Summary: Lines 27–722: Satan and Hell
Immediately after the prologue, Milton raises the question
of how Adam and Eve’s disobedience occurred and explains that their actions
were partly due to a serpent’s deception. This serpent is Satan,
and the poem joins him and his followers in Hell, where they have
just been cast after being defeated by God in Heaven.
Satan lies stunned beside his second-in-command, Beelzebub,
in a lake of fire that gives off darkness instead of light. Breaking
the awful silence, Satan bemoans their terrible position, but does
not repent of his rebellion against God, suggesting that they might gather
their forces for another attack. Beelzebub is doubtful; he now believes
that God cannot be overpowered. Satan does not fully contradict
this assessment, but suggests that they could at least pervert God’s
good works to evil purposes. The two devils then rise up and, spreading
their wings, fly over to the dry land next to the flaming lake.
But they can undertake this action only because God has allowed
them to loose their chains. All of the devils were formerly angels
who chose to follow Satan in his rebellion, and God still intends
to turn their evil deeds toward the good.
Once out of the lake, Satan becomes more optimistic about
their situation. He calls the rest of the fallen angels, his legions,
to join him on land. They immediately obey and, despite their wounds
and suffering, fly up to gather on the plain. Milton lists some
of the more notable of the angels whose names have been erased from
the books of Heaven, noting that later, in the time of man, many
of these devils come to be worshipped as gods.
Among these are Moloch, who is later known as a god requiring human
sacrifices, and Belial, a lewd and lustful god. Still in war gear, these
fallen angels have thousands of banners raised and their shields
and spears in hand. Even in defeat, they are an awesome army to
behold.
Satan’s unrepentant evil nature is unwavering. Even cast
down in defeat, he does not consider changing his ways: he insists
to his fellow devils that their delight will be in doing evil, not
good. In particular, as he explains to Beelzebub, he wishes to pervert
God’s will and find a way to make evil out of good. It is not easy
for Satan to maintain this determination; the battle has just demonstrated
God’s overwhelming power, and the devils could not even have lifted themselves
off the lake of fire unless God had allowed it. God allows it precisely
because he intends to turn their evil designs toward a greater good
in the end. Satan’s envy of the Son’s chosen status led him to rebel
and consequently to be condemned. His continued envy and search
for freedom leads him to believe that he would rather be a king
in Hell than a servant in Heaven. Satan’s pride has caused him to
believe that his own free intellect is as great as God’s will. Satan remarks
that the mind can make its own Hell out of Heaven, or in his case,
its own Heaven out of Hell.
Satan addresses his comrades and acknowledges their shame
in falling to the heavenly forces, but urges them to gather in order
to consider whether another war is feasible. Instantly, the legions
of devils dig into the bowels of the ground, unearthing gold and
other minerals. With their inhuman powers they construct a great
temple in a short time. It is called Pandemonium (which means “all
the demons” in Greek), and the hundreds of thousands of demonic troops
gather there to hold a summit. Being spirits, they can easily shrink
from huge winged creatures to the smallest size. Compacting themselves,
they enter Pandemonium, and the debate begins.
