual pride...
• Wonted= habitual, or usual.
• "Soon recollecting, with high words, that bore"
• ...and gave a grand, dramatic speech that had...
• "Semblance of worth, not substance, gently rais'd"
• ...the appearance of being brave and meaningful, but had no real truth to it. Still, it lifted...
• "Thir fainting courage, and dispel'dthir fears."
• ...their dying spirits and took away their terror.
• In modern English, this means they looked honorable and brave on the outside, but lacked any real virtue or goodness on the inside.

 

Satan’s Flag Raised, Speech begins

• "Then strait commands that at the warlike sound"
• Then, straightaway (immediately) [Satan] orders that upon hearing the aggressive, military noise...
• "Of Trumpets loud and Clarions be upreard"
• ...of loud trumpets and shrill, high-pitched horns (clarions), his army must lift high (uprear)...
• "His mighty Standard; that proud honour claim'd"
• ...his massive battle flag (standard). The arrogant privilege and distinction of holding this flag was demanded...
• "Azazel as his right, a Cherube tall:"
• ...by Azazel, a physically massive and powerful fallen angel (cherub), who insisted it was his personal right to carry it.

·         "Who forthwith from the glittering Staff unfurld"

o     [Azazel] immediately (forthwith) unrolled from the shining, polished flagpole...

·         "Th' Imperial Ensign, which full high advanc't"

o    ...the emperor's supreme battle flag (ensign), which was lifted up and carried completely high into the air...

·         "Shon like a Meteor streaming to the Wind"

o    ...where it shined brilliantly like a blazing meteor tearing through space, rippling and flowing in the wind...(similie)

·         "With Gemms and Golden lustre rich imblaz'd,"

o    ...richly decorated and intricately embroidered (imblazed) with sparkling jewels and a radiant golden glow...

·         "Seraphic arms and Trophies: all the while"

o    ...showing off the coats of arms and battle trophies of the highest-ranking angels (seraphim); during all of this...

·         "Sonorous mettal blowing Martial sounds:"

o    ...deep, resonant brass instruments (sonorous metal) were continuously blasting aggressive military music.(Sonorous=pleasant, deep and full sound)

·         "At which the universal Host upsent"

o    Hearing this, the entire collective army (host) of fallen angels let loose...

·         "A shout that tore Hells Concave, and beyond"

o    ...a scream so violently loud that it ripped through the vaulted ceiling (concave) of Hell, and echoed past it...

·         "Frighted the Reign of Chaos and old Night."

o    ...terrifying the ancient, primordial voids of Chaos and Darkness that exist outside of Hell's borders.

 

Ten thousand Banners rise

·         "All in a moment through the gloom were seen"

o    Instantly, through the darkness of Hell, a sudden sight became visible.

·         "Ten thousand Banners rise into the Air"

o    Countless thousands of military flags and flags flew up into the sky.

·         "With Orient Colours waving: with them rose"

o    These banners waved with bright, brilliant, and jewel-like colors, and as they lifted, they were accompanied by another sight.

·         "A Forest huge of Spears: and thronging Helms"

o    A massive, dense thicket of raised spears appeared looking like a forest, alongside a crowding mass of armored helmets.

·         "Appear'd, and serried shields in thick array"

o    Locked, tightly packed shields came into view, arranged in a dense, disciplined military formation.

·         "Of depth immeasurable: Anon (=soon) they move"

o    The rows of soldiers stretched back so far they could not be counted, and soon, they began to march.

·         "In perfect Phalanxto the Dorian mood"

o    They moved forward in a flawless, interlocking battle formation, keeping time to the grave and disciplined Dorian style of music.(Phalanx =Greek battle formation)

o    In ancient Greece, the Dorian mode of music was associated with military discipline.

·         "Of Flutes and soft Recorders; such as rais'd"

o    They marched to the sound of woodwind instruments, which historically inspired a specific mental state.

o    A recorder is actually a type of flute, specifically known as a duct flute.

·         "To hight of noblest temper Hero's old"

o    This was the exact kind of music that used to elevate ancient heroes to the peak of their psychological strength and honor.

·         "Arming to Battel, and instead of rage"

o    As those ancient heroes prepared for war.Instead of making them angry or reckless ("rage") …

·         "Deliberate valour breath'd, firm and unmoved"

o    Instead, the music filled them with a calm, deliberate, and steady bravery ("deliberate valour").

·         "With dread of death to flight or foul retreat,"

o    It ensured they would not be driven by the fear of dying to run away or make a shameful retreat.

·         "Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage"

o    The music also possessed the comforting ability to soothe, calm, and ease the mind.

·         "With solemn touches, troubled thoughts, and chase"

o    Through its serious, moving melodies, it could quiet anxious minds and completely drive away negative emotions.

·         "Anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain"

o    It banished physical and mental torment, uncertainty, terror, grief, and suffering. (This line is an example of literary device called polysyndeton.)

·         "From mortal or immortal minds."

o    It had this powerful, healing effect on human beings and supernatural entities (like the fallen angels) alike.

The Army is assembled and ready to her from Satan

·         Thus they / Breathing united force with fixed thought

o    The fallen angels (demons), moving together as a single body, share a unified purpose and a resolute, focused mind.

·         Mov'd on in silence to soft Pipes that charm'd

o    They marched forward quietly, accompanied by gentle musical pipes (flutes) that softened or cast a spell over their experience.

·         Thir painful steps o're the burnt soyle; and now

o    They walked over the scorched, painful ground of Hell, and now...

·         Advanc't in view, they stand, a horrid Front

o    Having come into full sight, they position themselves as a terrifyingbattle-line.

·         Of dreadful length and dazling Arms, in guise

o    The line is impressively long and gleams with bright, intimidating armor, looking in the manner...

·         Of Warriers old with order'd Spear and Shield,

o    ...of ancient, disciplined soldiers holding their spears and shields in neat formation.

·         Awaiting what command thir mighty Chief

o    They stand ready and waiting to hear whatever orders their great leader (Satan)

·         Had to impose:

o    ...is about to give them.

 

 

Satan observes compares his army to list of legendary knights and kings

• …. He (Satan) through the armed Files
• Satan looks across the rows of his armed soldiers.
• Darts his experienc't eye, and soon traverse
• He casts his veteran, observant gaze quickly from side to side.
• "dart" means to move suddenly and rapidly in a specific direction
• The whole Battalion views, thir order due,
• He surveys the entire army, noting their proper, disciplined formation.
• Thir visages and stature as of Gods,[570 ]
• He observes their faces and towering builds, which still look divine.
• "visage" means facial expression, or outward appearance.
• Thir number last he summs. And now his heart
• Finally, he estimates their vast numbers, and at this sight, his heart...
• Distends with pride, and hardning in his strength
• ...swells with arrogance, and growing stubborn in his own power...
• "Distends" means to swell, bloat, or expand outward
• Glories: For never since created man,
• ...he exults (to feel joy for success); because never in all of human history...
• Milton is comparing the massive, terrifying army of fallen angels (Satan's legions) to the greatest armies of human history and myth, demonstrating that human armies are completely insignificant by comparison.
• Met such imbodied force, as nam'd with these
• ...has any gathered army met that, when compared to these demons...
• Could merit more then that small infantry
• ...would seem like anything more than that tiny army of Pygmies...
• Allusion:Greek myth of the Pygmies—a legendary race of tiny people who were said to be in a perpetual war against migrating Cranes.the conflict started because a Pygmy queen named Gerana (or Oenoe) boasted that she was more beautiful than the goddess Hera. Hera punished her by turning her into a crane, and Gerana then led the birds in war against her former people.
• Warr'd on by Cranes: though all the Giant brood
• …who fought against birds in classical myth; even if the Giants...
• Of Phlegra with th' Heroic Race were joyn'd
• ...of ancient Greek myth were united with the famous heroes...
• Allusion: Battle of Phlegra, a legendary war where the Giants (the "Heroic Race") fought against the Olympian Gods

 

• That fought at Theb's and Ilium, on each side
• ...who fought in the legendary wars of Thebes and Troy...
• The Giants at Phlegra (who fought the gods)
• The Heroic Armies at Thebes and Troy (the greatest human warriors)
• Mixt with auxiliar Gods; and what resounds
•  ...alongside the gods who helped them; and even if you add all the legends...
• In Fable or Romance of UthersSon[580 ]
• ...told in stories and medieval romances about King Arthur (the son of Uther Pendragon)...
• The son of Uther Pendragon is King Arthur, the legendary British monarch who ruled from Camelot and led the Knights of the Round Table.
• Begirt with British and Armoric Knights;
• ...surrounded by his British and Breton (French) knights...
• And all who since, Baptiz'd or Infidel
• ...and all the Christian and Muslim warriors who...
• Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban,
• ...fought in tournaments or battles at these famous literary locations...
• Damasco, or Marocco, or Trebisond,
• ...or in Damascus, Morocco, or Trebizond...
• Or whom Biserta sent from Africshore[585 ]
•  ...or the armies sent from the African port of Bizerte...
• When Charlemain with all his Peerage fell
• ...in the legends where King Charlemagne and his top twelve knights were defeated...
• By Fontarabbia.
• ...near Fontarabia (all human armies combined are nothing compared to Satan's host).

 

 

 

·         The Pygmies: The absolute lowest tier. The ultimate symbol of tiny, fragile human weakness.

·         The Humans (Troy, King Arthur, and Charlemagne's Knights): The absolute highest tier of human achievement. These are the greatest, most chivalric mortal armies to ever exist in "Fable or Romance."

·         The Giants of Phlegra: A superhuman, cosmic tier. Giant earth-born monsters who were strong enough to fight the gods.

·         Satan’s Fallen Angels: The final, terrifying tier. An army so unfathomably massive that it breaks the scale entirely.

·         Compared to the terrifying, boundless, and supernatural army of fallen angels standing before Satan in Hell, all these legendary human heroes are nothing more than tiny, helpless Pygmies.

 

 

·         …..Thus far these beyond

o    … Up to this point, these fallen spirits were far superior to...

·         Compare of mortal prowess, yet observ'd

o    ...any human strength or military power, yet they still obeyed...

·         Thir dread commander: he above the rest

o    : ...their terrifying leader. Satan, standing high above all the others...

·         In shape and gesture proudly eminent

o    ...in his physical form and posture, stood out proudly and noticeably...

·         Stood like a Towr; his form had yet not lost

o    ...looking like a massive stone tower; his appearance had still not entirely lost...

·         All her Original brightness, nor appear'd

o    : ...all of its original, heavenly light, and he did not look...

o    It separated Satan’s physical, outer beauty ("her") from his internal, masculine identity ("his"). It emphasizes that while Satan's mind remains stubborn and cruel, his outward, angelic form still possesses a beautiful, distinct radiance of its own.

·         Less then Arch Angel ruind, and th' excess

o    : ...like anything less than a ruined Archangel, whose overwhelming...

·         Of Glory obscur'd: As when the Sun new ris'n

o    ...heavenly splendor has been dimmed: just like the morning sun...

·         Looks through the Horizontal misty Air

o    ...shining through a low, thick fog on the horizon...

·         Shorn of his Beams, or from behind the Moon

o    ...stripped of its usual bright rays, or like the sun peeking out from behind the moon...

o    "Shorn" means stripped away or cut off.

o    "From behind the Moon refers directly to a solar eclipse

·         In dim Eclips disastrous twilight sheds

o    ...during a dark solar eclipse, casting a gloomy, ominous shadow...

·         On half the Nations, and with fear of change

o    ...across entire countries, which fills kings and rulers...

·         Perplexes Monarchs. Dark'n'd so, yet shon

o    ...with deep anxiety about political upheaval. Even though he was dimmed in this way, the Archangel still shone...

·         Above them all th' Arch Angel: but his face

o    ...far brighter than any of his followers; however, his face...

·         Deep scars of Thunder had intrencht, and care

o    was deeply furrowed and scarred by God's lightning bolts, and intense worry...

·         Sat on his faded cheek, but under Browes

o    ...showed plainly on his pale, worn face, though beneath eyebrows...

·         Of dauntless courage, and considerate Pride

o    ...that still showed unyielding bravery and deliberate, calculated pride...

·         Waiting revenge: cruel his eye, but cast

o    : ...he bided his time for vengeance; his eyes looked ruthless, yet they also showed...

·         Signs of remorse and passion to behold

o    ...hints of regret and deep, painful emotion upon looking at...

·         The fellows of his crime, the followers rather

o    ...the partners in his rebellion—or more accurately, his followers—...

·         (Far other once beheld in bliss) condemn'd

o    ...(whom he remembered looking completely different when they were happy in Heaven) who were now doomed...

·         For ever now to have thir lot in pain,

o    ...to spend eternity sharing a fate of pure agony;...

·         Millions of Spirits for his fault amerc't

o    ..millions of angels who, because of his mistake, were deprived...

o    amerced is an archaic legal term that means to be fined

·         Of Heav'n, and from Eternal Splendors flung

o    ...of Heaven and cast out from eternal, glorious light...

·         For his revolt, yet faithfull how they stood,

o    : ...due to his rebellion, yet he saw how loyally they stood by him...

·         Thir Glory witherd. As when Heavens Fire

o    ...even though their individual brilliance was now dried up and ruined. Just as when lightning...

·         Hath scath'd the Forrest Oaks, or Mountain Pines,

o    : ...has struck and scorched a forest of oak trees or mountain pines,...

·         With singed top thir stately growth though bare

o    ...their tops are blackened, and though stripped of leaves and branches, their tall trunks...

·         Stands on the blasted Heath. He now prepar'd

o    ...still stand tall on the ruined, open landscape. Satan now got ready...

o    "heath" refers to an area of wild, uncultivated land

·         To speak; whereat thirdoubl'd Ranks they bend

o    ...to deliver a speech; at that movement, his tight rows of soldiers curved...

·         From wing to wing, and half enclose him round

o    ...from one edge of the army to the other, forming a half-circle around him...

·         With all his Peers: attention held them mute.

o    ...and his high-ranking officers: the intense focus kept them completely silent.

·         Thrice he assayd, and thrice in spight of scorn,

o    Three times he tried to speak, and three times, despite trying to fight back his shame and grief,...

·         Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth: at last

o    ...tears—the kind that only divine beings cry—poured out; finally...

·         Words interwove with sighs found out thir way.

o    ...his words, interrupted by heavy sighs, managed to break through

Satan steps forward to give a speech to his fallen army. The millions of demonic soldiers crowd around him in a giant crescent shape to listen. They are completely silent, waiting for him to talk. Satan tries to speak three times, but he is so overwhelmed by grief that he breaks down crying each time. Finally, choking back his tears and sighing heavily, he manages to start talking.

 

 

SECTION-V

• "O Myriads of immortal Spirits, O Powers"
• Satan addresses his vast army of fallen angels, acknowledging their eternal nature and immense celestial authority.
• "Matchless, but with th' Almighty, and that strife (=fight)"

• He flatters them by claiming only God is stronger than them, He insists that their rebellion as a noble war.

• "Was not inglorious, though th' event was dire,"
• ...was not lacking in honor (honorable effort), even though the final outcome of the war (defeat) is merely an unfortunate "event."
• Dire= very bad or serious; terrible
• "As this place (=Hell) testifies, and this dire change"
• ...as the horrific landscape of Hell around them proves, alongside the terrible physical and spiritual transformation they have undergone—
• "Hateful to utter: but what power of mind"
• —a state that is too painful and disgusting to even speak about; yet, he asks, what intellect...
• "Foreseeing or presaging, from the Depth"
• ...capable of predicting the future or seeing signs ahead, drawing from the deepest...
• "Of knowledge past or present, could have fear'd,"
• ...understanding of everything that has ever happened or is happening now, could have ever anticipated or worried...
• "How such united force of Gods, how such"
• ...that such a massive, combined army of divine beings—an army...
• "As stood like these, could ever know repulse?"
• ...composed of magnificent and powerful warriors like the ones standing before him—could ever be beaten back and defeated?
• Satan argues that no one—no matter how wise or prophetic—could have ever foreseen their defeat.
• He uses this rhetorical question to argue that their failure wasn't due to weakness, but because the outcome was genuinely unpredictable.
• "For who can yet beleeve, though after loss,"
• He argues that despite the fact that they just experienced a massive defeat, it remains completely unbelievable...
• "That all these puissant (=powerful) Legions, whose exile"
• ...that these mighty, powerful armies of angels, whose forced banishment...
• "Hath emptied Heav'n, shall fail to re-ascend"
• ...has visibly left Heaven empty and depopulated, will somehow fail to rise back up into the skies...
• "Self-rais'd, and repossess thir native seat?"
• ...entirely by their own inner strength, and completely reclaim their original home ?

• Satan rallies his troops by stating that their defeat is only temporary.
• ‘He expresses absolute confidence that they have the power to lift themselves out of Hell and reclaim their rightful places in Heaven.

• "For mee be witness all the Host of Heav'n (=rebelled angels),"

o He calls upon the entire fallen army to testify on his behalf...

• "If counsels different, or danger shun'd"

o ...whether any divided opinions, lack of leadership, or personal cowardice...

• "By me, have lost our hopes. But he who reigns"

o ...on Satan’s part caused them to lose the war, shifting the focus to God, who rules...

• "Monarch in Heav'n, till then as one secure"

o ...as the absolute king of Heaven, and who previously sat safely...

• "Sat on his Throne, upheld by old repute,"

o ...on His throne, sustained only by long-standing reputation...

• "Consent or custome, and his Regal State"

o ...the passive agreement of the angels, and mere tradition, while displaying His royal status...

• "Put forth at full, but still his strength conceal'd,"

o ...completely out in the open, yet God kept His actual physical power(thunders) hidden

• "Which tempted our attempt, and wrought our fall."

o Satan claims this secrecy tricked them into attacking, which ultimately caused their downfall.Satan claims that because God hid His strength, the rebel angels had no way of knowing what they were truly up against. Therefore, their rebellion wasn't a foolish mistake or a failure of bravery—it was a trap.

• "Henceforth his might we know, and know our own"

o He states that they now accurately understand both God's strength and their own capabilities...

• "So as not either to provoke, or dread"

o ...meaning they no longer need to carelessly start an open conflict, nor fear...

• "New warr, provok't; our better part remains"

o ...a new war if God starts one; instead, their best option now is...

• "Toworkinclose design, by fraud or guile"

o ...to operate through secret, calculated plots, using deception and trickery...

• "What force effected not: that he no less"

o ...to achieve what brute physical force failed to accomplish, so that God...

• "At length from us may find, who overcomes"

o ...will eventually learn a lesson from them: that a ruler who wins a war...

• "By force, hath overcome but half his foe."

o ...solely through superior physical might has only defeated half of his enemy's spirit.

 

• "Space may produce new Worlds; whereof so rife"
• Satan suggests that the vastness of space might contain new realms, about which widespread...
• "There went a fame in Heav'n that he ere (=earlier) long"
• ...rumours circulated back in Heaven that God, before long...
• "Intended to create, and therein plant"
• ...planned to create a brand new world and place within it...
• "A generation, whom his choice regard"
• ...a new race of beings, whom His special favour...
• "Should favour equal to the Sons of Heaven:"
• ...would love just as much as He loved the original angels.
• "Thither, if but to pry, shall be perhaps"
• Satan proposes that traveling to this new world, even if just to spy on it, will likely be...
• "thither"= "to that place"(referring to the Garden of Eden).
• “Pry”=to try to find out about other people’s private affairs
• "Our first eruption, thither or elsewhere:"
• ...their first major breakout from Hell, whether they target that specific place or somewhere else.
• "For this Infernal Pit shall never hold"
• He declares that this fiery hellhole will never permanently imprison...
• "Cælestial Spirits in Bondage, nor th' Abyss"
• ...heavenly beings in slavery, and this deep pit will not...
• "Long under darkness cover. But these thoughts"
• ...keep them hidden away in the dark for long, though these strategic ideas...
• "Full Counsel must mature: Peace is despaird,"
• ...must be fully debated and developed in a grand council, since achieving peace is now a hopeless thought.
• "For who can think Submission? Warr then, Warr"
• He asks who among them could ever tolerate surrendering; therefore, war, and only war...
• "Open or understood (=secret)must be resolv'd."
• ...whether fought out in the open or carried out through secret plots, must be their final decision.

 

• "He spake: and to confirm his words, out-flew"
• Satan finished his speech, and to show their absolute agreement, there instantly drew out...
• "Millions of flaming swords, drawn from the thighs"
• ...millions of blazing, fiery swords, pulled from the scabbards at the hips...
• "Of mighty Cherubim; the sudden blaze"
• ...of the powerful, high-ranking angels; the collective, sudden flash of light...
• "Far round illumin'd hell: highly they rag'ged"
• ...lit up the vast darkness of Hell all around them as they furiously vented their anger...
• "Against the Highest, and fierce with grasped arms"
• ...against God Almighty, and fiercely gripping their weapons...
• "Clash'd on thir sounding Shields the din of war,"
• ...struck their loud shields to create a roaring, defiant noise of battle.

 

SECTION-VI

 

·         "There stood a Hill not far whose griesly top / Belch'd fire and rowling smoak;"

o    Not far away stood a grim, terrifying hill whose peak shot out fire and thick, rolling smoke (like a volcano in Hell).

·         "the rest entire / Shon with a glossiescurff, undoubted sign / That in his womb was hid metallic Ore, / The work of Sulphur."

o    The rest of the hill's surface glossy(shone with a shiny), crusty residue (scurf), which was a clear sign that deep inside its belly ("womb"), metallic ore—formed by sulfur—was hidden.

·         "Thither wing'd with speed / A numerous Brigadhasten'd (to be quick)."

o    A large brigade of fallen angels flew toward that hill as fast as they could.

·         "As when Bands / Of Pioners with Spade and Pickaxarm'd / Forerun the Royal Camp, to trench a Field, / Or cast a Rampart."

o    Just like military engineers or foot soldiers (pioneers) armed with spades and pickaxes who run ahead of a royal army to dig trenches or build a defensive wall (rampart).

·         "Mammon led them on,"

o    Mammon (the demon of wealth, greed, and material riches) was the leader who guided them.

·         "Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell / From heav'n,"

o    Mammon was the least spiritually upright (erected) angel who fell from Heaven—meaning his character was the lowest and least noble.

·         "forev'n in heav'n his looks and thoughts / Were always downward bent,"

o    Even when he lived in Heaven, his gaze and his mind were always fixed downward.

·         "admiring more / The riches of Heav'ns pavement, trod'n Gold, / Then aught divine or holy else enjoy'd"

o    He was more captivated and dazzled by the physical wealth of Heaven—the golden pavement that everyone walked on—than by any divine, spiritual, or holy thing around him.

o    Mammon leads a crew of fallen angels to dig into the volcanoes of Hell to extract gold and minerals, eventually building their demonic capital city, Pandemonium.

o    "trod'n Gold" (modern spelling: "trodden gold") literally means gold that is stepped on or walked over.

·         "In vision beatific: by him first / Men also, and by his suggestion taught,"

o    (in Heaven's holy presence, or the "vision beatific"): It was Mammon who first inspired humans, teaching them by his corrupting influence.

·         "Ransack'd the Center, and with impious hands / Rifl'd the bowels of thir mother Earth / For Treasures better hid."

o    Taught by Mammon, humans aggressively searched ("ransacked") the Earth's core. With disrespectful and unholy ("impious") hands, they tore open the insides of Mother Earth to dig out precious metals that would have been better off left hidden deep underground.

·         "Soon had his crew / Op'nd into the Hill a spacious wound / And dig'd out ribs of Gold."

o    Very quickly, Mammon’s team of fallen angels cut open a massive trench or cavern ("spacious wound") into the hellish hill and extracted thick veins or bars ("ribs") of gold.

·         "Let none admire / That riches grow in Hell; that soyle may best / Deserve the precious bane."

o    Let no one be surprised or wonder (admire= "to wonder at") that vast wealth exists in Hell. In fact, Hell's cursed soil is the absolute most fitting place for gold, which Milton brilliantly terms a "precious bane" (a valuable curse or destructive thing, (=oxymoron).

·         "And here let those / Who boast in mortal things, and wond'ring tell / Of Babel, and the works of Memphian Kings,"

o    Milton now addresses proud human beings who brag about earthly achievements and speak with awe about the Tower of Babel or the massive pyramids built by Egyptian ("Memphian") pharaohs.

Tower of Babel, (Biblical Story)

·         The Migration: After the global flood, unified people traveling eastward settled in the plain of Shinar (Babylon) speaking a single language.

·         The Project: They decided to build a grand city and a lofty tower with its top reaching toward the heavens to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered across the earth.

·         Divine Intervention: Seeing their united ambition, God confused their common language so they could no longer understand one another.

·         The Scattering: Unable to continue building, people dispersed across the globe, which explains the origin of different languages and cultures

·         "Learn how thir greatest Monuments of Fame, / And Strength and Art are easily out-done / By Spirits reprobate, and in an hour"

o    These proud humans should realize that their most famous, strong, and highly artistic human monuments are easily surpassed by these wicked, fallen entities ("spirits reprobate")—and achieved in a mere single hour!

·         "What in an age they with incessant toyle / And hands innumerable scarce perform."

o    What human beings, using countless hands and non-stop hard work (incessant toyle), could barely accomplish in an entire century ("an age"), the fallen angels did in a single hour.

·         "Nigh on the Plain in many cells prepar'd, / That underneath had veins of liquid fire / Sluc'd from the Lake,"

o    Nearby on the flat plain, many deep pits or chambers ("cells") were ready. Underneath these chambers ran streams of liquid fire, which were channeled or diverted (sluc'd) directly from the great burning Lake of Hell to act as a heat source.

·         "a second multitude / With wondrous Art found out the massie Ore, / Severing each kind, and scum'd the Bullion dross:"

o    A second massive crowd of demons used incredible skill to process the heavy ore. They separated the different types of metal from each other and skimmed off the impure waste materials (dross) from the surface of the molten gold (bullion).

·         "A third as soon had form'd within the ground / A various mould, and from the boyling cells / By strange conveyance fill'd each hollow nook,"

o    At the exact same time, a third group of demons quickly shaped various hollow molds inside the dirt. Using a mysterious system of pipes or channels ("strange conveyance"), they directed the melted metal from the boiling pits to fill up every empty corner of the molds.

·         "As in an Organ from one blast of wind / To many a row of Pipes the sound-board breaths."

o    Milton uses a beautiful musical analogy here: just like in a church pipe organ, where a single rush of air enters the windchest (sound-board) and perfectly distributes wind to rows of different pipes all at once, the liquid gold smoothly filled all the molds simultaneously.

·         "Anon(soon) out of the earth a Fabrick huge / Rose like an Exhalation,"

o    Suddenly (Anon), a massive, grand building ("Fabrick") rose out of the ground effortlessly, appearing as smoothly as a rising mist, vapor, or breath (exhalation).

·         "with the sound / Of Dulcet Symphonies and voices sweet,"

o    The palace did not rise with the chaotic noise of a human construction site, but magically to the sound of beautiful, sweet orchestral music and lovely singing voices.

·         "Built like a Temple, where Pilasters round / Were set, and Doric pillars overlaid / With Golden Architrave;"

o    It looked like a magnificent classical temple. It featured rectangular columns (pilasters) built into the circular walls, simple and strong classical columns (Doric pillars), and a main beam (architrave) made of solid gold resting on top of them.

·         "nor did there want / Cornice or Freeze, with bossy Sculptures grav'n,"

o    It did not lack any grand architectural details; it featured decorative moldings (cornice) and a wide horizontal band (freeze / frieze) carved with high-relief, projecting (bossy) artwork and sculptures.

·         "The Roof was fretted Gold."

o    The entire ceiling was made of gold, beautifully decorated with intricate, interlocking geometric patterns (fretted).

---

• "Not Babilon, / Nor great Alcairo such magnificence / Equal'd in all thir glories, to inshrine"
• Neither the ancient city of Babylon nor the great city of Cairo (Alcairo, representing the height of Egyptian grandeur) ever matched this level of splendor, even during the peak of their historical glory.
• Inshrine is an archaic spelling variant of the verb enshrine=To place in a shrine
• "Belus or Serapis thir Gods, or seat / Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Assyria strove / In wealth and luxurie."
• The temples built to house (inshrine) their pagan gods like Belus (Baal) or Serapis, or the palaces built to seat their pharaohs and monarchs, could not compare—even back when Egypt and Assyria fiercely competed with one another in riches and lavish living.
• Assyria =a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization

---

• "Th' ascending pile / Stood fixt her stately highth, and strait the dores / Op'ning thir brazen foulds discover wide"
• The rising building (pile) finished growing and stood firmly at its majestic, imposing height. Immediately (strait), its massive double doors made of brass (brazen foulds) swung wide open.
• "Within, her ample spaces, o're the smooth / And level pavement:"
• Opening the doors revealed the vast, spaces inside the palace stretching out over a perfectly smooth and flat floor (pavement).
• "from the arched roof / Pendant by suttle Magic many a row / Of Starry Lamps and blazing Cressets fed"
• Hanging (pendant) from the curved ceiling by clever, intricate sorcery (suttle Magic) were long rows of glittering, star-like lamps and burning iron baskets of fire (cressets).
• "pendant" (or pendent) = in verb-form (hanging down) and a noun referring to a dangling jewel or ornament.
• "subtle" = finely woven or highly precise (not very noticeable; not very strong or bright)
• "With Naphtha and Asphaltusyeilded light / As from a sky."
• Fueled by highly flammable petroleum products (naphtha and asphaltus), these hanging lights burned so brightly that they lit up the interior of Hell as if it were an open sky.
• Asphalt= a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel, used for surfacing roads
• Naphtha= a flammable oil containing various hydrocarbons

 

• "The hasty multitude / Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise / And some the Architect:"
• The eager crowd of demons rushed inside with wonder (admiring). Some of them praised the incredible craftsmanship of the building itself, while others praised the genius designer who drew up the plans.
• "his hand was known / In Heav'n by many a Towred structure high,"
• This architect's unique style and skill were well-known back in Heaven, where he had designed many towering, grand celestial castles before the rebellion.
• "Where Scepter'd Angels held thir residence, / And sat as Princes, whom the supreme King"
• These heavenly palaces were where powerful, high-ranking angels ruling with scepters lived and held court like royalty.
• Scepter'd Angels= refers to high-ranking celestial beings
• "Exalted to such power, and gave to rule, / Each in his Hierarchie, the Orders bright."
• These were the bright, holy orders of angels whom God (the supreme King) had elevated to positions of immense power, giving each one authority to govern within their specific rank (hierarchy) in Heaven.

---

·         "Nor was his name unheard or unador'd / In ancient Greece;"

• In Greece, he was known as Hephaestus, the god of fire, metalworking, and craftsmanship. Milton uses a double negative ("nor... unheard... unador'd") to emphasize just how incredibly famous this figure was in the ancient world.

·         "and in Ausonian land / Men call'd him Mulciber;"

• "Ausonian land" is a classical, poetic name for Italy. In Roman mythology, this deity was called Vulcan, but he was also given the surname Mulciber (meaning "the softener" or "the melter" of metals).

·         "and how he fell / From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry Jove"

• In Greek myth, Zeus (Jove) flung Hephaestus out of Olympus during an argument. Milton uses the word "fabl'd" here as a critical reminder to the reader; he is stating that the pagan myths are merely garbled, fictionalized versions of the true biblical fall of the angels.

·         "Sheer o're the Chrystal Battlements: from Morn"

• "Sheer" implies a clean, vertical drop with completely unchecked momentum. "Chrystal Battlements" paints Heaven as a dazzling, luminous, walled fortress city.

·         "To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,"

• This is one of the most celebrated, rhythmic lines in English poetry. By repeating the markers of time (Morn, Noon, Noon, Eve), Milton slows down the verse to make the reader physically feel the agonizing, dizzying, and seemingly endless duration of the plunge.

·         "A Summers day; and with the setting Sun"

• The contrast between a peaceful, warm "Summers day" and the violent, terrifying reality of an angel being cast out of heaven creates a hauntingly beautiful, cinematic image.

·         "Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star,"

• The "Zenith" is the absolute highest point of the celestial sphere directly overhead. This simile emphasizes his loss of status: he goes from being a brilliant celestial being to a piece of debris burning out as it drops to earth.

·         "On Lemnos th' Ægean Ile: thus they relate,"

• In classical mythology, Lemnos was the sacred island where Vulcan landed, breaking his legs and leaving him with a permanent limp. Milton is wrapping up the pagan myth here before pivoting to his Christian correction.

·         "Erring; for he with this rebellious rout"

• "Erring" is the turning point of the passage. Milton sharply interrupts the beautiful classical myth to deliver a theological reality check. Mulciber didn't fall because of a petty argument with Jove; he fell because he chose to join Satan’s ("this rebellious rout") cosmic mutiny.

·         "Fell long before; nor aught avail'd him now"

• His fall happened in prehistoric, cosmic time. "Nor aught avail'd him" means all of his incredible talents, past achievements, and divine status were completely useless to save him from damnation.

·         "To have built in Heav'n high Towrs; nor did he scape"

• In Heaven, Mulciber was God's architect, responsible for building the magnificent, holy towers of the celestial city. Milton shows that God cares about moral righteousness, not aesthetic skill; technical talent cannot buy salvation.

·         "By all his Engins, but was headlong sent"

• "Engins" refers to his complex tools, architectural blueprints, and mechanical inventions. "Headlong" means diving head-first, a posture denoting total loss of control, humiliation, and ruin.

·         "With his industrious crew to build in hell."

• There is a biting irony in the final words "industrious crew." Mulciber and his fellow artisans are incredibly hardworking, productive, and skilled—but because they are alienated from God, their immense talents are permanently corrupted, doomed to spend eternity building a dark monument to their own damnation (Pandemonium).

 

---

 

• "Meanwhile the winged Haralds by command"
• While the construction of Pandæmonium takes place, winged messengers (heralds) act on orders.
• "Of Sovran power, with awful Ceremony"
• Sent by supreme authority (Satan), moving with solemn, awe-inspiring, or majestic ritual.
• "And Trumpets sound throughout the Host proclaim"
• Blaring trumpets announce the message across the entire gathered army of fallen angels.
• "A solemn Councel forthwith to be held"
• A serious, formal assembly or meeting is to be held immediately.
• Solemn is an adjective that means very serious, formal
• "At Pandæmonium, the high Capital"
• AtPandæmonium (literally "all-demons"), the newly built grand capital city and palace.
• "Of Satan and his Peers: thir summons call'd"
• Belonging to Satan and his noble/ruler angels; their official call summons them.
• "From every Band and squared Regiment"
• From every military unit, division, and neatly ordered formation.
• "By place or choice the worthiest; they anon (=soon)"
• The most distinguished leaders or representatives (by rank or election); right away...
• "With hunderds and with thousands trooping came"
• ...they marched or flocked in by the hundreds and thousands.
• "Attended: all access was throng'd, the Gates"
• Accompanied by followers; every entry point was packed, including the wide gates...
• Thronged= to be crowded, packed, or filled with a great multitude of people or things
• "And Porches wide, but chief the spacious Hall"
• ...and spacious porches, especially the main interior hall itself.
• "(Though like a cover'd field, where Champions bold"
• Comparing it to a tented medieval tournament field where brave knights...)
• "Wont ride in armď, and at the Soldans chair"
• ...used to ride in armor, and before the Sultan's throne...
• soldan is an archaic or historical word for a sultan (Muslim rulers)
• "Defi'd the best of Paynim chivalry"
• ...challenged the finest pagan/infidel warriors...
• Paynim=A non-Christian, especially a Muslim.
• "To mortal combat or carreer with Lance)"
• ...to a fight to the death or a jousting charge on horseback.
• Lance=A long weapon for thrusting, having a wooden shaft and a pointed steel head, formerly used by a horseman in charging.
• He compares the gathering of devils to the grand tournaments of medieval chivalric legends(epic simile)
• "Thick swarm'd, both on the ground and in the air,"
• The fallen angels crowded thickly everywhere, walking on the floor and hovering in the air.
• "Brusht with the hiss of russling wings."
• Filled with the continuous brushing sound and rustle of their beating wings.
• The air was swept and vibrated by the rustling

·         As Bees

o    Just like a swarm of bees(bee similie)

·         In spring time, when the Sun with Taurus rides,

o    In the spring, when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Taurus (April/May),

o    Sun has entered the constellation of the Bull (Taurus).

·         Pour forth thir populous youth about the Hive

o    They pour out their massive crowds of young bees around the hive

·         In clusters; they among fresh dews and flowers

o    Gathering in tight clusters; they fly among the fresh morning dew and blooming flowers

·         Flie to and fro, or on the smoothed Plank,

o    Darting back and forth, or landing on the smooth wooden board of the hive,

·         The suburb of thir Straw-built Cittadel (=beehive),

o    Which acts like the outer suburb of their straw-made fortress city,

o    (straw= the wooden landing plank)

·         New rub'd with Baum, expatiate and confer

o    Freshly rubbed with sweet balm plant, where they walk around freely and discuss

o    beekeepers would rub the inside of a new straw hivewith crushed lemon balm leaves.The sweet, citrusy scent mimics the pheromones of a queen bee.

o    Baum=bee balm,

o    to walk around freely (expatiate) and discuss (confer) their community's business (Thir State affairs)

·         Thir State affairs. So thick the aerie crowd

o    Their public political business. In that exact same crowded way, the airborne crowd of devils

 

• So thick the aerie crowd [ 775 ]
• In that exact same dense, crowded way, the airborne crowd of devils
• Swarm'd and were straitn'd; till the Signal giv'n.
• Swarmed together and were tightly cramped inside the hall, until a signal was given.
• "straitened.”=cramped, crowded
• Behold a wonder! they but now who seemd
• Look at this amazing, supernatural sight! The very creatures who just a moment ago seemed
• In bigness to surpass Earths Giant Sons
• To be even bigger than the mythological Giants (like the Titans) of Earth,
• Now less then smallest Dwarfs, in narrow room
• Are now smaller than the tiniest dwarfs, and inside this cramped, enclosed space
• Throng numberless, like that Pigmean Race [ 780 ]
• They crowd together in countless numbers, looking like the famous mythological race of Pygmies
• "Pygmies" refers to a mythical race of tiny humans who, according to ancient Greek legends
• "throng" means to crowd, pack, or press together tightly in great numbers
• Beyond the Indian Mount, or Faerie Elves,
• Who supposedly live beyond the Himalayan mountains, or like magical woodland fairies,
• Forest elves—also known as wood elves, green elves, or wild elves
• Western writers in Milton's time often called Himalayas as the Indian Caucasus or Mount Imaus
• Whose midnight Revels, by a Forrest side
• Whose (fairies) late-night partying and dancing(midnight revels) next to a dark forest
• Or Fountain some belated Peasant sees,
• Or near a natural spring is spotted by a farmer or traveller heading home late,
• Or dreams he sees, while over-head the Moon
• Or perhaps he only imagines he sees them in a dream,
• while high above them the moon
• the moon acts as a judging spectator (arbitress) and seems to look down closer to the ground.
• Sits Arbitress, and neerer to the Earth [ 785 ]
• Acts as a judging spectator/referee, and shines closer to the ground
• Wheels her pale course, they on thir mirth and dance
• As she drives her pale path through the night sky; meanwhile, the fairies, entirely focused on their joy and dancing,
• Intent, with jocond Music charm his ear;
• Enchant the traveling peasant's ears with their cheerful, merry music;
• jocund means cheerful, merry,
• At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds.
• Making his heart leap with a mixture of delight and terror all at once.
• Just like a late-night traveler who is spellbound by the beautiful but eerie music of forest fairies, anyone looking at the devils in Hell might be captivated by their grand golden palace.

• Thus incorporeal Spirits to smallest forms
• In this way, these bodiless spirits shrunk down into tiny forms,
• Reduc'dthir shapes immense, and were at large,
• Shrinking their immense, massive bodies so they could have plenty of room to move around,
• Though without number still amidst the Hall
• Even though they were still completely countless in number inside the great hall
• Of that infernal Court. But far within
• Of that hellish palace. However, deep inside the building,
• And in thir own dimensions like themselves
• And staying at their original, giant sizes just as they always were,
• The great Seraphic Lords and Cherubim
• The highest-ranking angelic lords (the Seraphim and Cherubim)
• Milton is showing the class divide and political hierarchy in Hell.
• The ordinary demon soldiers are forced to give up their dignity, crowd together, and shrink like insects or fairies just to fit in the building. Meanwhile, the elite ruling class (like Satan, Beelzebub, and Moloch) keep their giant, god-like statures and sit comfortably on golden thrones.
• In close recess and secret conclave sat
• Sat together in a private inner room and secret, elite political meeting—
• A thousand Demy-Gods on golden seats,
• A thousand demigods sitting on golden thrones,
• Frequent and full. After short silence then
• Crowded and packed closely together. Then, after a brief, tense silence fell over the room,
• And summons read, the great consult began.
• And the official call to order was read aloud, their grand political debate finally began.

---

 

 

 

 

 

PARADISE LOST -BOOK-I 

LINE BY LINE SUMMARY

SECTION-I (1-26 lines)

First 26 lines discuss the Theme and Subject of the poem

• Of Mans First Disobedience, and the Fruit
• The poem introduces its primary topic: humanity's original act of rebellion against God, punning on the word "Fruit" to mean both the literal apple eaten by Adam and Eve and the tragic consequences of their actions.
• Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal tast
• This specifies the source of the sin—eating from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge—and notes its fatal ("mortal") taste, which brought mortality to mankind.
• Brought Death into the World, and all our woe,
• The consequence of this original sin was the introduction of physical and spiritual death, alongside all human suffering and sorrow, into what was previously a perfect world.
• With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
• Humanity lost their paradise in the Garden of Eden, but Milton immediately provides hope, foreshadowing the arrival of "one greater Man"—Jesus Christ.
• Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat,
• This greater Man will eventually redeem humanity, restore our relationship with God, and win back our heavenly home ("the blissful Seat").
• SingHeav'nly Muse, that on the secret top
• Milton calls upon his source of inspiration. Rather than a classical Greek muse, he invokes the "Heav'nly Muse" (the Holy Spirit), who operates from hidden, sacred mountaintops.
• Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire
• He references Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai—the sacred locations where God spoke directly to humanity in the Old Testament.
• That Shepherd(=Moses), who first taught the chosen Seed,
• The Muse is the same power that inspired "That Shepherd"—Moses—who led the Israelites ("the chosen Seed") and received the divine law.
• In the Beginning how the Heav'ns and Earth
• Moses was instructed by this divine source on how the universe was formed at the dawn of time, as recorded in the Book of Genesis.
• Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill
• The universe emerged out of raw, formless Chaos. Milton adds that if Mount Zion (the holy hill of Jerusalem) pleases the Muse more than Mount Sinai...
• Delight thee more, and Siloa's Brook that flow'd
• ...or if the Muse prefers the sacred Siloam stream, which flowed gently...
• Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence
• ...right next to the Jewish Temple ("the Oracle of God"), Milton will call upon the Muse from that holy place instead.
• Invoke thy aid to my adventrous Song,
• He formally requests the Muse's guidance for his incredibly bold and daring epic poem ("adventrous Song").
• That with no middle flight intends to soar
• Milton states that his poem will not take an ordinary, low-altitude path; it aims to rise to the highest intellectual and spiritual heights.
• Above th' Aonian Mount, while it pursues
• His work will fly higher than the "Aonian Mount" (Mount Helicon, the traditional home of the classical Greek Muses), meaning his Christian epic will surpass pagan myths like Homer's Iliad or Virgil's Aeneid.
• Things unattempted yet in Prose or Rhime.
• He boldly declares his intent to write about grand cosmic themes that no writer in human history has ever dared to attempt before.

 

• And chiefly Thou O Spirit, that dost prefer  
• Milton shifts his focus from the Muse of Moses to address the Holy Spirit directly, identifying it as the primary ("chiefly") source of his inspiration.
• Before all Temples th' upright heart and pure,
• He highlights a core theological point: the Holy Spirit values a morally upright, sincere, and pure human heart far more than any grand, physical temple building.
• Instruct me, for Thou know'st; Thou from the first
• He asks the Spirit for direct education and knowledge, noting that the Spirit knows all things because it was present at the very beginning of existence.
• Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread
• The Spirit was active before creation, stretching its powerful, massive wings across the unformed universe.
• Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss
• In a famous image blending the Genesis creation story with the New Testament baptism of Christ, the Spirit sat like a nesting dove over the empty, chaotic void ("the vast Abyss").
• And mad'st it pregnant: What in me is dark
• By "brooding" over Chaos, the Spirit infused it with life and fertility to create the world. Milton transitions this cosmic power to his own mind, asking the Spirit to bring light to the dark areas of his understanding.
• Illumin, what is low raise and support;
• He prays for spiritual illumination, asking the Spirit to lift up his low human thoughts and support his limited strength.
• That to the highth of this great Argument  
• He needs this divine elevation so that he can rise to the immense physical, intellectual, and spiritual scale of his massive subject matter ("great Argument").
• I may assert Eternal Providence,
• With the Spirit's help, he intends to firmly declare, defend, and demonstrate the reality of God's timeless, all-knowing plan for humanity.
• And justifie the wayes of God to men.
• He states the ultimate thesis of the entire epic: to explain, vindicate, and show the absolute justice of God's actions and decisions in dealing with humanity.

 

Note: Line number 1-16 are one sentence, and the remaining ten lines are another sentence,    the 39^th word (=Sing) is the main verb in the first 16 lines.

SECTION-II

Lines 27-40

• The Question (Lines 27–33): The narrator asks the all-knowing Spirit (Muse)- (nothing in Heaven or Hell is hidden from her.)to reveal what could possibly have motivated "our Grand Parents" (Adam and Eve) to turn away from God. He notes how incredibly tragic their fall is, given they were deeply loved by Heaven and ruled over the entire world, restricted by only one single rule (not eating from the Tree of Knowledge).-they were otherwise lords of the whole world.
• The Answer (Lines 33–40): The narrator immediately answers that the "infernal Serpent" (Satan) was the one who tricked them. Driven by intense jealousy, pride, and a desire for revenge, Satan deceived Eve ("the Mother of Mankind") after he and his army of rebel angels were cast out of Heaven. His downfall was caused by his supreme arrogance—believing he could equal or overthrow most High (God Almighty).

Lines 41–43

If he oppos'd; and with ambitious aim / Against the Throne and Monarchy of God / Rais'd impious War in Heav'n and Battel proud

• Summary: Driven by intense, misguided ambition, Satan targeted God's absolute sovereignty and kingdom. He started an unholy, highly disrespectful civil war in Heaven, leading his forces with immense, arrogant pride.
• Important Phrases:
• Throne and Monarchy of God: This frames Heaven not just as a spiritual space, but as a formal political state under a rightful king.
• Impious War / Battel proud:Impious means unholy or lacking reverence. Satan's pride blinds him to the fact that fighting his own Creator is morally corrupt.

Lines 44–46

With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power / Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie / With hideous ruine and combustion down

• Summary: However, Satan's military uprising was completely useless and futile.In response, God's supreme power instantly defeated him, casting Satan headfirst and burning out of the pure, celestial skies. He plunged downward through a violent, exploding wake of total destruction.
• Important Phrases:
• Vain attempt: A crucial pivot meaning a completely futile or pointless effort. Milton uses this to establish immediately that Satan never stood a single chance against omnipotence.
• Headlong= too quickly
• Hurld headlong flaming: A highly kinetic sequence where the language mimics the fast, chaotic, downward acceleration of Satan's fall.
• Ethereal Skie: Celestial or heavenly skies, implying a pure, light, spiritual matter.

Lines 47–49

To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, / Who durst defieth' Omnipotent to Arms.

• Summary: Satan fell straight into the infinite abyss of Hell's damnation. He is condemned to live there forever, bound tightly in unbreakable, legendary chains and tortured by punishing fires. This severe sentence was handed down simply because he was foolish enough to challenge the all-powerful God to physical combat.
• Important Phrases:
• Bottomless perdition:Perdition means utter spiritual ruin or damnation. Describing it as bottomless emphasizes that Hell is an infinite psychological and physical abyss.
• Adamantine Chains: Made of "adamant," a mythical stone known in classical literature for being completely unbreakable and indestructible.
• Penal Fire: Fire meant strictly for judicial punishment. It burns with immense agony but produces no light ("darkness visible").
• Th' Omnipotent to Arms:Omnipotent means All-Powerful. Placing this divine title right next to Satan's challenge to arms (weapons) highlights the supreme delusion of his pride.

Line 50

Nine times the Space that measures Day and Night

• Summary: Following this violent crash, Satan and his fallen angels lay completely paralyzed, stunned, and defeated at the bottom of Hell for a duration equal to nine full human days and nights.
• Important Phrases:
• Nine times the Space: A direct nod to classical epic conventions. Milton adapts this structural timeline from ancient mythology (where defeated Titans fell for nine days to reach the underworld) to anchor his own epic.

Lines 51–53

To mortal men, he with his horrid crew / Lay vanquisht, rowling in the fiery Gulfe / Confounded though immortal:

• Summary: Measured in human terms, Satan and his terrifying army of rebel angels lay completely defeated, helplessly rolling around in the blazing abyssof Hell. They are physically and mentally shattered, yet they are cursed to remain alive because they cannot die (immortal).
• Important Phrases:
• Horrid crew: The army of fallen angels; "horrid" carries its classic Latin meaning of something bristling, terrifying, or causing hair to stand on end.
• Fiery Gulfe: The vast, churning chasm or abyss of flames that makes up Hell.
• Confounded though immortal: Mentally crushed and ruined (confounded), yet unable to escape their suffering through death due to their eternal nature.

Lines 53–55

But his doom / Reserv'd him to more wrath; for now the thought / Both of lost happiness and lasting pain

• Summary: However, Satan's ultimate judgment kept him conscious only to experience even greater divine anger. His true torture begins now, as his mind forces him to think about the perfect joy he threw away in Heaven alongside the never-ending agony he must now endure.
• Important Phrases:
• Doom: His permanent, inescapable judgment or sentence.
• The thought / Both of lost happiness and lasting pain: This introduces the core theme of psychological torment. Satan's worst punishment is not physical fire, but his own memory contrasting past paradise with present agony.

Lines 56–58

Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes / That witness'd huge affliction and dismay / Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate:

• Summary: These thoughts deeply torture him. Satan rolls his sorrowful, malice-filled eyes to scan his surroundings. His gaze reveals a complex mix of emotions: profound suffering and terror, blended with stubborn, unyielding arrogance and unshakeable hatred toward God.
• Important Phrases:
• Baleful eyes: Eyes full of deep sorrow, despair, and active malice or evil intent.
• Witness'd huge affliction: In this context, witness'd means "bore witness to" or expressed. His eyes project the immense suffering happening inside his mind.
• Obdurate pride and stedfasthate:Obdurate means hardened and completely stubborn. Despite his terrifying defeat, Satan completely refuses to repent, choosing permanent hatred over submission.

 

Lines 59–60

At once as far as Angels kenn he views / The dismal Situation waste and wilde,

• Summary: Looking all at once, as far as an angel's powerful vision can possibly stretch, he examines the depressing layout of his new environment—a landscape that is completely ruined, barren, and chaotic.
• Important Phrases:
• Angels kenn: The horizon or range of an angel's sight, which is infinitely more powerful and vast than human vision.
• Dismal Situation:Situation here refers to a physical location or site. Dismal carries its historical weight of being sinister, dark, and deeply depressing.
• Waste and wilde: A completely ruined, lawless, and desolate wilderness.

Lines 61–62

A Dungeon horrible, on all sides round / As one great Furnace flam'd, yet from those flames

• Summary: Satan sees that his new home is a terrifying dungeon that burns like a massive, roaring oven in every direction. Paradoxically, even though there are massive flames everywhere, they do not behave like normal fire.
• Important Phrases:
• A Dungeon horrible: Establishes Hell not just as a location, but as a tight, inescapable, penal prison managed by God.
• As one great Furnace flam'd: A powerful simile comparing the endless landscape of Hell to a localized, intensely concentrated source of industrial heat.

Lines 63–64

No light, but rather darkness visible / Serv'donely to discover sights of woe,

• Summary: The flames yield absolutely no light; instead, they produce a strange, paradoxical darkness that somehow allows a person to see. This unnatural darkness functions only to reveal terrifying scenes of misery and suffering.
• Important Phrases:
• Darkness visible:This is one of the most famous oxymorons in English literature. Milton suggests that Hell's fire is spiritual and punitive; it provides the searing heat of agony without the divine blessing of light. The darkness itself has a physical, heavy presence.
• Sights of woe: The tragic visual landscape of suffering that Satan is forced to witness.

 

Lines 65–67

Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace / And rest can never dwell, hope never comes / That comes to all; but torture without end

• Summary: This is a territory defined entirely by grief and melancholy shadows where peace and physical rest can never exist. Even "hope," a basic comfort available to every living human creature, is completely barred from entering this place; instead, infinite, unceasing torture aggressively presses upon its inhabitants.
• Important Phrases:
• Doleful shades: Sorrowful, bleak, and gloomy dark spaces.
• Hope never comes / That comes to all: A deliberate echo of Dante’s Inferno ("Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"). In Milton's theology, hope stems from God; because the rebel angels have totally broken from God, they are fundamentally cut off from hope.
• Torture without end: Confirms the eternal, static nature of their damnation—there is no countdown to a release date.

Lines 68–70

Still urges, and a fiery Deluge, fed / With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd: / Such place Eternal Justice had prepar'd

• Summary: The endless punishment continues to afflict them, characterized by a massive, sweeping flood of fire that is fueled by a supply of burning sulfur (brimstone) that never burns away or turns to ash. This is the exact destination that God's unwavering, cosmic eternaljustice built specifically for the rebels.
• Important Phrases:
• Fiery Deluge: A flood of fire. This is a brilliant linguistic subversion by Milton; a deluge is typically a flood of water (like Noah's flood), but in Hell, even the fluids are burning.
• Sulphur unconsum'd: Brimstone that burns eternally without turning to ash. This defies the natural laws of physics, emphasizing that Hell operates on supernatural, punitive laws.
• Eternal Justice had prepar'd: Milton firmly attributes the construction of Hell to God’s absolute justice. This reinforces his stated epic goal from the beginning of the poem: to "justify the ways of God to men".

Lines 71–74

For those rebellious, here thir Prison ordain'd / In utter darkness, and thir portion set / As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n / As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole.

• Summary: God designated this prison specifically for the rebel angels, condemning them to total darkness. He placed their new territory as far away from God and the pure light of Heaven as three times the distance from the center of the Earth to the absolute outer edge of the universe.
• Important Phrases:
• Thir portion set: Their assigned fate, territory, or inheritance. God has mathematically divided the cosmos, separating the wicked from the holy.
• Thrice to th' utmost Pole: Milton uses contemporary astronomical calculations to map out the spiritual geography of the universe. He implies that Hell is situated at an unimaginable, cosmic distance beneath the rest of creation.

Line 75

O how unlike the place from whence they fell!

• Summary: The narrator laments out loud, emphasizing just how brutally different this horrific prison is from the beautiful, glorious Heaven they were cast out of.
• Important Phrases:
• O how unlike: A sudden, emotional exclamation from the narrator that contrasts the physical heights of Heaven with the absolute depths of Hell.

Lines 76–79

There the companions of his fall, o'rewhelm'd / With Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous fire, / He soon discerns, and weltring by his side / One next himself in power, and next in crime,

• Summary: Looking closely at his surroundings, Satan spots the other fallen angels completely buried and crushed under floods and spinning tornadoes of violent fire. Tossing helplessly next to him on the burning lake, he recognizes one specific angel who is second only to Satan in terms of both military authority and sinful rebellion.
• Important Phrases:
• Tempestuous fire: Stormy, chaotic, and violently wind-driven fire.
• Weltring: Tossing, rolling, or wallowing helplessly in a liquid (in this case, a liquid lake of fire).
• Next in power, and next in crime: Establishes the political hierarchy of the rebel angels. The angel who shares the highest rank also shares the highest level of guilt.

Lines 80–83

Long after known in Palestine, and nam'd / Beelzebub. To whom th' Arch-Enemy, / And thence in Heav'n call'd Satan, with bold / words / Breaking the horrid silence thus began.

• Summary: This angel would much later be worshipped on Earth by the people of Palestine under the name Beelzebub. Satan, the ultimate Arch-Enemy of God (whose name literally means "adversary" in Hebrew), speaks aloud to him. Defying his physical agony, he breaks the terrifying silence of Hell and begins his speech with arrogant, bold words.
• Important Phrases:
• Long after known in Palestine: Milton establishes a historical link between the fallen angels and the pagan gods worshipped by ancient Middle Eastern civilizations later in history.
• Th' Arch-Enemy / Satan: The poet reminds the reader of Satan's primary role. In Heaven, he had a beautiful name (Lucifer), but his rebellion changed his identity entirely to the "Adversary."
• Breaking the horrid silence: Hell is described as a place of terrifying, heavy silence until Satan chooses to speak, marking a major turning point where action begins.

 

 

SECTION-II

Satan's speech to Beelzebub (84-127)

Lines 84-95

Myriads=very large number;

Lustre= shine

•  “If thou beest he; But O how fall’n! how chang’d”
• Satan addresses Beelzebub: “Are you really the same person?” He is shocked at how degraded and altered Beelzebub now appears.
• “From him, who in the happy Realms of Light”
• He contrasts this with Beelzebub’s former self in Heaven, the “happy realms of light.”

·         “Cloth’d with transcendent brightness didst out-shine”

o    In Heaven, Beelzebub was clothed in extraordinary, surpassing radiance.

·         “Myriads though bright”

o    He outshone countless other angels, even though they too were bright.

·         “If he Whom mutual league,”

o    Satan asks whether this is truly the companion who once made a mutual alliance with him.

·         “United thoughts and counsels, equal hope”

o    They had shared the same thoughts, plans, and hopes.

·         “And hazard in the Glorious Enterprize,”

o    They also shared the risks of their “glorious enterprise”—their rebellion against God.

• “Joynd with me once, now misery hath joynd”
• Beelzebub once joined Satan in rebellion; now misery has joined them together instead.
• “In equal ruin: into what Pit thou seest”
• They are now equally ruined, and Beelzebub can see the dreadful pit—Hell—around them.
• “From what highthfall’n, so much the stronger prov’d”
• They have fallen from an immense height; this proves how much stronger their opponent was.
• “He with his Thunder: and till then who knew”
• That opponent is God, whose “Thunder” represents His overwhelming power. Until this defeat, no one knew its full force.
• “The force of those dire Arms? yet not for those,”
• Satan refers to God’s terrifying weapons. But he insists that their defeat was not caused by those weapons alone.
• “Nor what the Potent Victor in his rage”
• Nor was it merely because the powerful victor—God—acted in rage.

 

Satan looks at Beelzebub and can barely recognize him because he has changed so drastically from the brilliant, radiant angel he was in Heaven. Satan recalls how they were once perfect partners—united by the same plans, hopes, and dangers in their rebellion against God. Now, that partnership has bound them together in total, miserable ruin. Looking around at the horrific pit of Hell, Satan rationalizes their defeat by stating that God only won because of his superior weapons (thunder), claiming that no one could have foreseen how powerful God's arms actually were.

 

Lines 96-115

Contention=argument

Durst=dare

·         “Can else inflict, do I repent or change,”

o   Satan says that no further punishment God can inflict will make him repent or change his rebellious attitude.

·         “Though chang’d in outward lustre; that fixt mind”

o   Though he has lost his former heavenly brightness, his mind remains fixed and unchanged.

·         “And high disdain, from sence of injur’d merit,”

o   He retains intense contempt, arising from his belief that he deserved greater honor but was wronged.

·         “That with the mightiest rais’d me to contend,”

o   That pride led him to challenge the mightiest being—God.

·         “And to the fierce contention brought along”

o   It also led him to bring others into the fierce conflict.

·         “Innumerable force of Spirits arm’d”

o   He gathered countless armed spirits—the rebel angels.

·         “That durst dislike his reign, and me preferring,”

o   These angels dared to oppose God’s rule and chose to follow Satan instead.

·         “His utmost power with adverse power oppos’d”

o   They opposed God’s utmost power with their own opposing force.

·         “In dubious Battel on the Plains of Heav’n,”

o   They fought an uncertain, fiercely contested battle on Heaven’s plains.

·         “And shook his throne. What though the field be lost?”

o   They even shook God’s throne. Satan asks: so what if they lost this particular battle?

·         “All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,”

o   He declares that everything is not lost, because his will remains unconquerable.

·         “And study of revenge, immortal hate,”

o   He still possesses the determination to take revenge and an everlasting hatred toward God.

·         “And courage never to submit or yield:”

o   He also retains the courage never to submit or surrender.

·         “And what is else not to be overcome?”

o   In his view, if the will remains free and defiant, one has not truly been overcome.

·         “That Glory never shall his wrath or might”

o   Satan vows that God’s anger or power will never take from him a particular kind of glory.

·         “To bow and sue for grace”

o   That glory is the refusal to bow down and beg for mercy.

·         “With suppliant knee, and deifie his power,”

o   He refuses to kneel humbly or treat God’s power as divine and worthy of worship.

·         “Who from the terrour of this Arm so late”

o   He claims that God only recently feared Satan’s armed strength.

·         “Doubted his Empire, that were low indeed,”

o   If Satan now submitted, it would suggest that God had doubted His own rule because of that threat. To Satan, such submission would be deeply humiliating.

·         “That were an ignominy and shame beneath”

o   Bowing to God would be disgrace and shame.

 

Satan declares that no matter what else God inflicts upon him, he will never repent or change his ways, even if his outward appearance has lost its heavenly brightness. Driven by a "fixed mind" and an intense sense of "injured merit" (feeling unfairly treated by God), he recalls leading an innumerable army of angels into a fierce, uncertain battle that actually shook God's throne. He famously declares, "What though the field be lost? All is not lost." He vows that he still possesses his unconquerable will, a thirst for revenge, immortal hate, and the courage to never surrender. He refuses to bow down and beg God for mercy, stating that humiliating himself like that would be a worse shame than falling into Hell.

 

Lines 116-127

·         “This downfall; since by Fate the strength of Gods”

o   Satan continues from the previous idea that submission would be more shameful than their fall. He claims that Fate protects the strength of beings like gods.

·         “And this Empyreal substance cannot fail,”

o   He says their celestial, fiery, angelic substance is indestructible and cannot ultimately fail.

·         “Since through experience of this great event”

o   Because they have experienced this great event—their defeat and fall—

·         “In Arms not worse, in foresight much advanc’t,”

o   They are no weaker in weapons or fighting ability, and they are now far wiser and more foresighted.

·         “We may with more successful hope resolve”

o   Therefore, they can decide to act again with better hope of success.

·         “To wage by force or guile eternal Warr”

o   They may wage an everlasting war against God, using either open force or cunning deception.

·         “Irreconcileable, to our grand Foe,”

o   This war will admit no reconciliation with their great enemy—God.

·         “Who now triumphs, and in th’ excess of joy”

o   God now celebrates His victory with excessive joy.

·         “Sole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heav’n.”

o   Satan calls God’s undisputed rule over Heaven a tyranny, implying that God rules alone and oppressively.

·         “So spaketh’ Apostate Angel, though in pain,”

o   The narrator says this is what the “apostate angel”—Satan, who abandoned God—said, even while suffering.

·         “Vaunting aloud, but rackt with deep despair:”

o   Satan boasts loudly, but inwardly he is tormented by profound despair.

·         “And him thus answer’d soon his bold Compeer.”
Soon, his bold companion—Beelzebub—answers him.

 

Summary:Satan argues that because they are divine beings made of immortal "heavenly substance," they cannot truly be destroyed. He claims that this terrible defeat has actually given them invaluable experience, making them much wiser in strategic foresight. Bolstered by this, he resolves to wage an eternal, unforgiving war against God through either strength or trickery ("force or guile"). Satan looks up at Heaven bitterly, viewing God as a tyrant who is currently celebrating a joyful victory. The narrator breaks in to reveal that while Satan is boasting loudly, he is secretly tortured by deep despair and pain.

 

☞Beelzebub's reply and Satan's second speech (128-191)

Lines 128-135

Seraphim=an angel of the highest rank according to the Bible

bold compeer = brave equal companion

·         “O Prince, O Chief of many Throned Powers,”

o   Beelzebub addresses Satan with high honor, calling him the prince and leader of the many powerful angelic orders.

·         “That led th’ imbattelld Seraphim to Warr”

o   He praises Satan for leading the Seraphim—high-ranking angels—into battle in organized military formation.

·         “Under thy conduct, and in dreadful deeds”

o   Under Satan’s command, they performed terrifying and extraordinary acts of war.

·         “Fearless, endanger’d Heav’n’s perpetual King;”

o   Fearlessly, they threatened Heaven’s eternal King—God.

·         “And put to proof his high Supremacy,”

o   They tested whether God’s supreme authority was real.

·         “Whether upheld by strength, or Chance, or Fate,”

o   They wanted to discover whether God’s rule rested on genuine strength, mere chance, or Fate.

·         “Too well I see and rue the dire event,”

o   Beelzebub says he now sees—and deeply regrets—the terrible outcome of their rebellion.

·         “That with sad overthrow and foul defeat”

o   Their disastrous overthrow and shameful defeat have brought this result.

 

Beelzebub ("his bold Compeer") then replies, addressing Satan with deep respect as the leader who fearlessly led them to war and shook the authority of Heaven's King. However, unlike the stubbornly optimistic Satan, Beelzebub honestly admits that he deeply regrets and fears the absolute, devastating ruin of their defeat.

 

Lines 136-156

Invincible=too powerful to be defeated

thrall= slave

errands=a short journey

·         “Hath lost us Heav’n, and all this mighty Host”

o   Their defeat has cost them Heaven and has brought down their entire mighty army of angels.

·         “In horrible destruction laid thus low,”

o   They have been cast down in horrific destruction.

·         “As far as Gods and Heav’nly Essences”

o   This is as close to destruction as divine beings or heavenly essences can come.

·         “Can perish: for the mind and spirit remains”

o   They cannot fully die, because their minds and spirits continue to exist.

·         “Invincible, and vigour soon returns,”

o   Their inner life is unconquerable, and their strength will soon return.

·         “Though all our Glory extinct, and happy state”

o   Yet all their former glory has been extinguished, and their former happiness—

·         “Here swallow’d up in endless misery.”

o   —has been swallowed up by endless misery in Hell.

·         “But what if he our Conquerour, (whom I now”

o   Beelzebub then raises a troubling possibility: what if their conqueror—God—

·         “Of force believe Almighty, since no less”

o   —whom he is now compelled to believe is Almighty, because nothing less than omnipotence—

·         “Then such could hav’ o’repow’rd such force as ours)”

o   —could have overcome their immense power—

·         “Have left us this our spirit and strength intire”

o   —has intentionally left their spirit and strength intact?

·         “Strongly to suffer and support our pains,”

o   Perhaps they have been left strong enough only to endure their torments.

·         “That we may so suffice his vengeful ire,”

o   Their suffering may simply satisfy God’s vengeful anger.

·         “Or do him mightier service as his thralls”

o   Or they may be forced to serve Him as slaves.

·         “By right of Warr, what e’re his business be”

o   As prisoners taken by right of war, they may be made to do whatever work He assigns.

·         “Here in the heart of Hell to work in Fire,”

o   That work may be laboring amid fire in the center of Hell.

·         “Or do his Errands in the gloomy Deep;”

o   Or carrying out His commands in the dark depths of the underworld.

·         “What can it then avail though yet we feel”

o   Beelzebub asks: what good is it if they still feel—

·         “Strength undiminisht, or eternal being”

o   —undiminished strength or eternal existence—

·         “To undergo eternal punishment?”

o   —if they must suffer eternal punishment?

·         “Whereto with speedy words th’ Arch-fiend reply’d”

o   Satan, the “arch-fiend,” immediately replies to this despairing argument.

 

Beelzebub acknowledges the devastating truth: their rebellion has cost them Heaven and left their entire army completely ruined, damaged as much as immortal beings possibly can be. He agrees with Satan that their minds, spirits, and energy are indestructible and will soon return. However, he introduces a terrifying counter-argument: What if God let them keep their strength just so they could endure more torture?

Beelzebub admits he now believes God is truly Almighty, since no one less powerful could have beaten them. He worries that God left them alive either to act as an outlet for His endless vengeance, or to force them to serve as slaves (thralls) of war, working in Hell's fires or running errands in the dark abyss. If that is the case, Beelzebub asks, what good is having an indestructible spirit if it only exists to suffer eternal punishment? Hearing this threat to his army's morale, Satan ("th' Arch-fiend") quickly interrupts him.

 

 

Section-III

Lines 157-180

Satan= the Arch-Fiend

Beelzebub =Fall'n Cherub

Providence= divine care, guidance

precipice = very steep or vertical rock face or cliff

"Spent his shafts"=to run out of arrows/thunders or ammunition.

satiate Satisfy (a desire or an appetite) to the full.

·         “Fall’nCherube, to be weak is miserable”
Satan calls Beelzebub a “fallen cherub” and says that weakness is miserable.

·         “Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,”
Whether one is weak while doing or while suffering, weakness brings misery. But, he says, be certain of this:

·         “To do ought good never will be our task,”
Doing any good will never be their mission.

·         “But ever to do ill our sole delight,”
Instead, doing evil will be their only pleasure and purpose.

·         “As being the contrary to his high will”
They choose evil precisely because it opposes the high will of God.

·         “Whom we resist.”
God is the one whom they continue to resist.

·         “If then his Providence”
Satan then considers God’s providence—God’s ability to govern events and bring about His purposes.

·         “Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,”
If God tries to produce good out of their evil actions,

·         “Our labour must be to pervert that end,”
Their task must be to spoil or frustrate that good outcome.

·         “And out of good still to find means of evil;”
They must also find ways to turn good things into sources of evil.

·         “Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps”
Sometimes this plan may succeed, perhaps enough to—

·         “Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb”
—cause God grief, if Satan does not fail, and disturb—

·         “His inmost counsels from thir first-destin’d aim.”
—God’s deepest plans, diverting them from their intended purpose.

·         “But see the angry Victor hath recall’d”
Satan then notices that the angry victor—God—has recalled—

·         “His Ministers of vengeance(led by Michael and Gabriel) and pursuit”
—His agents of punishment and pursuit—

·         “Back to the Gates of Heav’n:”
—back to Heaven’s gates.

·         “The Sulphurous Hail”
The burning, sulphurous hail—

·         “Shot after us in storm, oreblown hath laid”
—fired after them in a storm, has now been blown over and has calmed—

·         “The fiery Surge, that from the Precipice”
—the fiery surge that came from Heaven’s cliff or edge—

·         “Of Heav’n receiv’d us falling, and the Thunder,”
—and received them as they fell, along with the thunder—

·         “Wing’d (=propelled) with red Lightning and impetuous (=quick) rage,”
—accompanied by red lightning and violent rage—

·         “Perhaps hath spent his shafts, and ceases now”
—may have used up its weapons and has now stopped—

·         “To bellow (=to roar) through the vast and boundless Deep.”
—roaring through the vast, limitless abyss.

·         “Let us not slip th’ occasion, whether scorn,”
Satan urges that they must not waste this opportunity, whether God has withdrawn out of contempt—

·         “Or satiatefury yield it from our Foe.”
—or because His fury has been satisfied.

·         “Seest thou yon dreary Plain, forlorn and wilde,”
He asks Beelzebub whether he sees that dreary, deserted, wild plain ahead.

 

Summary:Satan reprimands Beelzebub, declaring that being weak—whether actively fighting or passively suffering—is the worst kind of misery. He establishes their eternal mission: they will never do good; their only joy will be doing evil, purely to oppose God's will. If God's divine plan ("Providence") tries to turn their evil deeds into good outcomes, Satan vows that their continuous work will be to twist that good back into evil.

Satan then notices a physical change in Hell: God has recalled His pursuing angels, and the violent storm of sulfur, thunder, and red lightning that drove them out of Heaven has finally calmed down. Whether God stopped out of supreme contempt or because His anger is satisfied, Satan urges Beelzebub not to waste this opportunity. He points toward a dreary, wild plain in Hell and suggests they move there to regroup.

 

☞Satan's and Beelzebub's quitting the lake of fire (192-282)

Lines 181-195

"Livid" = from the Latin lividus, meaning a dark, bruised, purplish-blue color.

"Save" means "except."

thith·er= To or toward that place.

 

·         “The seat of desolation, voyd of light,”
Satan describes the distant shore as a place of utter desolation, without real light.

·         “Save what the glimmering of these livid flames”
The only illumination comes from the faint, sickly glow of the flames around them.

·         “Casts pale and dreadful?”
That glow makes the scene look pale and terrifying rather than comforting.

·         “Thither let us tend”
He proposes that they move toward that shore.

·         “From off the tossing of these fiery waves,”
They should escape the tossing, burning waves of the lake of fire.

·         “There rest, if any rest can harbour there,”
They may rest there—if rest is even possible in such a place.

·         “And reassembling our afflicted Powers,”
They should gather their suffering, defeated forces together.

·         “Consult how we may henceforth most offend”
Then they must plan how to offend—or harm—their enemy most effectively.

·         “Our Enemy, our own loss how repair,”
They must also consider how to recover from their own losses.

·         “How overcome this dire Calamity,”
They must decide how to overcome this terrible disaster.

·         “What reinforcement we may gain from Hope,”
They should ask what strength they can draw from hope.

·         “If not what resolution from despare.”
If hope is unavailable, they can at least find resolve in despair.

·         “Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate(=Beelzebub)”
The narrator explains that Satan is speaking these words to Beelzebub, his closest companion.

·         “With Head up-lift above the wave, and Eyes”
Satan keeps his head raised above the fiery waves.

·         “That sparkling blaz’d,”
His eyes blaze with a fierce, sparkling light.

·         “His other Parts besides”
The rest of his body—

·         “Prone on the Flood, extended long and large”
—lies face-down on the flood, stretched out enormously.

 

Summary:Satan points toward a desolate plain in Hell, which has no light except for the pale, terrifying glimmer cast by the surrounding flames. He urges Beelzebub to move away from the tossing, violent waves of fire to rest on this dry land—if any true rest is even possible in Hell. Once there, he plans to gather their defeated, traumatized army ("afflicted Powers") to strategize. They will consult on how to best attack and offend God ("Our Enemy"), how to repair their massive losses, and how to survive this catastrophe. He concludes by saying they will look for strength in hope, or if hope is gone, they will find fierce determination born out of pure despair. The narrator then describes Satan floating in the fiery flood, raising only his head and blazing eyes, while the rest of his massive, colossal body stretches out endlessly across the liquid fire.

 

Lines 196-210

·         “Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge”
Satan’s body floats across many “roods” (a rood is a large measure of length), and his size is enormous.

·         “As whom the Fables name of monstrous size,”
Milton compares him to the gigantic beings of ancient myths.

·         “Titanian, or Earth-born, that warr’d on Jove,”
These include the Titans or Earth-born giants who fought against Jove (Jupiter/Zeus), the king of the classical gods.

·         “Briareos or Typhon, whom the Den”
Satan is also likened to Briareos, a hundred-handed giant, and Typhon, a monstrous rebel against Zeus.

·         “By ancient Tarsus held,”
Typhon was said to be imprisoned beneath or near ancient Tarsus.

·         “or that Sea-beast”
Milton then offers another comparison: a huge sea creature.

·         “Leviathan, which God of all his works”
This is Leviathan, the biblical sea monster.

·         “Created hugest that swim th’ Ocean stream:”
Satan is as huge as the largest creature God made to swim in the ocean.

·         “Him haply slumbring on the Norway foam”
The simile imagines Leviathan sleeping near the Norwegian coast.

·         “The Pilot of some small night-founder’d Skiff,”
A sailor piloting a small boat lost in the night approaches it.

·         “Deeming some Island, oft, as Sea-men tell,”
The sailor mistakes the sleeping monster for an island, as sailors’ stories often say.

·         “With fixed Anchor in his skaly rind”
He anchors his boat into the creature’s scaly skin.

·         “Moors by his side under the Lee,”
The boat is secured beside Leviathan, in its sheltered, wind-protected side.

·         “while Night / Invests the Sea, and wished Morn delayes:”
Night covers the sea, and the sailor waits anxiously for morning, which seems slow to arrive.

·         “So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend lay”
In the same way, Satan—the arch-fiend—lies stretched out at enormous length.

·         “Chain’d on the burning Lake, nor ever thence”
He lies chained upon the lake of fire, and the sentence continues into the next lines.

 

Summary:Satan’s body stretches across the fiery lake, covering a massive distance ("many a rood"). The narrator compares his immense size to the ancient mythological Titans and giants who waged war against the Greek god Jove (Jupiter), specifically naming Briareos and the multi-headed monster Typhon.

The narrator then compares Satan to the Leviathan, the massive sea beast created by God. He shares a famous sailors' legend: a pilot of a tiny, night-stranded boat (skiff) mistakes the sleeping Leviathan for an island in the Norwegian sea. The sailor drops his anchor directly into the monster's scaly skin and parks his boat beside it, waiting through the dark night for morning to come. The passage concludes by reminding us that just like this colossal beast, the massive Arch-fiend lies stretched out and chained upon the burning lake of Hell.

 

Lines 211-220

• “Had ris’n or heav’d his head, but that the will”
  Satan would never have raised his head from the burning lake unless—
• “And high permission of all-ruling Heaven”
  —the will and supreme permission of God, who rules everything, allowed it.
• “Left him at large to his own dark designs,”
  God leaves Satan free to pursue his own wicked plans.
• “That with reiterated crimes he might”
  Through repeated acts of evil,
• “Heap on himself damnation, while he sought”
  Satan will increase his own damnation while trying—

Heap on himself: Satan thinks he is attacking God, but the narrator reveals that Satan is actually destroying himself. The more evil Satan commits, the worse his ultimate punishment and torment will be.

• “Evil to others, and enrag’d might see”
  —to harm others. In his rage, he will come to see—
• “How all his malice serv’d but to bring forth”
  —that all his hatred ultimately produces—
• “Infinite goodness, grace and mercy shewn”
  —God’s infinite goodness, grace, and mercy.
• “On Man by him seduc’t, but on himself”
  These blessings will be shown to humanity, whom Satan will seduce; but Satan himself will receive—
• “Treble confusion, wrath and vengeance pour’d.”
  —threefold confusion, divine anger, and vengeance.

Lines 221-225

Satan Rises from the Burning Lake

• “Forthwith upright he rears from off the Pool”
  At once, Satan rises upright from the fiery pool.
• “His mighty Stature; on each hand the flames”
  His huge body rises, and the flames on either side—
• “Drivn backward slope thir pointing spires, and rowld”
  —are pushed back, slanting like pointed spires and rolling—
• “In billows, leave i’th’ midst a horrid Vale.”
  —in waves, leaving a dreadful hollow space in the middle.
• “Then with expanded wings he stears his flight”
  Satan then spreads his wings and begins to fly.

Summary:The narrator explains that Satan would never have been able to rise or lift his head from the lake if the all-ruling will and permission of Heaven had not intentionally left him free to pursue his dark plans. God allows this so that Satan, by committing crime after crime, will pile even more damnation upon himself. While Satan thinks he is successfully spreading evil to others, he will be forced to watch in rage as his malice is twisted by God to bring about infinite goodness, grace, and mercy for mankind (whom Satan will eventually tempt). Meanwhile, Satan will only bring triple the amount of wrath, confusion, and vengeance upon his own head.

With this divine permission, Satan finally raises his massive body upright from the pool. As he stands, the flames on either side are driven backward, curling into waves and leaving a terrifying, open valley in the middle of the lake. He then spreads his enormous wings and flies upward.

 

Lines 226-240

Aloft= in the air,

Entrails= internal,

·         “Aloft, incumbent on the dusky Air”
Satan rises into the dark air, pressing down upon it with his enormous weight.

·         “That felt unusual weight, till on dry Land”
The air seems to feel this unusual burden until Satan lands on dry land.

·         “He lights, if it were Land that ever burn’d”
He touches down—but Milton questions whether it can truly be called “land,” since it has burned.

·         “With solid, as the Lake with liquid fire;”
The land burns with solid fire, just as the lake burns with liquid fire.

·         “And such appear’d in hue, as when the force”
Its appearance resembles the aftermath of a volcanic explosion.

·         “Of subterranean wind transports a Hill”
When underground winds blast apart and move a hill—

·         “Torn from Pelorus, or the shatter’d side”
—such as land torn from Pelorus, a promontory in Sicily, or from the broken side—

·         “Of thundringÆtna,”
—of Mount Etna, the famous erupting volcano.

·         “whose combustible / And fewel’dentrals thence conceiving Fire,”
Etna’s flammable, fuel-filled interior catches fire.

·         “Sublim’d with Mineral fury, aid the Winds,”
Its mineral fury intensifies the eruption and helps drive the winds.

·         “And leave a singed bottom all involv’d”
The eruption leaves scorched ground—

·         “With stench and smoak:”
—covered in foul stench and smoke.

·         “Such resting found the sole / Of unblest feet.”
Satan’s cursed feet find a resting place just like that scorched volcanic ground.

·         “Him followed his next Mate,”
Beelzebub, Satan’s closest companion, follows him.

·         “Both glorying to have scap’t the Stygian flood”
Both rejoice that they have escaped the Stygian flood—the lake of fire in Hell.(of River Styx)

·         “As Gods, and by thir own recover’d strength,”
They boast as if they were gods, believing they escaped by their own recovered strength.

 

Summary:Satan flies through the heavy, dark air of Hell, his massive size weighing it down, until he finally lands on dry land. However, this land offers no relief—it burns with solid fire just as terribly as the lake burned with liquid fire. The narrator describes the landscape by comparing it to the aftermath of a massive volcanic eruption, like Mount Etna or Cape Pelorus being torn apart by earthquakes and underground winds, leaving behind a scorched, smoking basin filled with sulfurous stench. This ruined ground is where Satan ("unblest feet") finally steps. Beelzebub follows right behind him. Both of them arrogantly celebrate their escape from the fiery lake ("the Stygian flood"), pridefully believing they freed themselves like independent gods using their own recovered strength, completely blind to the fact that God allowed it.

 

Lines 241-255

·         “Not by the sufferance of supernal Power.”
Satan corrects Beelzebub: they did not escape because Heaven merely permitted or tolerated it.

·         “Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime,”
He asks bitterly: Is this the region, ground, and climate—

·         “Said then the lost Arch-Angel, this the seat”
—the place, says the fallen archangel—

·         “That we must change for Heav’n, this mournful gloom”
—that they must now accept instead of Heaven? Is this mournful darkness—

·         “For that celestial light?”
—their replacement for Heaven’s celestial light?

·         “Be it so, since he / Who now is Sovran can dispose and bid / What shall be right:”
He accepts it, because the present ruler—God—has the power to decide what counts as right.

·         “Fardest from him is best”
Satan says it is best to remain as far from God as possible.

·         “Whom reason hath equald, force hath made supream / Above his equals.”
In Satan’s view, God is only equal to other beings by reason, but has become supreme through force over his equals.

o   He argues that the only reason God rules supreme over them is not because God is inherently better or more righteous, but simply because God possesses superior physical power and thunderbolts.

·         “Farewel happy Fields / Where Joy for ever dwells:”
He bids farewell to Heaven’s happy fields, where eternal joy lives.

·         “Hail horrours, hail / Infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell”
He greets horrors, the infernal world, and the deepest Hell.

·         “Receive thy new Possessor:”
He tells Hell to receive him as its new master.

·         “One who brings / A mind not to be chang’d by Place or Time.”
He claims to bring a mind that no place or time can change.

·         “The mind is its own place, and in it self

·         Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n.
His famous declaration: the mind creates its own inner world; it can make Hell feel like Heaven, or Heaven feel like Hell.

 

Summary:The narrator notes that Satan and Beelzebub still falsely believe they escaped the lake through their own strength, not because God ("supernal Power") permitted it. Satan then looks around at his bleak surroundings, asking bitterly if this mournful gloom is the region they must accept in exchange for Heaven’s celestial light. He accepts it ("Be it so"), reasoning that God is now the sovereign ruler who dictates what is "right" simply because He has the power to do so. Satan declares that being as far away from God as possible is best. He insults God, claiming they are equals in intellect and reason, and that God only sits on the throne because of superior physical force.

Satan then bids farewell to the happy fields of Heaven and boldly welcomes his new home: "Hail horrours, hail / Infernal world." He proclaims himself Hell's new master, a being who brings a mind that cannot be altered by time or location. He delivers the legendary philosophy: the mind is its own place, and it can create a mental Heaven out of Hell, or a Hell out of Heaven.

 

Lines 256-270

·         “What matter where, if I be still the same,”

o   Satan says it does not matter where he is, as long as he remains inwardly the same.

o   It doesn't matter where I am physically (Heaven or Hell), as long as my mind, identity, and inner strength remain unchanged."

·         “And what I should be, all but less then he”

o   He claims he is still what he ought to be—second only to God.

·         “Whom Thunder hath made greater?”

o   God is greater only, in Satan’s view, because His thunder and force have made Him so.

·         “Here at least / We shall be free;”

o   In Hell, Satan claims, they will at least be free.

·         “Th’ Almighty hath not built / Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:”

o   God did not create Hell out of envy and will not drive them out of it.

Hell is a place of punishment, meaning God has no interest in occupying or reclaiming it.Because God does not envy or want this space, Satan realizes the fallen angels are finally safe from being expelled or displaced.

 

·         “Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce”

o   Therefore, they can rule securely in Hell; Satan says that, by his own choice—

·         “To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:”

o   —ruling is a worthy ambition, even in Hell.

·         “Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav’n.”

o   He would rather rule in Hell than serve in Heaven.

·         “But wherefore let we then our faithful friends,”

o   He then asks why they should leave their loyal followers—

·         “Th’ associates and copartners of our loss”

o   —the companions who shared their defeat—

·         “Lye thus astonisht on th’ oblivious Pool,”

o   —lying stunned in the lake of forgetfulness and fire.

·         “And call them not to share with us their part”

o   Why not call them to share their portion—

·         “In this unhappy Mansion (=hell), or once more”

o   —in this miserable dwelling place, or once more—

·         “With rallied Arms to try what may be yet / Regaind in Heav’n, or what more lost in Hell?”

o   —gather their weapons and try either to regain something in Heaven or discover what further losses Hell may bring.

To see what we might still win back in Heaven, or—if we fail—what further risks and losses we might face in Hell.

 

Summary:Satan declares that it does not matter where he physically is, so long as his mind remains completely unchanged, maintaining that he is only slightly less powerful than the God who defeated him purely through superior power ("Thunder"). He finds comfort in Hell for one specific reason: absolute freedom. He notes that God did not build this dark realm to be an object of envy and will never bother to drive them out of it.

Satan proudly proclaims that they can rule securely here, declaring that ruling is a goal worthy of ambition, even if that rule is over Hell itself. After delivering his ultimate manifesto, he shifts back to business, asking Beelzebub why they are leaving their faithful allies and fellow losers lying paralyzed and stunned on the forgetful lake of fire. He urges that they must call their army to join them on dry land, either to launch another desperate attack to regain Heaven or to see what else they might lose in Hell.

 

Lines 271-283

Beelzebub addresses Satan again

·         “So Satan spake, and him Beelzebub / Thus answer’d.”

o   After Satan finishes speaking, Beelzebub replies.

·         “Leader of those Armies bright,”

o   He addresses Satan as leader of the once-radiant angelic armies.

·         “Which but th’ Omnipotent none could have foyl’d,”

o   He says only the Omnipotent—God—could have defeated them.

·         “If once they hear that voyce, thir liveliest pledge”

o   If the fallen angels hear Satan’s voice, it will be their strongest source of hope.

·         “Of hope in fears and dangers, heard so oft”

o   They have often heard it in times of fear and danger.

·         “In worst extreams, and on the perilous edge / Of battel when itrag’d,”

o   His voice encouraged them in the worst crises and at the most dangerous moments of battle.

·         “In all assaults / Thir surest signal,”

o   In every attack, his voice was their most reliable signal.

·         “they will soon resume / New courage and revive,”

o   Hearing him, they will quickly regain courage and revive.

·         “though now they lye / Groveling and prostrate on yon Lake of Fire,”

o   Even though they now lie flattened and helpless on the lake of fire.

·         “As we erewhile, astounded and amaz’d,”

o   They are in the same stunned, shocked condition that Satan and Beelzebub were in earlier.

·         “No wonder, fall’n such a pernicious highth.”

o   Beelzebub says it is no wonder they are dazed, since they have fallen from such a disastrously high place.

 

Summary:Beelzebub addresses Satan with immense respect, calling him the leader of the brilliant armies that no one except the Almighty could have ever defeated. He assures Satan that if the fallen angels hear his voice—which has always been their ultimate source of hope during terrifying battles—they will instantly regain their courage and come back to life. Beelzebub notes that it is completely understandable that the army is currently lying flat and paralyzed on the lake of fire, considering the catastrophic, destructive height from which they were just thrown out of Heaven.

 

SECTION-IV

Satan rallying his Devils (Line 283-633)

• "He scarce had ceas't when the superiour Fiend"
• Satan (the "superior Fiend") had finished speaking his defiant speech to Beelzebub
• "Was moving toward the shoar; his ponderous shield"
• When he began walking toward the shore of the burning lake, carrying his heavy, massive shield.
• "Ethereal temper, massy, large and round,"
• The shield was forged of heavenly metal ("ethereal temper"), weighty, enormous, and perfectly circular.
• Ethereal= extremely delicate, light, or seeming not of this world
• "Behind him cast; the broad circumference"
• He slung it across his back, and its massive, wide perimeter
• "Hung on his shoulders like the Moon (shield =Moon), whose Orb(=globe)"
• Hung over his shoulders looking just like the glowing, round circle of the full Moon.
• "Through Optic Glass the Tuscan Artist views"
• It mimics the Moon that the Italian astronomer Galileo (the "Tuscan Artist") looks at through his telescope ("optic glass")-Tuscany in central Italy
• "At Ev'ning from the top of Fesole,"(Fiesole is a town inFlorence)
• In the evening from the high hills of Fiesole
• "Or in Valdarno, to descry (=trying to spot) new Lands,"
• Or from the Arno Valley, trying to spot undiscovered lands,
• Valdarno= scenic valley of the Arno River in Tuscany, Italy
• "Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe=(moon)."
• And map out the rivers or mountain ranges on the cratered, imperfect surface of the Moon.
• "His Spear, to equal which the tallest Pine"(spear=pine tree)
• He carried a spear so colossally large that by comparison, the tallest pine tree
• "Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the Mast"
• Chopped down on the mountains of Norway to serve as the main mast
• Hewn= cut with a large sharp tool
• "Of some great Ammiral, were but a wand,"
• For a massive flagship naval vessel ("Ammiral"), would look like nothing more than a tiny twig or walking stick.
• "He walkt with to support uneasie steps"
• He leaned on this spear to brace himself and stabilize his painful, difficult steps
• "Over the burning Marle, not like those steps"
• As he trudged across the red-hot, glowing soil ("marle") of Hell—a brutal contrast to how he used to walk
• Marle (or Marl): An old-fashioned or geological term for asoil consisting of clay
• "On Heavens Azure, and the torrid Clime"
• Upon the beautiful blue pavements of Heaven. Meanwhile, the scorching, oppressive atmosphere
• "Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with Fire;"
• Battered him mercilessly from all sides, under a sky that formed a literal roof of trapped fire.
• Smote=To hit something
• "Nathless he so endur'd, till on the Beach"
• Nevertheless ("Nathless"), he pushed through the agony until he reached the edge
• "Of that inflamed Sea, he stood and call'd"
• Of that blazing lake of fire, where he stopped and shouted out to
• "His Legions, Angel Forms, who lay intrans't"
• His massive army of fallen angels, who were still lying paralyzed and stunned
• "Thick as Autumnal Leaves that strow the Brooks"(Fallen Angels=autumn leaves)
• Covering the fiery water as thickly as fallen autumn leaves blanket the streams
• "In Vallombrosa, where th' Etrurian shades"(Shades=tree shade/dark ghosts)
• In the famous, shady woods of Vallombrosa, Italy,
• "In Vallombrosa"= A real place in Tuscany, Italy. literally translates to "Shady Valley", visited by Milton in 1638.
• "Etrurian" refers to Etruria, the ancient classical name for the Tuscany region.
• "High overarch'timbowr; or scatterd sedge" (=scattered seaweed)
• Where the tall forest canopy forms a dark, vaulted ceiling; or like tangled, floating seaweed ("sedge")
• Imbower (also spelled embower) is an archaic poetic verb meaning to enclose
• "Afloat, when with fierce Winds Orion arm'd"
• Tossed on the waves when the stormy constellation Orion rises up with fierce winds.
• They are no longer the vibrant "Flower of Heaven"—they are now just debris cluttering the floor of Hell

In classical mythology, Orion is a giant hunter who was placed in the stars as a constellation(typically in late autumn and winter),  was famous among ancient sailors for bringing violent storms, heavy rain, and fierce winds.

 

·         "Hath vext the Red-Sea Coast, whose waves orethrew"

o    Orion's storms which violently agitate the coast of the Red Sea, the very waters that famously crashed down and destroyed

·         "Busiris and his Memphian Chivalry,"

o    Pharaoh (whom Milton calls "Busiris") and his elite Egyptian elite horsemen and chariot drivers ("Memphian Chivalry"),Pharaoh's army drowning in the Red Sea,When the Egyptian Pharaoh and his charioteers chasing the fleeing Israelites. event traditionally associated with the biblical Exodus.

·         "While with perfidious hatred they pursu'd"

o    While they were relentlessly pursuing, with treacherous and oath-breaking hatred,

·         "The Sojourners of Goshen, who beheld"

o    The Hebrew people (the Israelites who had been living in the land of Goshen in Egyption region), who stood safely on the opposite shore and watched

·         "From the safe shore thir floating Carkases"

o    The dead, bloated bodies of the Egyptian soldiers bobbing on the water,

·         "And broken Chariot Wheels, so thick bestrown"

o    Along with the shattered wheels of their war chariots, scattered densely across the sea.

·         "Abject and lost lay these, covering the Flood,"

o    Just like those drowned Egyptians, the fallen angels lay utterly defeated, ruined, and scattered all over the surface of the fiery lake,

·         "Under amazement of thir hideous change."

o    Paralysed with utter shock and horror at the terrifying transformation from glorious angels to ruined demons.

·         "He call'd so loud, that all the hollow Deep"

o    Satan bellowed out so incredibly loudly that the entire cavernous, empty expanse

·         "Of Hell resounded. Princes, Potentates,"

o    Of Hell echoed with his voice. He shouted: "Princes! Rulers!

·         "Warriers, the Flowr of Heav'n, once yours, now lost,"

o    Warriors! You who were once the very best and brightest of Heaven—a home that is now lost to you!

·         "If such astonishment as this can sieze"

o    Is it even possible that a paralyzing shock like this can conquer

·         "Eternal spirits; or have ye chos'n this place"

o    Immortal, divine beings? Or have you intentionally chosen this horrific place

·         "After the toyl of Battel to repose"

o    To lie down and rest after the exhausting hard work of our war?

·         "Your wearied vertue, for the ease you find"

o    Are you relaxing your tired courage and strength because of the wonderful 'comfort' you find here on this lake of fire?"

·         "To slumber here, as in the Vales of Heav'n?"

o    "Did you come here to sleep, as if you were relaxing in the peaceful valleys of Heaven?"

·         "Or in this abject posture have ye sworn"

o    "Or have you decided, while lying here in this humiliated, defeated position, to swear an oath"(abject=without hope)

·         "To adore the Conquerour? who now beholds"

o    "To worship God, our Conqueror? Who right now is looking down from above and watching"(behold=to see)

·         "Cherube and Seraph rowling in the Flood"

o    "His highest ranks of angels—Cherubim and Seraphim—tossing and turning helplessly in this lake of fire,"

·         "With scatter'd Arms and Ensigns (=military banners), till anon"

o    "God's fast-chasing angels looking out from the gates of Heaven notice"

·         "His swift pursuers from Heav'n Gates discern"

o    "God's fast-chasing angels looking out from the gates of Heaven notice"

·         "Th' advantage, and descending tread us down"

o    "Our vulnerable position, fly down, and tread us into the ground"

·         "Thus drooping, or with linked Thunderbolts"

o    "While we are lying here so weak and helpless; or, they will use chained lightning bolts to"

·         "Transfix us to the bottom of this Gulfe."

o    "Pin us down permanently to the absolute bottom of this fiery abyss."

·         "Awake, arise, or be for everfall'n."

o    "Wake up, stand up and fight, or accept being completely defeated and doomed forever!"

·         "They heard, and were abasht, and up they sprung"

o    The fallen angels heard Satan's stinging words, felt deeply ashamed ("abasht") of their vulnerability, and instantly leaped upward

·         "Upon the wing, as when men wont (=want)to watch"

o    Into the air on their wings—behaving just like soldiers who are supposed to be standing guard on night watch duty,

·         "On duty, sleeping found by whom they dread (=fear),"

o    But are caught fast asleep by the commanding officer whom they fear most,

·         "Rouse and bestir (=to become active) themselves ere (=earlier) well awake."

o    And violently startle themselves awake, scrambling frantically to get to their feet before they are even fully conscious.

·         "Nor did they not perceave the evil plight"

o    It was not that they failed to realize the terrible, agonizing situation [Milton uses a double negative here to mean they fully realized the horrific state]

·         "In which they were, or the fierce pains not feel;"

o    They were in, nor were they numb to the searing, agonizing pain of the fire;

·         "Yet to thirGenerals Voyce they soon obeyd"

o    Nevertheless, they immediately obeyed the commanding voice of their general (Satan),

·         "Innumerable. As when the potent Rod"

o    Rising up in numbers too vast to count. They were just like the time when the powerful staff

·         "Of Amrams Son in Egyptsevill day"

o    Of Moses (referred to biblically as the "Son of Amram") during the plagues of ancient Egypt,

·         "Wav'd round the Coast, up call'd a pitchy cloud"

o    Was waved over the land, summoning a massive, pitch-black ("pitchy") cloud

·         "Of Locusts, warping on the Eastern Wind,"

o    Of locusts swarming and flying heavily on the blowing East Wind,

·         "That ore the Realm of impious Pharaoh hung"

o    Which hovered threateningly over the kingdom of the wicked ("impious") Pharaoh

·         "Like Night, and darken'd all the Land of Nile:"

o    Like total nighttime, completely blocking out the sun across the entire Nile valley:

·         "So numberless were those bad Angels seen"

o    In that exact same, terrifyingly infinite quantity, the wicked angels were seen

·         "Hovering on wing under the Cope of Hell"

o    Flying and hovering under the massive, vaulted ceiling ("cope") of Hell.

The Simile: Milton writes that just as Moses waved his powerful ("potent") staff ("rod") to summon a massive,dark cloud of locusts that blocked out the sun over Pharaoh’s realm, the numberless bad angels rose up on their wings, hovering over the fires of Hell, completely filling the view.

·         "'Twixt upper, nether, and surrounding Fires;"

o    They flew trapped between the fires above them, the fires below them ("nether"), and the fires surrounding them on every side;

·         "Till, as a signal giv'n, th' uplifted Spear"

o    Until, acting as a command, the raised spear

·         "Of thir great Sultan waving to direct"

o    Of their absolute ruler (Satan, called a "Sultan" here) waved through the air to guide

·         "Thir course, in even ballance down they light"

o    Their flight path, causing them to glide downward in a steady, controlled balance and land

·         "On the firm brimstone, and fill all the Plain;"

o    Onto the solid sulfur ("brimstone") ground, completely blanketing the vast desert floor;

·         "A multitude, like which the populous North"

o    An army so massive that even the heavily populated regions of Northern Europe

·         "Pour'd never from her frozen loyns, to pass"

o    Never generated ("poured from her frozen loins") such numbers when they crossed

o    "loins" as a poetic and biblical term for the human reproductive organs.

·         "Rhene or the Danaw, when her barbarous Sons"

o    The Rhine ("Rhene") or the Danube ("Danaw") rivers, when those invading barbarian tribes. (vast populations moving acrossRhine and Danube rivers).

·         "Came like a Deluge on the South, and spread"

o    Flooded down like a destructive tidal wave ("deluge") over Southern Europe, destroying everything and scattering

·         "Beneath Gibralter to the Lybian sands."

o    From south of the Straits of Gibraltar (Spain) all the way across to the deserts of North Africa ("Libya").

·         "Forthwith from every Squadron and each Band"

o    Immediately, from every military division and distinct troop,

·         "The Heads and Leaders thither hast where stood"

o    The chiefs and commanders hurried over to the exact spot where

·         "Thirgreat Commander; Godlike shapes and forms"

o    Their top general (Satan) was standing—displaying magnificent, godlike bodies and statures

·         "Excelling human, Princely Dignities,"

o    That far surpassed human limitations, looking like royal royalty,

·         "And Powers that earst in Heaven sat on Thrones;"

o    And mighty rulers who formerly ("earst") sat on glorious thrones in Heaven.

 

·         "Though of thir Names in heav'nly Records now"

o    Even though there is absolutely no mention of their original names in the archives of Heaven now,

·         "Be no memorial blotted out and ras'd"

o    Because every single trace and memory of them was completely erased and wiped clean ("ras'd")

·         "By thir Rebellion, from the Books of Life."

o    From the celestial "Books of Life" as a direct punishment for their treasonous revolt.

o    Books of life = a heavenly ledger or record book kept by God

·         "Nor had they yet among the Sons of Eve"

o    Furthermore, they had not yet interacted with human beings (the "Sons of Eve")

·         "Got them new Names, till wandring ore the Earth,"

o    Or acquired the new names they would later hold, until they began roaming all across the Earth—

·         "Through Gods high sufferance for the tryal of man,"

o    Which was allowed only because of God's supreme permission ("sufferance") to test human free will,(Satan and the fallen angels are allowed to roam and tempt humanity.)

·         "By falsities and lyes the greatest part"

o    And using deception, illusions, and outright lies, the vast majority

·         "Of Mankind they corrupted to forsake"

o    Of the human race was successfully tricked by them into abandoning

·         "God thir Creator, and th' invisible"

o    God, their true Creator, and discarding the unseen,

·         "Glory of him that made them, to transform"

o    Magnificent spirit of the One who built them, choosing instead to foolishly change

·         "Oft to the Image of a Brute, adorn'd"

o    Their worship toward the physical likeness of common animals and beasts ("a brute"), which were decorated

·         "With gay Religions full of Pomp and Gold,"

o    With flashy, superficial religious rituals ("gay") packed with theatrical arrogance, wealth, and gold,Instead of worshipping the true God, humans turned to false, glittering religions.Underneath this gold and pomp

·         "And Devils to adore for Deities:"

o    Bowing down to worship literal demons as if they were holy gods.

·         "Then were they known to men by various Names,"

o    It was only after this corruption took root that humans began identifying these demons by different titles,

·         "And various Idols through the Heathen World."

o    Constructing different physical statues to worship them throughout the ancient, non-Christian ("Heathen") world.("heathen" =label non-believers)

·         "Say, Muse, thir Names then known, who first, who last,"

o    Tell me, divine Muse, what names they eventually became known by—who was the very first to step forward, and who was the last,

·         "Rous'd from the slumber, on that fiery Couch,"

o    As they woke up from their paralyzed state on that burning bed ("couch") of fire,

·         "At thirgreat Emperors(=Satan’s) call, as next in worth"

o    Responding to the command of their great Emperor (Satan), and ranked in order of their power and status ("worth")

·         "Came singly where he stood on the bare strand,"

o    Walked up one by one to the exact spot where Satan stood on the barren shoreline,

·         "While the promiscuous croud stood yet aloof?"

o    While the disorganized, ordinary mass of common soldiers ("promiscuous crowd") still stood further back at a distance?

·         "The chief were those who from the Pit of Hell"

o    The most prominent leaders were the ones who, escaping from the abyss of Hell,

·         "Roaming to seek thir prey on earth, durst fix"

o    Roamed across the Earth hunting for human souls, and later had the sheer audacity ("durst") to build

·         "Thir Seats long after next the Seat of God,"

o    Their own temples and thrones right next to the temple and throne of the true God,

·         "Thir Altars by his Altar, Gods ador'd"

o    Setting up their pagan altars right beside His holy altar, getting themselves worshipped as gods

·         "Among the Nations round, and durst abide"

o    By all the surrounding kingdoms, and even dared to stand their ground and live right next to

·         "Jehovahthundring out of Sion, thron'd"

o    The Lord (Jehovah), who sends down thunder from Mount Zion and sits enthroned

·         "Between the Cherubim; yea, often plac'd"

o    Between the golden statues of the Cherubim; yes, these demons frequently went so far as to place

·         "Within his Sanctuary it itself thir Shrines,"

o    Their own unholy shrines directly inside God's most sacred temple sanctuary itself—

·         "Abominations; and with cursed things"

o    Bringing absolute desecrations ("abominations") and forbidden, unclean items inside,

·         "His holy Rites, and solemn Feasts profan'd,"

o    Contaminating God's sacred rituals and holy religious festivals,

·         "And with thir darkness durst affront his light."

o    And brazenly using their spiritual darkness to insult, mock, and confront His divine light.

·         The main leaders of Satan's army were the ones who would later leave Hell to roam the Earth, hunting for human souls like prey. In the future, they would have the ultimate nerve ("durst fix") to set up their own worship spaces and statues right next to the true God's temple.

·         They became the false gods worshipped by the nations surrounding Israel. They even dared to stand ground against Jehovah (God), who rules from Mount Zion between the golden statues of the Cherubim. In fact, these demons frequently managed to get their own horrific idols ("abominations") placed directly inside God's sacred temple. By doing this, they ruined holy ceremonies, corrupted religious festivals, and aggressively forced their spiritual darkness to insult and challenge God’s divine light.

 

Moloch:

·         First Moloch, horrid King besmear'd with blood

o    First comes Moloch, a terrifying king covered in blood

·         Of human sacrifice, and parents tears,

o    from killing humans as offerings, which makes their parents weep.

·         Though for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels (=a small hand drum) loud

o    Even though the loud noise of drums and tambourines

·         Thirchildrens cries unheard, that past through fire

o    drowned out the screams of children who were burned alive

·         To his grim Idol. Him the Ammonite

o    in front of his cruel statue. The Ammonite people

·         Worshipt in Rabba and her watry Plain,

o    worshipped him in their capital city, Rabba, and its wet plains,

·         In Argob and in Basan, to the stream

o    as well as in the regions of Argob and Bashan, all the way to the river

·         Of utmost Arnon. Nor content with such

o    of far-off Arnon. But Moloch was not satisfied with just

·         Audacious neighbourhood, the wisest heart

o    living so boldly close to God’s land. He tricked the very wise heart

·         Of Solomon he led by fraud to build

o    of King Solomon into building

·         His Temple right against the Temple of God

o    an idol temple directly facing the true Temple of God

·         On that opprobrious Hill, and made his Grove

o    on a shameful hill. He also turned his sacred ritual trees into

o    (Opprobrious = expressing severe criticism, blame)

·         The pleasant Vally of Hinnom, Tophet thence

o    the once-beautiful Valley of Hinnom, which was later called Tophet

o    Valley of Hinnom= a lush valley just south of Jerusalem; Greek and Latin translation of "Valley of Hinnom" became Gehenna.

·         And black Gehenna call'd, the Type of Hell.

o    and dark Gehenna, serving as an earthly symbol of Hell itself.

 

Chemos

·         Next Chemos, th' obscene dread of Moabs Sons,

o    Next in the procession of fallen angels is Chemos, the repulsive and terrifying god worshipped by the Moabites.

·         From Aroar to Nebo, and the wild

o    His worship extended from the city of Aroer to Mount Nebo, and across the wilderness...

·         Of Southmost Abarim; in Hesebon

o    ...of the southernmost Abarim mountain range, as well as in the cities of Heshbon...

·         And Horonaim, Seons Realm, beyond)

o     ...and Horonaim, which were part of the kingdom once ruled by the Amorite king Sihon, stretching past...

·         The flowry Dale of Sibma clad with Vines,

o     ...the fertile, flower-filled valley of Sibmah, which was famous for its abundant grapevines...

·         And Eleale to th' Asphaltick Pool.

o     ...all the way to the town of Elealeh (in Jordan) and down to the Dead Sea (referred to here as the Asphaltick Pool, as natural bitumen (asphalt) frequently floats to its surface).

·         Peor his other Name, when he entic'd

o    Chemos was also known by his other name, Baal-Peor, which he used when he tempted...

·         Israel in Sittim on thir march from Nile

o     ...the Israelites while they were camped at Shittim during their exodus journey out of Egypt...

·         To do him wanton rites, which cost them woe.

o    While camped at Shittim, the Israelite men were enticed by Moabite and Midianite women to worship Chemos/Baal-Peor through fertility rituals and sacred prostitution ("wanton rites"). This angered God, resulting in a devastating plague that killed 24,000 Israelites ("cost them woe").

·         Yet thence his lustful Orgies he enlarg'd

o     Later on, he expanded the reach of his depraved rituals and worship even further...

·         Even to that Hill of scandal, by the Grove

o     ...right up onto the Hill of scandal (=Mount of Olives/ Mount of Corruption)(because shrines to idols were built there, In east of Jerusalem), right next to the sacred grove...

·         Of Moloch homicide, lust hard by hate;

o    Chemos's (=god of lust) altar was built right next to the sacred grove of next door to hate,Moloch(=god of murder)., the Ammonite god notorious for child sacrifice ("homicide")....

·         Till good Josiah drove them thence to Hell.

o     These idols remained there for generations until the righteous King Josiah(of Israel) destroyed the shrines and banished the demons back to Hell.

·         With these came they, who from the bordring flood

o    Along with these specific demons came a massive crowd of other fallen spirits, whose worship stretched from the flowing border...

·         Of old Euphrates to the Brook that parts

o     ...of the ancient Euphrates River (located in modern-day Iraq) all the way down to the small river (the Brook of Egypt- historical seasonal river Wadi el-Arish) that divides...

·         Egypt from Syrian ground, had general Names

o    ...the land of Egypt from the region of Syria, and who were known collectively by broader, general titles (like Baal and Ashtaroth).

Baalim

·         "Of Baalim and Ashtaroth, those male / These Feminine":

o    Baalim is the plural form of Baal (male gods/lords), and Ashtaroth is the plural form of Astarte (female fertility goddesses).

·         "For Spirits when they please / Can either Sex assume, or both":

o    Angels and demons do not have fixed biological sexes. They can manifest as male, female, or an androgynous combination of both depending on their goals.

·         "So soft / And uncompounded is thir Essence pure":

o    Their spiritual substance is simple, unified, and pure energy. It is not made of complex, heavy elements.

·         "Not ti'd or manacl'd with joynt or limb / Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones, / Like cumbrous flesh":

o    Unlike humans, who are locked into clumsy, heavy ("cumbrous") bodies held together by fragile bones and joints, spirits are entirely free.

·         "Dilated or condens't, bright or obscure":

o    They can expand to giant sizes (dilated) or shrink down (condens't). They can glow with celestial light (bright) or hide in darkness (obscure).

·         "Can execute thiraerie purposes / And works of love or enmity fulfill":

o    This fluid nature allows them to carry out their supernatural plans, whether they are acts of spiritual love or malicious hatred (enmity).

·         "For those the Race of Israel oft forsook / Thir living strength":

o    "Thir living strength" refers to God. Because these demons could change shapes and appeal to different human desires, the Israelites repeatedly abandoned God to worship them.

·         "And unfrequented left / His righteous Altar, bowing lowly down / To bestial Gods":

o    The temples of God were left empty (unfrequented) while the people bowed to idols shaped like animals or false deities. (bestial gods = animalistic deities)

·         "For which thir heads as low / Bow'd down in Battel, sunk before the Spear / Of despicable foes":

o    Milton uses poetic irony here. Because the Israelites bowed down spiritually to false gods, God punished them by making them bow down physically in defeat on the battlefield, crushed by neighbouring enemy nations they despised.

Astoreth

·         "With these in troop / Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians call'd"

• Marching along with the other fallen angels (demons) came Astoreth (the singular form of Ashtaroth), a powerful pagan goddess. Milton notes that the Phoenicians knew her by this name.(Phoenicians = ancient Semitic-speaking Canaanite civilization)

·         "Astarte, Queen of Heav'n, with crescent Horns;"

• She was also called Astarte, revered by her followers as the "Queen of Heaven." She is described as having "crescent horns," which visually link her to the crescent moon, symbolizing her association with fertility, the night, and the moon goddess.

·         "To whose bright Image nightly by the Moon[440 ]"

• Under the light of the moon each night, her followers gathered around her radiant idols and statues.

·         "Sidonian Virgins paid thir Vows and Songs,"

• Young, unmarried women from Sidon (a major Phoenician city) offered rituals, made sacred promises, and sang devotional hymns to her.

·         "In Sion also not unsung, where stood"

• Her praises were also sung in Sion (Zion/Jerusalem), meaning her worship dangerously corrupted God's chosen people, the Israelites.

·         "Her Temple on th' offensive Mountain, built"

• A temple was constructed for her on the Mount of Olives, which Milton calls the "offensive mountain" (or the Mount of Corruption) because it was defiled by pagan worship directly outside Jerusalem.

·         "By that uxorious King, whose heart though large,"

• This temple was built by King Solomon (had 700 wives and 300 concubines), who is described as "uxorious" (meaning excessively fond of, submissive to, or doting on his wives). Milton notes that Solomon possessed a "large" (wise and expansive) heart, making his downfall even more tragic.

·         "Beguil'd by fair Idolatresses, fell[445 ]"

• Deceived and led astray by his many foreign, pagan wives (the "fair idolatresses" who worshiped false gods), Solomon succumbed to their influence.

·         "To Idols foul."

• He ultimately fell from God's grace by turning away from the true God to worship repulsive, pagan idols.To please his wives, Solomon committed idolatry by building temples to pagan gods like Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molech, turning away from the God of Israel.

 

Thammuz

·         "Thammuz came next behind,"

• Following directly after Astoreth in the procession of fallen angels came Thammuz (the Syrian/Babylonian god of agriculture and fertility, later associated with the Greek Adonis).

·         "Whose annual wound in Lebanon allur'd"

• According to mythology, Thammuz was slain by a wild boar (=male pig) every year in the Lebanon mountains. The story of this yearly death enticed his followers.

·         "The Syrian Damsels to lament his fate"

• Young Syrian women gathered annually to weep for him, mourning his death as part of a seasonal ritual to ensure the return of spring.(Damsels =a young, unmarried woman)

·         "In amorous dittyes all a Summers day,"

• They spent entire summer days singing highly emotional, passionate, and romantic love songs dedicated to the dying god.[amorous (relating to love or romance) with ditties (short, simple songs).]

·         "While smooth Adonis from his native Rock"

• Meanwhile, the Adonis River (named after the god), flowing calmly from its source in the Lebanese mountains, underwent a dramatic physical change.

·         "Ran purple to the Sea, suppos'd with blood"

• The Adonis river water turned a deep reddish-purple as it flowed into the Mediterranean Sea, which onlookers believed was tinged with the actual blood of the freshly wounded Thammuz. (Note: This was actually a natural phenomenon caused by red iron-rich soil washing into the river during seasonal rains).

·         "Of Thammuz yearly wounded: the Love-tale"

• This recurring display and the romantic tragedy surrounding it created a powerful, seductive narrative.

·         "Infected Sions daughters with like heat,"

• This foreign pagan ritual corrupted ("infected") the women of Jerusalem ("Sion's daughters"), filling them with the same forbidden, passionate religious fervor.("like heat"= with same passion)

·         "Whose wanton passions in the sacred Porch"

• They brought these lustful, pagan mourning rituals directly into the porch of God’s holy temple in Jerusalem.

·         "Ezekiel saw, when by the Vision led"

• The biblical prophet Ezekiel witnessed this defilement firsthand when God gave him a divine vision of the corruption inside the Jerusalem temple.

·         "His eye survay'd the dark Idolatries"

• Ezekiel's eyes scanned the secretive, forbidden pagan practices taking place within the holy grounds.

·         "Of alienated Judah.

• He saw how the Kingdom of Judah (an Israelite kingdom) had turned its back on and alienated itself from God. The poem then shifts its focus to the next demon in line.

 

Dagon

·         …… Next came one"

·         “Who mourn'd in earnest, when the Captive Ark"

• This next demon had genuine reason to grieve when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and placed it inside his temple as a trophy.(Ark of the Covenant is a sacred, gold-covered wooden chest)

·         "Maim'd his brute Image, head and hands lopt off"

• The presence of the Ark triggered a divine intervention that shattered his animalistic idol, cutting off both its head and hands. (maimed (ruined))

·         "In his own Temple, on the grunsel edge,"

• The broken pieces of the idol fell directly onto the "grunsel edge" (the threshold or doorsill) of his own house of worship.

·         "Where he fell flat, and sham'd his Worshipers:"

• The idol was found face-down on the floor, completely humiliated in front of his priests, proving his utter powerlessness against the God of Israel.

·         "Dagon his Name, Sea Monster, upward Man"

• The name of this demon is Dagon. Milton describes him as a grotesque creature of the ocean, possessing the upper torso, chest, and head of a human being.

·         "And downward Fish: yet had his Temple high"

• From the waist down, his body takes the form of a fish, making him a merman-like deity. Despite his monstrous appearance, his human followers built grand, towering temples to worship him.

·         "Rear'd in Azotus, dreaded through the Coast"

• His primary, magnificent temple was constructed in the city of Azotus (also known as Ashdod), and his terrifying religious influence spread across the entire Mediterranean coastline.

·         "Of Palestine, in Gath and Ascalon"

• His power dominated the region of Philistia (Palestine), specifically striking fear into the major ancient strongholds of Gath (the home of Goliath) and Ascalon (Ashkelon).

·         "And Accaron and Gaza's frontier bounds."

o   His cult extended all the way through the cities of Accaron (Ekron) and down to the very borders of Gaza, mapping out the five great royal cities of the Philistines.

Rimmon

·         "Him follow'dRimmon, whose delightful Seat"

o    Right after Dagon came Rimmon (a Syrian storm god), whose beautiful capital city and throne...

·         "Was fair Damascus, on the fertil Banks"

o    ...was the lovely city of Damascus, built right along the rich, green riverbanks...

·         "Of Abbana and Pharphar, lucid streams."

o    ...of the Abana and Pharphar rivers, which were famous for their crystal-clear waters.

·         "He also against the house of God was bold:"

o    Like the other demons, Rimmon was arrogant and aggressively opposed the Temple and people of the true God.

·         "A Leper once he lost and gain'd a King,"

o    He lost a worshipper when Naaman (a Syrian general with leprosy) was miraculously cured by Israelite prophet Elisha and is completely cured of his leprosy after dipping himself seven times in the Jordan Riverand stopped worshipping idols. In return, Rimmon gained a new follower: the King of Judah.

·         "Ahaz his sottishConquerour, whom he drew"

o    This king was Ahaz, whom Milton calls "sottish" (foolish/drunken) because Ahaz conquered the Syrians in battle, he foolishly chose to worship the defeated Syrians' gods.

·         "Gods Altar to disparage and displace"

o    ...into disrespecting ("disparaging") and physically moving ("displacing") the holy altar inside God’s Temple in Jerusalem...

·         "For one of Syrian mode, whereon to burn"

o    ...and replacing it with a copy of a pagan altar built in the Syrian style, where Ahaz began to burn...

·         "His odious off'rings, and adore the Gods"

o    ...his disgusting and hateful ("odious") animal sacrifices, choosing to bow down to and worship the deities...

·         "Whom he had vanquisht."

o    ...that he himself had just conquered ("vanquisht") and beaten in war.He bowed down to the very same gods that had just failed to protect the Syrians from him.

 

Egyptian Gods: Osris, Isis and Orus

• "After these appear'd"
• Following the previous group of fallen angels (the Syrian and Phoenician deities like Moloch and Astarte), the next group came forward.
• "A crew who under Names of old Renown,"
• A band of demons who later took on famous, widely celebrated names in human history.
• "Osiris, Isis, Orus and their Train"
• These demons assumed the identities of the famous Egyptian gods: Osiris (god of the underworld), Isis (goddess of nature/motherhood), Horus/Orus (god of the sky), and their followers/lesser deities.
• "With monstrous shapes and sorceries abus'd"
• They used terrifying, half-animal appearances and magical deceptions to trick and corrupt...
• "Fanatic Egypt and her Priests, to seek [ 480 ]"
• ...the highly superstitious people of Egypt and their religious leaders, causing them to search for...
• "Thirwandring Gods disguis'd in brutish forms"
• ...their fleeing deities, who hid themselves in the shapes of beasts (like cattle, cats, and birds)...
• "Rather then human. Nor did Israel scape"
• ...instead of taking dignified human shapes. Furthermore, the nation of Israel did not escape...
• "Th' infection when thirborrow'd Gold compos'd"
• ...this spiritual disease (idolatry), which took root when the gold they borrowed from the Egyptians was melted down to create...
• "The Calf in Oreb: and the Rebel King"
• ...the Golden Calf at Mount Horeb (Sinai). Later on, the rebellious King Jeroboam-I...
• Golden Calf with borrowed Egyptian gold at Mount Horeb ("Oreb") by the Israelites
• "Doubl'd that sin in Bethel and in Dan, [ 485 ]"
• ...repeated and magnified that sin by setting up two new golden calves in the northern cities of Bethel and Dan...
• By making two idols instead of one, he literally "doubled" the original sin of the Golden Calf
• "Lik'ning his Maker (=God) to the Grazed Ox,"
• ...insultingly comparing God, his Creator, to a common ox that eats grass.
• By creating an ox-god, the Israelites and the Rebel King reverse the natural order—instead of serving the Creator who made them
• "Jehovah, who in one Night when he pass'd"
• This was the same true God (Jehovah) who, during the night of the Passover...
• "From Egypt marching, equal'd with one stroke"
• ...as He led His people out of Egypt, destroyed with a single decisive blow...
• "Both her first born and all her bleating Gods."
• ...both the firstborn children of the Egyptians and all their animal-headed, powerless idols. (bleating= weak, cry of a sheep or calf)

Before the Israelites became a nation, they were slaves in Egypt. God decided to rescue them by sending ten terrible plagues to punish the Egyptian Pharaoh.The Final Plague ("In one Night"): In a single night, God passed through Egypt and took the lives of all the firstborn children and firstborn animals. When God struck down the Egyptian firstborn animals, he proved these animal gods were completely helpless. They were just "bleating" beasts. Pharaoh was terrified and finally let the Israelites go. The fallen angels (demons) were behind all of this, laughing as they tricked humans into worshipping cows instead of the Creator.

 

Belial

·         "Belial came last, then whom a Spirit more lewd"

o    Belial is the final fallen angel introduced in the formal procession of devils. Milton states that there was no spirit more wicked, vulgar, or morally corrupt ("lewd") than him.

·         "Fell not from Heaven, or more gross to love"

o    No angel who fell from Heaven was more basic, crude, or driven ("gross") by pure indulgence.

·         "Vice for itself: To him no Temple stood"

o    Belial loves wickedness ("vice") simply for the sake of being wicked, rather than for power or glory. Unlike the other devils, ancient humans did not build specific physical temples dedicated to his name.

·         "Or Altar smoak'd; yet who more oft then hee"

o    No ritual sacrifices were burned ("altar smoak'd") directly for him; yet, despite having no formal religion, Belial is present in religious spaces more often than any other demon.

·         "In Temples and at Altars, when the Priest"

o    He thrives inside holy temples and right next to sacred altars whenever the religious leaders lose their faith.

·         "Turns Atheist, as did Ely's Sons, who fill'd"

o    He takes over when priests become hypocrites or non-believers ("turns atheist"). Milton points to the biblical sons of the High Priest Eli (Hophni and Phinehas) as a historic example.

·         "With lust and violence the house of God."

o    Eli's corrupt sons desecrated the tabernacle by stealing sacrificial meats and abusing women, filling God's holy house with sexual sin ("lust") and corruption ("violence").

·         "In Courts and Palaces he also Reigns"

o    Belial's influence is not limited to corrupted churches; he also rules over royal political courts and grand government palaces.

·         "And in luxurious Cities, where the noyse"

o    He dominates wealthy, decadent ("luxurious") cities where the chaotic sounds of sin and overindulgence echo.

·         "Of riot ascends above thir loftiest Towrs,"

o    The loud clamour of wild parties, lawlessness, and drunken behavior ("riot") rises higher than the tallest city buildings.

·         "And injury and outrage: And when Night"

o    The sounds of people hurting one another ("injury") and committing criminal acts ("outrage") fill the air. When darkness falls over the city...

·         "Darkens the Streets, then wander forth the Sons"

o    ...and the streets become dark, dangerous groups of people roam around, whom Milton labels the metaphorical "Sons of Belial."

o    Sons of Belial": A biblical phrase to describe wicked, lawless men

·         "Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine."

o    These late-night troublemakers wander the streets, completely overflowing ("flown"), arrogant (with insolence), and drunk (“wine").

·         "Witness the Streets of Sodom, and that night"

o    Look at the historical behavior in the biblical city of Sodom as proof of Belial's influence, specifically the infamous night the city mob surrounded Lot's house.

·         "In Gibeah, when the hospitable door"

o    Look also at the horrific night in the biblical city of Gibeah (from the Book of Judges), where a host opened his door to a violent mob.

·         "Expos'd a Matron to avoid worse rape."

o    The host forced a woman (a Levite's concubine/wife) outside to be abused by the crowd in order to protect his male guest from being sexually assaulted ("worse rape").

In Old Testament (Judges 19). In the story, a traveling Levite and his concubine (the "Matron") seek shelter in the city of Gibeah. An angry, violent mob surrounded the house where she and her husband were staying. To protect the male guest inside, the host and the husband pushed the woman out the door to the mob. The crowd abused her violently all through the night.The next morning, she collapsed at the doorstep and died from the abuse.

 

Greek Demons (Titan, Saturn and Jove)

·         "These were the prime in order and in might;"

o    The demons just listed (from Moloch to Belial) were the chief leaders ("prime") in terms of their rank, power, and importance in Satan's army.

·         "The rest were long to tell, though far renown'd,"

o    It would take too long to list all the remaining fallen angels individually, even though many of them became highly famous ("far renown'd") among humans.

·         "Th' Ionian(=Greek)Gods, of Javans Issue held"

o    These remaining demons became the Greek gods ("Ionian Gods"), worshipped by the descendants of Javan (Noah's grandson, traditionally considered the ancestor of the Greeks).

·         "Gods, yet confest later then Heav'n and Earth"

o    Though humans worshipped them as gods, classical mythology itself admits ("confest") these deities were born after the creation of the universe (Heaven and Earth).

·         "Thir boasted Parents; TitanHeav'ns first born"

o    Heaven and Earth were the claimed parents of the Titans. The oldest Titan (Hyperion or Uranus) was the firstborn of Heaven.

·         "With his enormous brood, and birthright seis'd"

o    Titan had a great family, but his rightful inheritance right to rule stolen ("seis'd").

·         "By younger Saturn, he from mightier Jove"

o    Titan's younger brother, Saturn (Cronus), overthrew him. Later, Saturn suffered the exact same fate when he was overthrown by the even more powerful Jove (Jupiter/Zeus).

·         "His own and Rhea's Son like measure found;"

o    Jove—who was Saturn and Rhea's own child—dethroned his father, giving Saturn a taste of his own medicine ("like measure found").

·         "So Jove usurping reign'd: these first in Creet"

o    This is how Jove (zeus) became the illegal ruler. These fallen angels were first worshiped on the island of Crete.

 

• "And Ida known, thence on the Snowy top"
• They were known on Mount Ida, and from there they moved to the snowy peak...
• "Of cold Olympus rul'd the middle Air"
• ...of Mount Olympus. They ruled the upper atmosphere, which they considered...
• "Thir highest Heav'n; or on the Delphian Cliff,"
• ...their version of heaven. They were also worshiped at the cliffs of Delphi (famous for the oracle)...
• "Or in Dodona, and through all the bounds"
• ...or in the sacred groves of Dodona, and all across the borders...
• "Of Doric Land; or who with Saturn old"
• ...of Greece (Doric land). Others followed the old god Saturn when he fled...
• "Fled over Adria to th' Hesperian Fields,"
• ...across the Adriatic Sea to Italy (the Hesperian fields)...
• "And ore the Celtic roam'd the utmost Isles."
• ...and traveled across France/Britain (Celtic lands) to the absolute edges(the British Isles) of the known world.

 

• "All these and more came flocking; but with looks"
• All these false gods (who were actually demons) came gathering around Satan, but they looked...
• "Down cast and damp, yet such wherein appear'd"
• ...depressed and miserable. Even so, you could still see...
• "Obscure some glimps of joy, to have found thir chief"
• ...a faint glimmer of happiness in them, because they saw that their leader (Satan)...
• "Not in despair, to have found themselves not lost"
• ...had not given up hope, and because they realised they weren't completely destroyed...
• "In loss itself; which on his count'nance cast"
• ...even though they had lost everything. Seeing their mixed emotions made Satan's own face look...
• "Like doubtful hue: but he his wonted pride"
• ...similarly conflicted. However, Satan quickly dragged back his usual pride...
• Wonted= habitual, or usual.
• "Soon recollecting, with high words, that bore"
• ...and gave a grand, dramatic speech that had...
• "Semblance of worth, not substance, gently rais'd"
• ...the appearance of being brave and meaningful, but had no real truth to it. Still, it lifted...
• "Thir fainting courage, and dispel'dthir fears."
• ...their dying spirits and took away their terror.
• In modern English, this means they looked honorable and brave on the outside, but lacked any real virtue or goodness on the inside.

 

Satan’s Flag Raised, Speech begins

• "Then strait commands that at the warlike sound"
• Then, straightaway (immediately) [Satan] orders that upon hearing the aggressive, military noise...
• "Of Trumpets loud and Clarions be upreard"
• ...of loud trumpets and shrill, high-pitched horns (clarions), his army must lift high (uprear)...
• "His mighty Standard; that proud honour claim'd"
• ...his massive battle flag (standard). The arrogant privilege and distinction of holding this flag was demanded...
• "Azazel as his right, a Cherube tall:"
• ...by Azazel, a physically massive and powerful fallen angel (cherub), who insisted it was his personal right to carry it.

·         "Who forthwith from the glittering Staff unfurld"

o     [Azazel] immediately (forthwith) unrolled from the shining, polished flagpole...

·         "Th' Imperial Ensign, which full high advanc't"

o    ...the emperor's supreme battle flag (ensign), which was lifted up and carried completely high into the air...

·         "Shon like a Meteor streaming to the Wind"

o    ...where it shined brilliantly like a blazing meteor tearing through space, rippling and flowing in the wind...(similie)

·         "With Gemms and Golden lustre rich imblaz'd,"

o    ...richly decorated and intricately embroidered (imblazed) with sparkling jewels and a radiant golden glow...

·         "Seraphic arms and Trophies: all the while"

o    ...showing off the coats of arms and battle trophies of the highest-ranking angels (seraphim); during all of this...

·         "Sonorous mettal blowing Martial sounds:"

o    ...deep, resonant brass instruments (sonorous metal) were continuously blasting aggressive military music.(Sonorous=pleasant, deep and full sound)

·         "At which the universal Host upsent"

o    Hearing this, the entire collective army (host) of fallen angels let loose...

·         "A shout that tore Hells Concave, and beyond"

o    ...a scream so violently loud that it ripped through the vaulted ceiling (concave) of Hell, and echoed past it...

·         "Frighted the Reign of Chaos and old Night."

o    ...terrifying the ancient, primordial voids of Chaos and Darkness that exist outside of Hell's borders.

 

Ten thousand Banners rise

·         "All in a moment through the gloom were seen"

o    Instantly, through the darkness of Hell, a sudden sight became visible.

·         "Ten thousand Banners rise into the Air"

o    Countless thousands of military flags and flags flew up into the sky.

·         "With Orient Colours waving: with them rose"

o    These banners waved with bright, brilliant, and jewel-like colors, and as they lifted, they were accompanied by another sight.

·         "A Forest huge of Spears: and thronging Helms"

o    A massive, dense thicket of raised spears appeared looking like a forest, alongside a crowding mass of armored helmets.

·         "Appear'd, and serried shields in thick array"

o    Locked, tightly packed shields came into view, arranged in a dense, disciplined military formation.

·         "Of depth immeasurable: Anon (=soon) they move"

o    The rows of soldiers stretched back so far they could not be counted, and soon, they began to march.

·         "In perfect Phalanxto the Dorian mood"

o    They moved forward in a flawless, interlocking battle formation, keeping time to the grave and disciplined Dorian style of music.(Phalanx =Greek battle formation)

o    In ancient Greece, the Dorian mode of music was associated with military discipline.

·         "Of Flutes and soft Recorders; such as rais'd"

o    They marched to the sound of woodwind instruments, which historically inspired a specific mental state.

o    A recorder is actually a type of flute, specifically known as a duct flute.

·         "To hight of noblest temper Hero's old"

o    This was the exact kind of music that used to elevate ancient heroes to the peak of their psychological strength and honor.

·         "Arming to Battel, and instead of rage"

o    As those ancient heroes prepared for war.Instead of making them angry or reckless ("rage") …

·         "Deliberate valour breath'd, firm and unmoved"

o    Instead, the music filled them with a calm, deliberate, and steady bravery ("deliberate valour").

·         "With dread of death to flight or foul retreat,"

o    It ensured they would not be driven by the fear of dying to run away or make a shameful retreat.

·         "Nor wanting power to mitigate and swage"

o    The music also possessed the comforting ability to soothe, calm, and ease the mind.

·         "With solemn touches, troubled thoughts, and chase"

o    Through its serious, moving melodies, it could quiet anxious minds and completely drive away negative emotions.

·         "Anguish and doubt and fear and sorrow and pain"

o    It banished physical and mental torment, uncertainty, terror, grief, and suffering. (This line is an example of literary device called polysyndeton.)

·         "From mortal or immortal minds."

o    It had this powerful, healing effect on human beings and supernatural entities (like the fallen angels) alike.

The Army is assembled and ready to her from Satan

·         Thus they / Breathing united force with fixed thought

o    The fallen angels (demons), moving together as a single body, share a unified purpose and a resolute, focused mind.

·         Mov'd on in silence to soft Pipes that charm'd

o    They marched forward quietly, accompanied by gentle musical pipes (flutes) that softened or cast a spell over their experience.

·         Thir painful steps o're the burnt soyle; and now

o    They walked over the scorched, painful ground of Hell, and now...

·         Advanc't in view, they stand, a horrid Front

o    Having come into full sight, they position themselves as a terrifyingbattle-line.

·         Of dreadful length and dazling Arms, in guise

o    The line is impressively long and gleams with bright, intimidating armor, looking in the manner...

·         Of Warriers old with order'd Spear and Shield,

o    ...of ancient, disciplined soldiers holding their spears and shields in neat formation.

·         Awaiting what command thir mighty Chief

o    They stand ready and waiting to hear whatever orders their great leader (Satan)

·         Had to impose:

o    ...is about to give them.

 

 

Satan observes compares his army to list of legendary knights and kings

• …. He (Satan) through the armed Files
• Satan looks across the rows of his armed soldiers.
• Darts his experienc't eye, and soon traverse
• He casts his veteran, observant gaze quickly from side to side.
• "dart" means to move suddenly and rapidly in a specific direction
• The whole Battalion views, thir order due,
• He surveys the entire army, noting their proper, disciplined formation.
• Thir visages and stature as of Gods,[570 ]
• He observes their faces and towering builds, which still look divine.
• "visage" means facial expression, or outward appearance.
• Thir number last he summs. And now his heart
• Finally, he estimates their vast numbers, and at this sight, his heart...
• Distends with pride, and hardning in his strength
• ...swells with arrogance, and growing stubborn in his own power...
• "Distends" means to swell, bloat, or expand outward
• Glories: For never since created man,
• ...he exults (to feel joy for success); because never in all of human history...
• Milton is comparing the massive, terrifying army of fallen angels (Satan's legions) to the greatest armies of human history and myth, demonstrating that human armies are completely insignificant by comparison.
• Met such imbodied force, as nam'd with these
• ...has any gathered army met that, when compared to these demons...
• Could merit more then that small infantry
• ...would seem like anything more than that tiny army of Pygmies...
• Allusion:Greek myth of the Pygmies—a legendary race of tiny people who were said to be in a perpetual war against migrating Cranes.the conflict started because a Pygmy queen named Gerana (or Oenoe) boasted that she was more beautiful than the goddess Hera. Hera punished her by turning her into a crane, and Gerana then led the birds in war against her former people.
• Warr'd on by Cranes: though all the Giant brood
• …who fought against birds in classical myth; even if the Giants...
• Of Phlegra with th' Heroic Race were joyn'd
• ...of ancient Greek myth were united with the famous heroes...
• Allusion: Battle of Phlegra, a legendary war where the Giants (the "Heroic Race") fought against the Olympian Gods

 

• That fought at Theb's and Ilium, on each side
• ...who fought in the legendary wars of Thebes and Troy...
• The Giants at Phlegra (who fought the gods)
• The Heroic Armies at Thebes and Troy (the greatest human warriors)
• Mixt with auxiliar Gods; and what resounds
•  ...alongside the gods who helped them; and even if you add all the legends...
• In Fable or Romance of UthersSon[580 ]
• ...told in stories and medieval romances about King Arthur (the son of Uther Pendragon)...
• The son of Uther Pendragon is King Arthur, the legendary British monarch who ruled from Camelot and led the Knights of the Round Table.
• Begirt with British and Armoric Knights;
• ...surrounded by his British and Breton (French) knights...
• And all who since, Baptiz'd or Infidel
• ...and all the Christian and Muslim warriors who...
• Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban,
• ...fought in tournaments or battles at these famous literary locations...
• Damasco, or Marocco, or Trebisond,
• ...or in Damascus, Morocco, or Trebizond...
• Or whom Biserta sent from Africshore[585 ]
•  ...or the armies sent from the African port of Bizerte...
• When Charlemain with all his Peerage fell
• ...in the legends where King Charlemagne and his top twelve knights were defeated...
• By Fontarabbia.
• ...near Fontarabia (all human armies combined are nothing compared to Satan's host).

 

 

 

·         The Pygmies: The absolute lowest tier. The ultimate symbol of tiny, fragile human weakness.

·         The Humans (Troy, King Arthur, and Charlemagne's Knights): The absolute highest tier of human achievement. These are the greatest, most chivalric mortal armies to ever exist in "Fable or Romance."

·         The Giants of Phlegra: A superhuman, cosmic tier. Giant earth-born monsters who were strong enough to fight the gods.

·         Satan’s Fallen Angels: The final, terrifying tier. An army so unfathomably massive that it breaks the scale entirely.

·         Compared to the terrifying, boundless, and supernatural army of fallen angels standing before Satan in Hell, all these legendary human heroes are nothing more than tiny, helpless Pygmies.

 

 

·         …..Thus far these beyond

o    … Up to this point, these fallen spirits were far superior to...

·         Compare of mortal prowess, yet observ'd

o    ...any human strength or military power, yet they still obeyed...

·         Thir dread commander: he above the rest

o    : ...their terrifying leader. Satan, standing high above all the others...

·         In shape and gesture proudly eminent

o    ...in his physical form and posture, stood out proudly and noticeably...

·         Stood like a Towr; his form had yet not lost

o    ...looking like a massive stone tower; his appearance had still not entirely lost...

·         All her Original brightness, nor appear'd

o    : ...all of its original, heavenly light, and he did not look...

o    It separated Satan’s physical, outer beauty ("her") from his internal, masculine identity ("his"). It emphasizes that while Satan's mind remains stubborn and cruel, his outward, angelic form still possesses a beautiful, distinct radiance of its own.

·         Less then Arch Angel ruind, and th' excess

o    : ...like anything less than a ruined Archangel, whose overwhelming...

·         Of Glory obscur'd: As when the Sun new ris'n

o    ...heavenly splendor has been dimmed: just like the morning sun...

·         Looks through the Horizontal misty Air

o    ...shining through a low, thick fog on the horizon...

·         Shorn of his Beams, or from behind the Moon

o    ...stripped of its usual bright rays, or like the sun peeking out from behind the moon...

o    "Shorn" means stripped away or cut off.

o    "From behind the Moon refers directly to a solar eclipse

·         In dim Eclips disastrous twilight sheds

o    ...during a dark solar eclipse, casting a gloomy, ominous shadow...

·         On half the Nations, and with fear of change

o    ...across entire countries, which fills kings and rulers...

·         Perplexes Monarchs. Dark'n'd so, yet shon

o    ...with deep anxiety about political upheaval. Even though he was dimmed in this way, the Archangel still shone...

·         Above them all th' Arch Angel: but his face

o    ...far brighter than any of his followers; however, his face...

·         Deep scars of Thunder had intrencht, and care

o    was deeply furrowed and scarred by God's lightning bolts, and intense worry...

·         Sat on his faded cheek, but under Browes

o    ...showed plainly on his pale, worn face, though beneath eyebrows...

·         Of dauntless courage, and considerate Pride

o    ...that still showed unyielding bravery and deliberate, calculated pride...

·         Waiting revenge: cruel his eye, but cast

o    : ...he bided his time for vengeance; his eyes looked ruthless, yet they also showed...

·         Signs of remorse and passion to behold

o    ...hints of regret and deep, painful emotion upon looking at...

·         The fellows of his crime, the followers rather

o    ...the partners in his rebellion—or more accurately, his followers—...

·         (Far other once beheld in bliss) condemn'd

o    ...(whom he remembered looking completely different when they were happy in Heaven) who were now doomed...

·         For ever now to have thir lot in pain,

o    ...to spend eternity sharing a fate of pure agony;...

·         Millions of Spirits for his fault amerc't

o    ..millions of angels who, because of his mistake, were deprived...

o    amerced is an archaic legal term that means to be fined

·         Of Heav'n, and from Eternal Splendors flung

o    ...of Heaven and cast out from eternal, glorious light...

·         For his revolt, yet faithfull how they stood,

o    : ...due to his rebellion, yet he saw how loyally they stood by him...

·         Thir Glory witherd. As when Heavens Fire

o    ...even though their individual brilliance was now dried up and ruined. Just as when lightning...

·         Hath scath'd the Forrest Oaks, or Mountain Pines,

o    : ...has struck and scorched a forest of oak trees or mountain pines,...

·         With singed top thir stately growth though bare

o    ...their tops are blackened, and though stripped of leaves and branches, their tall trunks...

·         Stands on the blasted Heath. He now prepar'd

o    ...still stand tall on the ruined, open landscape. Satan now got ready...

o    "heath" refers to an area of wild, uncultivated land

·         To speak; whereat thirdoubl'd Ranks they bend

o    ...to deliver a speech; at that movement, his tight rows of soldiers curved...

·         From wing to wing, and half enclose him round

o    ...from one edge of the army to the other, forming a half-circle around him...

·         With all his Peers: attention held them mute.

o    ...and his high-ranking officers: the intense focus kept them completely silent.

·         Thrice he assayd, and thrice in spight of scorn,

o    Three times he tried to speak, and three times, despite trying to fight back his shame and grief,...

·         Tears such as Angels weep, burst forth: at last

o    ...tears—the kind that only divine beings cry—poured out; finally...

·         Words interwove with sighs found out thir way.

o    ...his words, interrupted by heavy sighs, managed to break through

Satan steps forward to give a speech to his fallen army. The millions of demonic soldiers crowd around him in a giant crescent shape to listen. They are completely silent, waiting for him to talk. Satan tries to speak three times, but he is so overwhelmed by grief that he breaks down crying each time. Finally, choking back his tears and sighing heavily, he manages to start talking.

 

 

SECTION-V

• "O Myriads of immortal Spirits, O Powers"
• Satan addresses his vast army of fallen angels, acknowledging their eternal nature and immense celestial authority.
• "Matchless, but with th' Almighty, and that strife (=fight)"

• He flatters them by claiming only God is stronger than them, He insists that their rebellion as a noble war.

• "Was not inglorious, though th' event was dire,"
• ...was not lacking in honor (honorable effort), even though the final outcome of the war (defeat) is merely an unfortunate "event."
• Dire= very bad or serious; terrible
• "As this place (=Hell) testifies, and this dire change"
• ...as the horrific landscape of Hell around them proves, alongside the terrible physical and spiritual transformation they have undergone—
• "Hateful to utter: but what power of mind"
• —a state that is too painful and disgusting to even speak about; yet, he asks, what intellect...
• "Foreseeing or presaging, from the Depth"
• ...capable of predicting the future or seeing signs ahead, drawing from the deepest...
• "Of knowledge past or present, could have fear'd,"
• ...understanding of everything that has ever happened or is happening now, could have ever anticipated or worried...
• "How such united force of Gods, how such"
• ...that such a massive, combined army of divine beings—an army...
• "As stood like these, could ever know repulse?"
• ...composed of magnificent and powerful warriors like the ones standing before him—could ever be beaten back and defeated?
• Satan argues that no one—no matter how wise or prophetic—could have ever foreseen their defeat.
• He uses this rhetorical question to argue that their failure wasn't due to weakness, but because the outcome was genuinely unpredictable.
• "For who can yet beleeve, though after loss,"
• He argues that despite the fact that they just experienced a massive defeat, it remains completely unbelievable...
• "That all these puissant (=powerful) Legions, whose exile"
• ...that these mighty, powerful armies of angels, whose forced banishment...
• "Hath emptied Heav'n, shall fail to re-ascend"
• ...has visibly left Heaven empty and depopulated, will somehow fail to rise back up into the skies...
• "Self-rais'd, and repossess thir native seat?"
• ...entirely by their own inner strength, and completely reclaim their original home ?

• Satan rallies his troops by stating that their defeat is only temporary.
• ‘He expresses absolute confidence that they have the power to lift themselves out of Hell and reclaim their rightful places in Heaven.

• "For mee be witness all the Host of Heav'n (=rebelled angels),"

o He calls upon the entire fallen army to testify on his behalf...

• "If counsels different, or danger shun'd"

o ...whether any divided opinions, lack of leadership, or personal cowardice...

• "By me, have lost our hopes. But he who reigns"

o ...on Satan’s part caused them to lose the war, shifting the focus to God, who rules...

• "Monarch in Heav'n, till then as one secure"

o ...as the absolute king of Heaven, and who previously sat safely...

• "Sat on his Throne, upheld by old repute,"

o ...on His throne, sustained only by long-standing reputation...

• "Consent or custome, and his Regal State"

o ...the passive agreement of the angels, and mere tradition, while displaying His royal status...

• "Put forth at full, but still his strength conceal'd,"

o ...completely out in the open, yet God kept His actual physical power(thunders) hidden

• "Which tempted our attempt, and wrought our fall."

o Satan claims this secrecy tricked them into attacking, which ultimately caused their downfall.Satan claims that because God hid His strength, the rebel angels had no way of knowing what they were truly up against. Therefore, their rebellion wasn't a foolish mistake or a failure of bravery—it was a trap.

• "Henceforth his might we know, and know our own"

o He states that they now accurately understand both God's strength and their own capabilities...

• "So as not either to provoke, or dread"

o ...meaning they no longer need to carelessly start an open conflict, nor fear...

• "New warr, provok't; our better part remains"

o ...a new war if God starts one; instead, their best option now is...

• "Toworkinclose design, by fraud or guile"

o ...to operate through secret, calculated plots, using deception and trickery...

• "What force effected not: that he no less"

o ...to achieve what brute physical force failed to accomplish, so that God...

• "At length from us may find, who overcomes"

o ...will eventually learn a lesson from them: that a ruler who wins a war...

• "By force, hath overcome but half his foe."

o ...solely through superior physical might has only defeated half of his enemy's spirit.

 

• "Space may produce new Worlds; whereof so rife"
• Satan suggests that the vastness of space might contain new realms, about which widespread...
• "There went a fame in Heav'n that he ere (=earlier) long"
• ...rumours circulated back in Heaven that God, before long...
• "Intended to create, and therein plant"
• ...planned to create a brand new world and place within it...
• "A generation, whom his choice regard"
• ...a new race of beings, whom His special favour...
• "Should favour equal to the Sons of Heaven:"
• ...would love just as much as He loved the original angels.
• "Thither, if but to pry, shall be perhaps"
• Satan proposes that traveling to this new world, even if just to spy on it, will likely be...
• "thither"= "to that place"(referring to the Garden of Eden).
• “Pry”=to try to find out about other people’s private affairs
• "Our first eruption, thither or elsewhere:"
• ...their first major breakout from Hell, whether they target that specific place or somewhere else.
• "For this Infernal Pit shall never hold"
• He declares that this fiery hellhole will never permanently imprison...
• "Cælestial Spirits in Bondage, nor th' Abyss"
• ...heavenly beings in slavery, and this deep pit will not...
• "Long under darkness cover. But these thoughts"
• ...keep them hidden away in the dark for long, though these strategic ideas...
• "Full Counsel must mature: Peace is despaird,"
• ...must be fully debated and developed in a grand council, since achieving peace is now a hopeless thought.
• "For who can think Submission? Warr then, Warr"
• He asks who among them could ever tolerate surrendering; therefore, war, and only war...
• "Open or understood (=secret)must be resolv'd."
• ...whether fought out in the open or carried out through secret plots, must be their final decision.

 

• "He spake: and to confirm his words, out-flew"
• Satan finished his speech, and to show their absolute agreement, there instantly drew out...
• "Millions of flaming swords, drawn from the thighs"
• ...millions of blazing, fiery swords, pulled from the scabbards at the hips...
• "Of mighty Cherubim; the sudden blaze"
• ...of the powerful, high-ranking angels; the collective, sudden flash of light...
• "Far round illumin'd hell: highly they rag'ged"
• ...lit up the vast darkness of Hell all around them as they furiously vented their anger...
• "Against the Highest, and fierce with grasped arms"
• ...against God Almighty, and fiercely gripping their weapons...
• "Clash'd on thir sounding Shields the din of war,"
• ...struck their loud shields to create a roaring, defiant noise of battle.

 

SECTION-VI

 

·         "There stood a Hill not far whose griesly top / Belch'd fire and rowling smoak;"

o    Not far away stood a grim, terrifying hill whose peak shot out fire and thick, rolling smoke (like a volcano in Hell).

·         "the rest entire / Shon with a glossiescurff, undoubted sign / That in his womb was hid metallic Ore, / The work of Sulphur."

o    The rest of the hill's surface glossy(shone with a shiny), crusty residue (scurf), which was a clear sign that deep inside its belly ("womb"), metallic ore—formed by sulfur—was hidden.

·         "Thither wing'd with speed / A numerous Brigadhasten'd (to be quick)."

o    A large brigade of fallen angels flew toward that hill as fast as they could.

·         "As when Bands / Of Pioners with Spade and Pickaxarm'd / Forerun the Royal Camp, to trench a Field, / Or cast a Rampart."

o    Just like military engineers or foot soldiers (pioneers) armed with spades and pickaxes who run ahead of a royal army to dig trenches or build a defensive wall (rampart).

·         "Mammon led them on,"

o    Mammon (the demon of wealth, greed, and material riches) was the leader who guided them.

·         "Mammon, the least erected Spirit that fell / From heav'n,"

o    Mammon was the least spiritually upright (erected) angel who fell from Heaven—meaning his character was the lowest and least noble.

·         "forev'n in heav'n his looks and thoughts / Were always downward bent,"

o    Even when he lived in Heaven, his gaze and his mind were always fixed downward.

·         "admiring more / The riches of Heav'ns pavement, trod'n Gold, / Then aught divine or holy else enjoy'd"

o    He was more captivated and dazzled by the physical wealth of Heaven—the golden pavement that everyone walked on—than by any divine, spiritual, or holy thing around him.

o    Mammon leads a crew of fallen angels to dig into the volcanoes of Hell to extract gold and minerals, eventually building their demonic capital city, Pandemonium.

o    "trod'n Gold" (modern spelling: "trodden gold") literally means gold that is stepped on or walked over.

·         "In vision beatific: by him first / Men also, and by his suggestion taught,"

o    (in Heaven's holy presence, or the "vision beatific"): It was Mammon who first inspired humans, teaching them by his corrupting influence.

·         "Ransack'd the Center, and with impious hands / Rifl'd the bowels of thir mother Earth / For Treasures better hid."

o    Taught by Mammon, humans aggressively searched ("ransacked") the Earth's core. With disrespectful and unholy ("impious") hands, they tore open the insides of Mother Earth to dig out precious metals that would have been better off left hidden deep underground.

·         "Soon had his crew / Op'nd into the Hill a spacious wound / And dig'd out ribs of Gold."

o    Very quickly, Mammon’s team of fallen angels cut open a massive trench or cavern ("spacious wound") into the hellish hill and extracted thick veins or bars ("ribs") of gold.

·         "Let none admire / That riches grow in Hell; that soyle may best / Deserve the precious bane."

o    Let no one be surprised or wonder (admire= "to wonder at") that vast wealth exists in Hell. In fact, Hell's cursed soil is the absolute most fitting place for gold, which Milton brilliantly terms a "precious bane" (a valuable curse or destructive thing, (=oxymoron).

·         "And here let those / Who boast in mortal things, and wond'ring tell / Of Babel, and the works of Memphian Kings,"

o    Milton now addresses proud human beings who brag about earthly achievements and speak with awe about the Tower of Babel or the massive pyramids built by Egyptian ("Memphian") pharaohs.

Tower of Babel, (Biblical Story)

·         The Migration: After the global flood, unified people traveling eastward settled in the plain of Shinar (Babylon) speaking a single language.

·         The Project: They decided to build a grand city and a lofty tower with its top reaching toward the heavens to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered across the earth.

·         Divine Intervention: Seeing their united ambition, God confused their common language so they could no longer understand one another.

·         The Scattering: Unable to continue building, people dispersed across the globe, which explains the origin of different languages and cultures

·         "Learn how thir greatest Monuments of Fame, / And Strength and Art are easily out-done / By Spirits reprobate, and in an hour"

o    These proud humans should realize that their most famous, strong, and highly artistic human monuments are easily surpassed by these wicked, fallen entities ("spirits reprobate")—and achieved in a mere single hour!

·         "What in an age they with incessant toyle / And hands innumerable scarce perform."

o    What human beings, using countless hands and non-stop hard work (incessant toyle), could barely accomplish in an entire century ("an age"), the fallen angels did in a single hour.

·         "Nigh on the Plain in many cells prepar'd, / That underneath had veins of liquid fire / Sluc'd from the Lake,"

o    Nearby on the flat plain, many deep pits or chambers ("cells") were ready. Underneath these chambers ran streams of liquid fire, which were channeled or diverted (sluc'd) directly from the great burning Lake of Hell to act as a heat source.

·         "a second multitude / With wondrous Art found out the massie Ore, / Severing each kind, and scum'd the Bullion dross:"

o    A second massive crowd of demons used incredible skill to process the heavy ore. They separated the different types of metal from each other and skimmed off the impure waste materials (dross) from the surface of the molten gold (bullion).

·         "A third as soon had form'd within the ground / A various mould, and from the boyling cells / By strange conveyance fill'd each hollow nook,"

o    At the exact same time, a third group of demons quickly shaped various hollow molds inside the dirt. Using a mysterious system of pipes or channels ("strange conveyance"), they directed the melted metal from the boiling pits to fill up every empty corner of the molds.

·         "As in an Organ from one blast of wind / To many a row of Pipes the sound-board breaths."

o    Milton uses a beautiful musical analogy here: just like in a church pipe organ, where a single rush of air enters the windchest (sound-board) and perfectly distributes wind to rows of different pipes all at once, the liquid gold smoothly filled all the molds simultaneously.

·         "Anon(soon) out of the earth a Fabrick huge / Rose like an Exhalation,"

o    Suddenly (Anon), a massive, grand building ("Fabrick") rose out of the ground effortlessly, appearing as smoothly as a rising mist, vapor, or breath (exhalation).

·         "with the sound / Of Dulcet Symphonies and voices sweet,"

o    The palace did not rise with the chaotic noise of a human construction site, but magically to the sound of beautiful, sweet orchestral music and lovely singing voices.

·         "Built like a Temple, where Pilasters round / Were set, and Doric pillars overlaid / With Golden Architrave;"

o    It looked like a magnificent classical temple. It featured rectangular columns (pilasters) built into the circular walls, simple and strong classical columns (Doric pillars), and a main beam (architrave) made of solid gold resting on top of them.

·         "nor did there want / Cornice or Freeze, with bossy Sculptures grav'n,"

o    It did not lack any grand architectural details; it featured decorative moldings (cornice) and a wide horizontal band (freeze / frieze) carved with high-relief, projecting (bossy) artwork and sculptures.

·         "The Roof was fretted Gold."

o    The entire ceiling was made of gold, beautifully decorated with intricate, interlocking geometric patterns (fretted).

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• "Not Babilon, / Nor great Alcairo such magnificence / Equal'd in all thir glories, to inshrine"
• Neither the ancient city of Babylon nor the great city of Cairo (Alcairo, representing the height of Egyptian grandeur) ever matched this level of splendor, even during the peak of their historical glory.
• Inshrine is an archaic spelling variant of the verb enshrine=To place in a shrine
• "Belus or Serapis thir Gods, or seat / Thir Kings, when Ægypt with Assyria strove / In wealth and luxurie."
• The temples built to house (inshrine) their pagan gods like Belus (Baal) or Serapis, or the palaces built to seat their pharaohs and monarchs, could not compare—even back when Egypt and Assyria fiercely competed with one another in riches and lavish living.
• Assyria =a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization

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• "Th' ascending pile / Stood fixt her stately highth, and strait the dores / Op'ning thir brazen foulds discover wide"
• The rising building (pile) finished growing and stood firmly at its majestic, imposing height. Immediately (strait), its massive double doors made of brass (brazen foulds) swung wide open.
• "Within, her ample spaces, o're the smooth / And level pavement:"
• Opening the doors revealed the vast, spaces inside the palace stretching out over a perfectly smooth and flat floor (pavement).
• "from the arched roof / Pendant by suttle Magic many a row / Of Starry Lamps and blazing Cressets fed"
• Hanging (pendant) from the curved ceiling by clever, intricate sorcery (suttle Magic) were long rows of glittering, star-like lamps and burning iron baskets of fire (cressets).
• "pendant" (or pendent) = in verb-form (hanging down) and a noun referring to a dangling jewel or ornament.
• "subtle" = finely woven or highly precise (not very noticeable; not very strong or bright)
• "With Naphtha and Asphaltusyeilded light / As from a sky."
• Fueled by highly flammable petroleum products (naphtha and asphaltus), these hanging lights burned so brightly that they lit up the interior of Hell as if it were an open sky.
• Asphalt= a mixture of dark bituminous pitch with sand or gravel, used for surfacing roads
• Naphtha= a flammable oil containing various hydrocarbons

 

• "The hasty multitude / Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise / And some the Architect:"
• The eager crowd of demons rushed inside with wonder (admiring). Some of them praised the incredible craftsmanship of the building itself, while others praised the genius designer who drew up the plans.
• "his hand was known / In Heav'n by many a Towred structure high,"
• This architect's unique style and skill were well-known back in Heaven, where he had designed many towering, grand celestial castles before the rebellion.
• "Where Scepter'd Angels held thir residence, / And sat as Princes, whom the supreme King"
• These heavenly palaces were where powerful, high-ranking angels ruling with scepters lived and held court like royalty.
• Scepter'd Angels= refers to high-ranking celestial beings
• "Exalted to such power, and gave to rule, / Each in his Hierarchie, the Orders bright."
• These were the bright, holy orders of angels whom God (the supreme King) had elevated to positions of immense power, giving each one authority to govern within their specific rank (hierarchy) in Heaven.

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·         "Nor was his name unheard or unador'd / In ancient Greece;"

• In Greece, he was known as Hephaestus, the god of fire, metalworking, and craftsmanship. Milton uses a double negative ("nor... unheard... unador'd") to emphasize just how incredibly famous this figure was in the ancient world.

·         "and in Ausonian land / Men call'd him Mulciber;"

• "Ausonian land" is a classical, poetic name for Italy. In Roman mythology, this deity was called Vulcan, but he was also given the surname Mulciber (meaning "the softener" or "the melter" of metals).

·         "and how he fell / From Heav'n, they fabl'd, thrown by angry Jove"

• In Greek myth, Zeus (Jove) flung Hephaestus out of Olympus during an argument. Milton uses the word "fabl'd" here as a critical reminder to the reader; he is stating that the pagan myths are merely garbled, fictionalized versions of the true biblical fall of the angels.

·         "Sheer o're the Chrystal Battlements: from Morn"

• "Sheer" implies a clean, vertical drop with completely unchecked momentum. "Chrystal Battlements" paints Heaven as a dazzling, luminous, walled fortress city.

·         "To Noon he fell, from Noon to dewy Eve,"

• This is one of the most celebrated, rhythmic lines in English poetry. By repeating the markers of time (Morn, Noon, Noon, Eve), Milton slows down the verse to make the reader physically feel the agonizing, dizzying, and seemingly endless duration of the plunge.

·         "A Summers day; and with the setting Sun"

• The contrast between a peaceful, warm "Summers day" and the violent, terrifying reality of an angel being cast out of heaven creates a hauntingly beautiful, cinematic image.

·         "Dropt from the Zenith like a falling Star,"

• The "Zenith" is the absolute highest point of the celestial sphere directly overhead. This simile emphasizes his loss of status: he goes from being a brilliant celestial being to a piece of debris burning out as it drops to earth.

·         "On Lemnos th' Ægean Ile: thus they relate,"

• In classical mythology, Lemnos was the sacred island where Vulcan landed, breaking his legs and leaving him with a permanent limp. Milton is wrapping up the pagan myth here before pivoting to his Christian correction.

·         "Erring; for he with this rebellious rout"

• "Erring" is the turning point of the passage. Milton sharply interrupts the beautiful classical myth to deliver a theological reality check. Mulciber didn't fall because of a petty argument with Jove; he fell because he chose to join Satan’s ("this rebellious rout") cosmic mutiny.

·         "Fell long before; nor aught avail'd him now"

• His fall happened in prehistoric, cosmic time. "Nor aught avail'd him" means all of his incredible talents, past achievements, and divine status were completely useless to save him from damnation.

·         "To have built in Heav'n high Towrs; nor did he scape"

• In Heaven, Mulciber was God's architect, responsible for building the magnificent, holy towers of the celestial city. Milton shows that God cares about moral righteousness, not aesthetic skill; technical talent cannot buy salvation.

·         "By all his Engins, but was headlong sent"

• "Engins" refers to his complex tools, architectural blueprints, and mechanical inventions. "Headlong" means diving head-first, a posture denoting total loss of control, humiliation, and ruin.

·         "With his industrious crew to build in hell."

• There is a biting irony in the final words "industrious crew." Mulciber and his fellow artisans are incredibly hardworking, productive, and skilled—but because they are alienated from God, their immense talents are permanently corrupted, doomed to spend eternity building a dark monument to their own damnation (Pandemonium).

 

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• "Meanwhile the winged Haralds by command"
• While the construction of Pandæmonium takes place, winged messengers (heralds) act on orders.
• "Of Sovran power, with awful Ceremony"
• Sent by supreme authority (Satan), moving with solemn, awe-inspiring, or majestic ritual.
• "And Trumpets sound throughout the Host proclaim"
• Blaring trumpets announce the message across the entire gathered army of fallen angels.
• "A solemn Councel forthwith to be held"
• A serious, formal assembly or meeting is to be held immediately.
• Solemn is an adjective that means very serious, formal
• "At Pandæmonium, the high Capital"
• AtPandæmonium (literally "all-demons"), the newly built grand capital city and palace.
• "Of Satan and his Peers: thir summons call'd"
• Belonging to Satan and his noble/ruler angels; their official call summons them.
• "From every Band and squared Regiment"
• From every military unit, division, and neatly ordered formation.
• "By place or choice the worthiest; they anon (=soon)"
• The most distinguished leaders or representatives (by rank or election); right away...
• "With hunderds and with thousands trooping came"
• ...they marched or flocked in by the hundreds and thousands.
• "Attended: all access was throng'd, the Gates"
• Accompanied by followers; every entry point was packed, including the wide gates...
• Thronged= to be crowded, packed, or filled with a great multitude of people or things
• "And Porches wide, but chief the spacious Hall"
• ...and spacious porches, especially the main interior hall itself.
• "(Though like a cover'd field, where Champions bold"
• Comparing it to a tented medieval tournament field where brave knights...)
• "Wont ride in armď, and at the Soldans chair"
• ...used to ride in armor, and before the Sultan's throne...
• soldan is an archaic or historical word for a sultan (Muslim rulers)
• "Defi'd the best of Paynim chivalry"
• ...challenged the finest pagan/infidel warriors...
• Paynim=A non-Christian, especially a Muslim.
• "To mortal combat or carreer with Lance)"
• ...to a fight to the death or a jousting charge on horseback.
• Lance=A long weapon for thrusting, having a wooden shaft and a pointed steel head, formerly used by a horseman in charging.
• He compares the gathering of devils to the grand tournaments of medieval chivalric legends(epic simile)
• "Thick swarm'd, both on the ground and in the air,"
• The fallen angels crowded thickly everywhere, walking on the floor and hovering in the air.
• "Brusht with the hiss of russling wings."
• Filled with the continuous brushing sound and rustle of their beating wings.
• The air was swept and vibrated by the rustling

·         As Bees

o    Just like a swarm of bees(bee similie)

·         In spring time, when the Sun with Taurus rides,

o    In the spring, when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Taurus (April/May),

o    Sun has entered the constellation of the Bull (Taurus).

·         Pour forth thir populous youth about the Hive

o    They pour out their massive crowds of young bees around the hive

·         In clusters; they among fresh dews and flowers

o    Gathering in tight clusters; they fly among the fresh morning dew and blooming flowers

·         Flie to and fro, or on the smoothed Plank,

o    Darting back and forth, or landing on the smooth wooden board of the hive,

·         The suburb of thir Straw-built Cittadel (=beehive),

o    Which acts like the outer suburb of their straw-made fortress city,

o    (straw= the wooden landing plank)

·         New rub'd with Baum, expatiate and confer

o    Freshly rubbed with sweet balm plant, where they walk around freely and discuss

o    beekeepers would rub the inside of a new straw hivewith crushed lemon balm leaves.The sweet, citrusy scent mimics the pheromones of a queen bee.

o    Baum=bee balm,

o    to walk around freely (expatiate) and discuss (confer) their community's business (Thir State affairs)

·         Thir State affairs. So thick the aerie crowd

o    Their public political business. In that exact same crowded way, the airborne crowd of devils

 

• So thick the aerie crowd [ 775 ]
• In that exact same dense, crowded way, the airborne crowd of devils
• Swarm'd and were straitn'd; till the Signal giv'n.
• Swarmed together and were tightly cramped inside the hall, until a signal was given.
• "straitened.”=cramped, crowded
• Behold a wonder! they but now who seemd
• Look at this amazing, supernatural sight! The very creatures who just a moment ago seemed
• In bigness to surpass Earths Giant Sons
• To be even bigger than the mythological Giants (like the Titans) of Earth,
• Now less then smallest Dwarfs, in narrow room
• Are now smaller than the tiniest dwarfs, and inside this cramped, enclosed space
• Throng numberless, like that Pigmean Race [ 780 ]
• They crowd together in countless numbers, looking like the famous mythological race of Pygmies
• "Pygmies" refers to a mythical race of tiny humans who, according to ancient Greek legends
• "throng" means to crowd, pack, or press together tightly in great numbers
• Beyond the Indian Mount, or Faerie Elves,
• Who supposedly live beyond the Himalayan mountains, or like magical woodland fairies,
• Forest elves—also known as wood elves, green elves, or wild elves
• Western writers in Milton's time often called Himalayas as the Indian Caucasus or Mount Imaus
• Whose midnight Revels, by a Forrest side
• Whose (fairies) late-night partying and dancing(midnight revels) next to a dark forest
• Or Fountain some belated Peasant sees,
• Or near a natural spring is spotted by a farmer or traveller heading home late,
• Or dreams he sees, while over-head the Moon
• Or perhaps he only imagines he sees them in a dream,
• while high above them the moon
• the moon acts as a judging spectator (arbitress) and seems to look down closer to the ground.
• Sits Arbitress, and neerer to the Earth [ 785 ]
• Acts as a judging spectator/referee, and shines closer to the ground
• Wheels her pale course, they on thir mirth and dance
• As she drives her pale path through the night sky; meanwhile, the fairies, entirely focused on their joy and dancing,
• Intent, with jocond Music charm his ear;
• Enchant the traveling peasant's ears with their cheerful, merry music;
• jocund means cheerful, merry,
• At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds.
• Making his heart leap with a mixture of delight and terror all at once.
• Just like a late-night traveler who is spellbound by the beautiful but eerie music of forest fairies, anyone looking at the devils in Hell might be captivated by their grand golden palace.

• Thus incorporeal Spirits to smallest forms
• In this way, these bodiless spirits shrunk down into tiny forms,
• Reduc'dthir shapes immense, and were at large,
• Shrinking their immense, massive bodies so they could have plenty of room to move around,
• Though without number still amidst the Hall
• Even though they were still completely countless in number inside the great hall
• Of that infernal Court. But far within
• Of that hellish palace. However, deep inside the building,
• And in thir own dimensions like themselves
• And staying at their original, giant sizes just as they always were,
• The great Seraphic Lords and Cherubim
• The highest-ranking angelic lords (the Seraphim and Cherubim)
• Milton is showing the class divide and political hierarchy in Hell.
• The ordinary demon soldiers are forced to give up their dignity, crowd together, and shrink like insects or fairies just to fit in the building. Meanwhile, the elite ruling class (like Satan, Beelzebub, and Moloch) keep their giant, god-like statures and sit comfortably on golden thrones.
• In close recess and secret conclave sat
• Sat together in a private inner room and secret, elite political meeting—
• A thousand Demy-Gods on golden seats,
• A thousand demigods sitting on golden thrones,
• Frequent and full. After short silence then
• Crowded and packed closely together. Then, after a brief, tense silence fell over the room,
• And summons read, the great consult began.
• And the official call to order was read aloud, their grand political debate finally began.

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