Page 182 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

Unit 20: Paradise Lost-I (Non-detailed Study): Discussion and Analysis–I

This scene also demonstrates Milton’s cynicism about political institutions and organizations. The Notes
devils’ behavior suggests that political power tends to corrupt individuals who possess it. Even
learned politicians, as Belial is here in Book II, who possesses great powers of reason and intellectual
discourse, have the power to deceive the less-educated public. In his other writings, Milton argues
that political and religious organizations have the potential to do evil things in the name of order
and union. After the debate in Hell is concluded, the object of parody shifts to philosophers and
religious thinkers. Following the debate, the devils break into groups, some of which continue to
speak and argue without any resolution or amenable conclusion. Similar debates over the sources
of evil and of political authority were fiercely contested in Milton’s time. Milton calls the devils’
discussions “vain wisdom all, and false philosophy,” a criticism which he extends in his other
writings to the words of the religious leaders of his time.

Who is Beelzebub, and what does he propose?
After Beelzebub takes the floor, it becomes clear that the caucus has been a foregone conclusion.
Satan lets the sides rhetorically engage each other before he announces through Beelzebub the plan
he had all along. Satan and Beelzebub conspire to win the argument, and do, without any of the
other devils recognizing the fraud. Satan’s volunteering to be the scout then silences all possible
dissent, since he is heralded as the leader of Hell. Here again is a parody of Hell mimicking Heaven:
Satan offers to sacrifice himself for the good of the other devils, in a twisted imitation of Christ. The
parallel is made even more blatant when Sin cries out to Satan at the gate of Hell: “O father, what
intends thy hand . . . against thy only son?” (II.727–728). Sin’s statement foreshadows how God will
send his only Son to die, for the good of the humankind. Satan believes he is free, and both Belial
and Mammon celebrate the freedom of the devils even in Hell, and yet we see that they have no
power to do anything except distort Heavenly things, twisting them into evil, empty imitations.
Satan’s encounter with Sin and Death is an allegory, in which the three characters and their
relationships represent abstract ideas. Sin is the first child of Satan, brought to life by Satan’s
disobedience. Since Satan is the first of God’s creations to disobey, he personifies disobedience, and
the fact that Sin is his daughter suggests that all sins arise from disobedience and ingratitude toward
God. To those who behold her birth, she is first frightening but then seems strangely attractive,
suggesting the seductive allure of sin to the ordinary individual. Sin dwells alone and in utter
torment, representing the ultimate fate of the sinner. That Death is Sin’s offspring indicates Milton’s
belief that death is not simply a biological fact of life but rather a punishment for sin and disobedience,
a punishment that nobody escapes.

20.3 Book – III

20.3.1 Summary: Prologue and Invocation

Book III opens with a second invocation to his muse, this time addressed to “holy light” (III.1).
Milton asks that the heavenly light shine inside him and illuminate his mind with divine knowledge
so that he can share this knowledge with his readers.
The scene shifts to Heaven, where God has been watching all of the events in Hell with his Son
sitting at his right hand. He sees Satan flying up toward the new Earth and the parents of mankind.
At the same time, he sees everything that will happen because of it, perceiving past, present, and
future simultaneously. He sees that man will fall, of his own fault, because God gave him free
will—yet without that will, man would not be capable of sincere love. Man would merely go through
the motions. While it would be just to punish man for his own actions, God determines that he will

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