Book 2 Opens with Satan Sitting on His Throne; He Addresses His Legions, Saying That He

Book Two

Book 2 opens with Satan sitting on his throne; he addresses his legions, saying that he still hopes to regain Heaven.
He says that now they must debate about the most effective way to fight God; he asks whether all-out war or something more subtle is better.
Moloch speaks first; he's in favor of open war with God. They should just batter God's throne with all they've got because things can't be possibly get any worse.
Belial – a really clever speaker – is up next. He's not in favor of open war because Heaven is too well-fortified and will easily expel the foreign invaders.
And besides, being an angel, even in Hell, is better than death; things could be worse. They could be burned alive by the fires of Hell, chained to the burning lake, etc.
Actually, Belial is against any form of war because God will figure out their plans and defeat them. Who knows? Maybe God will relax his punishment if they just put up with it for a while.
Mammon is up next; he says it is impossible to defeat God and, even if He forgives everybody, they'll have to be slaves and pay tribute to Him. Not worth it.
They should just do what they want in Hell, because they're free there. With a little hard work, they can make the best of their situation.
There is applause after this speech; the fallen angels are afraid of another war, and would rather build an empire in Hell to rival Heaven's.
Beelzebub rises up; he says it's a joke to think they can have their own empire in Hell. God will eventually exert his dominion over it too.
There will be no peace, but they don't necessarily have to assault Heaven. Rumor has it that God is building a new world. They should check it out.
Maybe they can destroy mankind, or "Seduce them to our [the devil's] party" (2.368).
The fallen angels vote in favor of Beelzebub's plan…supposedly. It sounds rigged.
He resumes his speech and asks who is bold enough to try and find this new world?
Nobody volunteers, and all the angels are afraid; this is a bold, important, and dangerous task.
Satan stands up and addresses the council. He says Hell is a really strong prison and it's hard to get out; if one gets out, then one has to deal with a dark place that has no being ("unessential Night"). It's like stepping off the planet into something unknown.
He says he wouldn't be a good sovereign, though, if he were afraid of doing something. He's the leader and should brave more dangers. He'll look for the new world.
He tells the angels to make Hell cozier while he's away.
The fallen angels greatly respect their leader; they treat him like a "God…equal to the highest in Heav'n" (2.479). He's risking his own life for their sake after all.
They shouldn't get too excited; this prospect is kind of like a gleam of sunshine when it's clearly going to rain.
The highest-ranking angels emerge from Pandemonium with Satan, who is surrounded by a group of heavily-armed soldiers.
Trumpets made of fake gold proclaim the result of the council; Hell resounds with cheering.
The leaders each go their own way, to relax or chill out – to find "truce for [their] restless thoughts'' – while they wait for Satan to return.
Some angels tear up rocks and create a huge ruckus; some of them go off and sing songs. Still others go off in the hills to meditate on philosophical subjects. Some even have races!
One group assembles into platoons and goes in search of an "easier habitation" – i.e., a nicer place to live. Each group travels along the banks of one of the four rivers of Hell (Styx, Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegeton).
Beyond these is the river of forgetfulness, Lethe. And beyond that, the platoons discover that Hell is a frozen wasteland. Huh?
That's right, it's snowing and there's hail. Basically it's like Antarctica. It's so cold, though, it almost burns. "Cold performs the effect of Fire," Milton says.
Apparently the fallen angels will be forced to spend time in this part of Hell on a regular basis, frozen in ice; the change from fire to ice is brutal.
Meanwhile, Satan makes his way towards the gates of Hell, which are very strong, and surrounded by fire. There are three of them (one brass, one iron, one "adamantine rock").
There are two figures on either side of the gate. The first is female from the head to the waste, and below the waist she is serpentine. Around her waist are little hell-hounds that constantly bark but sometimes retreat into her womb. Disgusting!
The other is dark and black; he appears shapeless, and is very terrible (sorry, that's all Milton gives us). He wears a fake crown on his head, and is introduced at line 666. Hmmm….
Satan is not afraid; he addresses them, saying he's going through that gate no matter what.
The male asks him if he's the rebel angel that started a huge war in Heaven. He (the shapeless figure) is in charge here, not Satan.
Satan and this figure stare each other down (like two thunder clouds), almost as if they were about to duel. Each plans to kill the other with one stroke, but the female jumps between them.
She asks Satan why he's about to kill his….son! And she asks the other why he's about kill his…father!
Satan asks her what she's talking about, and she tells him: during the planning of the revolt in Heaven, she (still unnamed) sprung forth from the left side of his head! The rebel angels named her Sin.
Satan impregnated her; she fell with the angels from Heaven, was given the key to Hell, and gave birth to Death (the shapeless guy).
Death and Sin produce hell hounds from around Sin’s waist. They howl and gnaw out her insides.
Satan tells Sin that he's trying to free his angels and that he's going in search of God's newly-created world. He'll let Sin and Death roam free there if he finds it.
Sin says that God has forbidden her to open the gates. Why should she listen to God, though, since He's exiled her? Besides, he's not her real dad, Satan is.
Sin opens the gates; a thunderous sound is heard, and flames and smoke burst out. Beyond is "a dark/ Illimitable Ocean without bound,/ Without dimension" (2.891-893).
Satan observes this place – it's called Chaos, and it is hot, cold, moist, and dry all at once. It's really loud, louder than the sounds of war or the sound of the earth imploding.
Satan takes flight; his journey takes him over a number of strange, hybrid substances; he has to walk-fly, crawl, swim, basically move in every which way. This is Chaos, after all.
He hears some sounds and moves towards them, eventually coming to Chaos' throne. He tells him (Chaos) that he's trying to find the borders of Heaven and asks for directions.
Chaos says he knows who he is; he heard the angels fall and saw the heavenly angels pursue them.
He directs Satan towards earth, and Satan takes off like a pyramid of fire.
Satan approaches Heaven, and he can see its light shining into the dark abyss. He also notices the universe (Milton calls it the "world"), hanging from Heaven by a golden chain.
He moves towards it "full fraught with mischievous revenge.

Book Three

Milton addresses the light emanating from Heaven, saying it is God's first "offspring." This is the second invocation of the poem.
The poet is now revisiting Heaven, after having spent the first two books in Hell.
He still feels the heavenly light, but he can't see it because he's blind. This doesn't prevent him from writing poetry, however. He's too tough for that.
The poet hasn't forgotten about other famous blind poets and prophets, such as Homer and Tiresias; he's "equal" to them in blindness and hopes to be "equal" to them in fame.
The poet can't see anything so he asks the "celestial light" to shine inward – i.e., give him some kind of mental vision so he can compose poetry and talk about things that most humans can't see anyway (Heaven, Hell, the past, etc.).
God is in Heaven, looking down at his angels, at Adam and Eve, and at Satan. His Son (not named Jesus yet) sits on his right.
God describes Satan's malice to His Son. God knows what he's (Satan) up to, and he knows that Satan will succeed in his attempts to tempt mankind.
Everyone – man and angels included – has a choice. If they didn't have a choice, their obedience to God would be a joke; it wouldn't be meaningful.
God stresses that predestination doesn't exist; both mankind, Satan, and the other rebel angels fell by their own choice: "they themselves decreed/ Their own revolt, not I" (3.116-7).
Because mankind was deceived, he will find grace at some point. Satan and company will get nothing.
God's Son responds. He praises God's resolution regarding man (i.e., that he will have grace) because it simply isn't possible that Satan should win.
God responds, telling his Son that he's read his mind exactly. Some men will be saved, but not because of their own will but because of God's grace.
God says everyone will have the ability to hear his call; he'll implant a conscience in them, which will help them achieve grace, Heaven, or whatever safely.
But wait, what about all of man's sins? They have no way of making up for those, unless someone will become mortal and die for their sins. Any volunteers?
Heaven stands "mute." Nobody wants to make the sacrifice. This could have been the end for mankind if the Son hadn't stood up.
He'll do it; he'll become mortal and die for man's sins.
The Son says he knows he'll be giving up a lot in Heaven, but he also knows that he won't really die (he's immortal after all).
He'll rise from the dead, defeat Satan and death itself, and lead Hell captive. Then he'll return to Heaven.
God responds to the Son, saying essentially "thank God for you my Son, otherwise man would have been toast."
The entire human race will be saved through the intercession of his Son, and through him only.
The Son won't degrade himself by becoming a man, says God; so great a sacrifice will do nothing but exalt him.
Moreover, He will then make his Son sole ruler of the universe. "All knees to thee shall bow, of them that bide / In Heaven, or Earth, or under earth in Hell" (3.321-322).
God continues, saying that eventually there will be a Last Judgment ("doom") when the Son will send some people to Hell and some to Heaven.
After that, Hell will be closed off completely, the earth will be burned, and a new Heaven and earth will emerge.
All Heaven resounds with hymns of praise, cheering, and "jubilee." The angels bow down before God's and the Son's thrones, before picking up their harps and making music.
The narrator tells us that the Son is God's agent; it was through the Son that he created the universe and through him that he defeated the rebel angels.
Meanwhile, Satan emerges from Chaos at the outer edge of the created universe.
He's like a vulture in the Himalayas who can't find any food so he goes in search of more fertile pastures but then stops off in a barren region.
From his position he can see Heaven's gate – it is made with diamonds, gold, and other jewels – and a set of stairs that go from the created universe up to Heaven.
At the bottom of the stairs is a portal that opens into the universe; Satan looks through the portal, almost as if he had been hiking all night and finally got to the top of a hill from which he could see an entire land or city, glistening in the dawn's light.
Satan doesn't stick around to enjoy the view but flies right through the portal. He lands on the sun! It's really bright – "beyond expression bright" – and colorful.
Satan looks around the universe – it's always sunny, no shade yet. He sees an angel in the sun with his back turned and a tiara on his head. He looks busy, or at least as if he's thinking deeply.
Satan quickly changes his appearance; he turns into a young Cherub (a different order of angel) and approaches the angel, who turns around when he hears Satan approaching.
It's Uriel, one of the seven angels who stand closest to God's throne. Satan addresses him, saying he wants to check out God's new creation. He asks him which planet is man's.
Uriel – who can't tell he's being duped – responds to Satan, saying there's nothing wrong with wanting to see God's creations.
Uriel himself saw the world created; he points out the location of Paradise (i.e., the Garden of Eden) for Satan, who thanks him and heads towards the earth, landing on Mt. Niphates.