Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Scales in the Sky
As Satan prepares to fight Gabriel when he is discovered
in Paradise, God causes the image of a pair of golden scales to
appear in the sky. On one side of the scales, he puts the consequences
of Satan’s running away, and on the other he puts the consequences
of Satan’s staying and fighting with Gabriel. The side that shows
him staying and fighting flies up, signifying its lightness and
worthlessness. These scales symbolize the fact that God and Satan
are not truly on opposite sides of a struggle—God is
all-powerful, and Satan and Gabriel both derive
all of their power from Him. God’s scales force Satan to realize
the futility of taking arms against one of God’s angels again.
Adam’s Wreath
The wreath that Adam makes as he and Eve work separately
in Book IX is symbolic in several ways. First, it represents his
love for her and his attraction to her. But as he is about to give
the wreath to her, his shock in noticing that she has eaten from
the Tree of Knowledge makes him drop it to the ground. His dropping
of the wreath symbolizes that his love and attraction to Eve is
falling away. His image of her as a spiritual companion has been
shattered completely, as he realizes her fallen state. The fallen
wreath represents the loss of pure love.
