These lines state that “his form had yet not lost/ all her original brightness nor appeared less than archangel ruined” (Milton I. Milton’s superior writing skills are observed in lines 586-600 as Satan’s physical appearance appears different than at the beginning. This shows that the fallen angels see Satan as a leader and with that they begin to have some joy, this increases Satan’s position from being a captive in the beginning to now a ruler over the fallen angels. Satan is given the title of chief in line 524 as he is rallying his forces “Obscure some glimpse of joy t’have found their chief” (Milton I. These lines show that Satan is increasing in power and they also give the impression that his physical appearance is growing.Īs the poem continues to develop Milton describes Satan as a leader and ruler over the dark and fiery domain known as hell, which is a contrast to what Satan is described as at the beginning. Also lines 153-154 show that Satan’s strength has not disappeared and is undiminished. The lines state, “For mind and spirit remains/ invincible and vigor soon returns” (Milton I. There is another great set of lines that describes Satan’s vigor and strength coming back to him and when one visualizes these lines it hard not to imagine Satan growing in size as well. His power is beginning to change, therefore we can defer from other examples that his physicality is also changing. These lines show that Satan is accepting his punishment and that he does not want to be weak by thinking everything is lost, so he talks about the will he has and that he can have revenge on what Satan begins to contemplate the situation he is in and justifies it by thinking “all is not lost: th’ unconquerable will/ and study of revenge, immortal hate/ and the courage never to submit or yield” (Milton I. With Satan comparing himself to God he is making himself smaller and powerless because none can compare to the greatness of God.Īs the poem progresses, Satan seems to grow physically and because of this his power also appears to increase. In lines 92-95, Satan is talking about how he never knew how great God’s power was the ability he had how else would he know? God never had to use it before. The lines go on to state that no one can defy God’s omnipotent arms which further decreases Satan’s power and size. In these lines Satan is very small and is directly related to his power, in that he is unable to do anything as he in chained in these extremely hard chains. The word adamantine originates from something, in this case the chains, being fabricated by adamant adamant is a mythological hard substance. First of all, Satan seems very small in the beginning as he is described as being “in adamantine chains and penal fire/ who durst defy th’ Omnipotent arms” (Milton I. Milton’s exceptional word usage throughout the poem describes Satan’s state of mind and provides great imagery. In the beginning of Milton’s poem, Satan seems very small as he lays captive in the fiery lake next to his accomplice in crime, Beelzebub. Milton writes in a way that shows there is a direct relation of Satan’s size to his power however, no matter how large Satan gets, he will always be God’s captive. In Milton’s Paradise Lost Satan seems to undergo various changes throughout the poem from seeming small at the beginning to very large at the end. He build his army of fallen angels and meets in the enormous palace which is appropriately called Pandemonium, this is where the planning and deception takes place, where he convinces the fallen angels that another war is feasible and potential victory. As the poem continues Satan goes through the process of acceptance of this state he is in and plans a way to take revenge on what God has done to him this revenge takes place by interrupting the good that God does. In the beginning of the poem Satan is chained and captive in the Lake of Fire and it is only through God’s allowance that Satan can be free and devise plans. This epic poem goes into detail on Satan’s attitude and thoughts of his fall. Book I of Paradise Lost by John Milton reflects and parallels the Biblical story of Satan’s fall when he became too proud and thought of himself higher than God.
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