2/27/2024 0 Comments Paradise lost meaning![]() In lines 591-594 Milton downplays the devil’s faint reduction in brightness as a mere correction of a previous overabundance, the removal of excess. The implication is that this “tower of power” is not a permanent fixture. In the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, God reduces to rubble another edifice symbolic of arrogance - a story that Milton, if not Satan, certainly knew. In line 591 Milton uses the simile of a tower to imply height, strength, and rigidity, but we know that a tower is a created thing that can be toppled - especially by its architect, who knows its weaknesses. In the next line (590) he tells us that he is not only taller (line 222 says he is of “mighty stature”), and of exaggerated size (compared to a Leviathan in line 201), but the movements of his body are grandiose and dramatic. Milton begins by describing Satan as “above the rest” (589) of the fallen angels, both physically and hierarchically. However, within this portrait of preserved stature, glory and power is woven a subtle prophecy of eventual ruin. We are left with the impression of a heroic warrior king, a little battle-scarred but none the worse for wear. The poet does not make judgments about the redirected energies of this massive strength, only the measure of its force and concentration. In this passage, Milton appears to describe Satan in terms and images that delineate a superficially tarnished ruler who, though vanquished, retains all of his original strength. As when the sun new-risenĥ95 Looks through the horizontal misty airĥ96 Shorn of his beams, or, from behind the moon,ĥ97 In dim eclipse disastrous twilight shedsĥ98 On half the nations, and with fear of changeĥ99 Perplexes monarchs: darkened so yet shoneĦ00 Above them all the Archangel but his faceĦ01 Deep scars of thunder had intrenched, and careĦ02 Set on his faded cheek, but under browsĦ03 Of dauntless courage and considerate pride, Upon closer reading I was intrigued by the appearance of subtle jabs at Satan’s apparent invincibility, and by another layer of meaning possibly aimed at the Catholic church.ĥ90 In shape and gesture proudly eminent,ĥ91 Stood like a tower his form had not yet lostĥ92 All her original brightness, nor appearedĥ93 Less than Archangel ruined, and the excessĥ94 Of glory obscured. I particularly liked the phrases “through the horizontal misty air Shorn of his beams” (595/6) and “dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds” (597). I was struck by the vivid portrayal of Satan’s physical form, and appreciated the beauty of the language used to describe the obscured sun. ![]() This section of Paradise Lost i s representative of the poem's surface beauty and deeper, hidden meanings.
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