Notes on Satan in Paradise Lost, Book I, Lines 589-604
by Jenny (Walicek) Clendenen
San Jose State University, 2004
This section of Paradise Lost is representative of the poem's surface beauty and deeper, hidden meanings. 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. I particularly liked the phrases “through the horizontal misty air Shorn of his beams” (595/6) and “dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds” (597). 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.
589 He, above the rest
590 In shape and gesture proudly eminent,
591 Stood like a tower; his form had not yet lost
592 All her original brightness, nor appeared
593 Less than Archangel ruined, and the excess
594 Of glory obscured. As when the sun new-risen
595 Looks through the horizontal misty air
596 Shorn of his beams, or, from behind the moon,
597 In dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds
598 On half the nations, and with fear of change
599 Perplexes monarchs: darkened so yet shone
600 Above them all the Archangel; but his face
601 Deep scars of thunder had intrenched, and care
602 Set on his faded cheek, but under brows
603 Of dauntless courage and considerate pride,
604 Waiting revenge.
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. The poet does not make judgments about the redirected energies of this massive strength, only the measure of its force and concentration. We are left with the impression of a heroic warrior king, a little battle-scarred but none the worse for wear. However, within this portrait of preserved stature, glory and power is woven a subtle prophecy of eventual ruin.
Milton begins by describing Satan as “above the rest” (589) of the fallen angels, both physically and hierarchically. 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. 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 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. The implication is that this “tower of power” is not a permanent fixture.
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. However, he employs the weaker feminine pronoun to describe Satan’s form, thus emphasizing its evanescence, and strategically inserts the word “yet” when asserting that it had not lost its brightness. The glory will someday be reduced to a glow, and eventually extinguished.
Milton applies a new simile in lines 594-599, likening Satan to the sun when it is only partially and temporarily filtered by morning mist or by an eclipse of the moon. The poet seems to be saying that the power and glory of the sun/Satan are not reduced in actuality but only in appearance. On the other hand, the phrase “shorn of his beams” (596) applied to the rising sun sounds more severe, as in an emasculation or disarmament. Furthermore, a “dim eclipse” (597) is incapable of burning anyone; it can only frighten them into ignorant superstitions. The sun may exist in its entirety behind the moon, but it is of no consequence if its power cannot be exercised.
Milton describes this dim eclipse as affecting “half the nations” (598) with a “fear of change that perplexes monarchs” (598/9). In the literal sense, Milton is saying that only half the rotating earth would see an eclipse, therefore triggering superstitious responses in half the nations. (Ancient kings would have conferred with their astrologers and astronomers at such a time.) In the metaphorical sense, though, Milton is attributing the pagan beliefs of the other half of the world -- non-Western religions -- to Satan’s blockage of the Light. There is a third possibility: If, according to his Calvinism,[1] Milton is also referring to the Catholic obscuration of true Christianity, then he is likening Satan to the Pope -- a potent accusation, and one he was wise to bury deep in metaphor.
The passage concludes with a description of Satan’s face, deeply scarred by thunder (601) and showing evidence of care on “his faded cheek” (602), but set under brows of courage and pride (603). Milton has chosen words that would just as aptly characterize the hero Ulysses; he almost appears to be admiring Satan’s battle-scarred visage. It is in the final two words of this passage, though, that he seals the devil’s fate. Satan is “waiting revenge” (604). In the desire for revenge lies his weakness, and in his weakness lies his doom. The revenge he exacts against God will not exceed that which he will receive.
[1] According to Calvinism "There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof, but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalts himself, in the Church, against Christ and all that is called God." Westminster Confession, Chap. 25, Art. 6 (1646).
San Jose State University, 2004
This section of Paradise Lost is representative of the poem's surface beauty and deeper, hidden meanings. 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. I particularly liked the phrases “through the horizontal misty air Shorn of his beams” (595/6) and “dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds” (597). 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.
589 He, above the rest
590 In shape and gesture proudly eminent,
591 Stood like a tower; his form had not yet lost
592 All her original brightness, nor appeared
593 Less than Archangel ruined, and the excess
594 Of glory obscured. As when the sun new-risen
595 Looks through the horizontal misty air
596 Shorn of his beams, or, from behind the moon,
597 In dim eclipse disastrous twilight sheds
598 On half the nations, and with fear of change
599 Perplexes monarchs: darkened so yet shone
600 Above them all the Archangel; but his face
601 Deep scars of thunder had intrenched, and care
602 Set on his faded cheek, but under brows
603 Of dauntless courage and considerate pride,
604 Waiting revenge.
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. The poet does not make judgments about the redirected energies of this massive strength, only the measure of its force and concentration. We are left with the impression of a heroic warrior king, a little battle-scarred but none the worse for wear. However, within this portrait of preserved stature, glory and power is woven a subtle prophecy of eventual ruin.
Milton begins by describing Satan as “above the rest” (589) of the fallen angels, both physically and hierarchically. 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. 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 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. The implication is that this “tower of power” is not a permanent fixture.
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. However, he employs the weaker feminine pronoun to describe Satan’s form, thus emphasizing its evanescence, and strategically inserts the word “yet” when asserting that it had not lost its brightness. The glory will someday be reduced to a glow, and eventually extinguished.
Milton applies a new simile in lines 594-599, likening Satan to the sun when it is only partially and temporarily filtered by morning mist or by an eclipse of the moon. The poet seems to be saying that the power and glory of the sun/Satan are not reduced in actuality but only in appearance. On the other hand, the phrase “shorn of his beams” (596) applied to the rising sun sounds more severe, as in an emasculation or disarmament. Furthermore, a “dim eclipse” (597) is incapable of burning anyone; it can only frighten them into ignorant superstitions. The sun may exist in its entirety behind the moon, but it is of no consequence if its power cannot be exercised.
Milton describes this dim eclipse as affecting “half the nations” (598) with a “fear of change that perplexes monarchs” (598/9). In the literal sense, Milton is saying that only half the rotating earth would see an eclipse, therefore triggering superstitious responses in half the nations. (Ancient kings would have conferred with their astrologers and astronomers at such a time.) In the metaphorical sense, though, Milton is attributing the pagan beliefs of the other half of the world -- non-Western religions -- to Satan’s blockage of the Light. There is a third possibility: If, according to his Calvinism,[1] Milton is also referring to the Catholic obscuration of true Christianity, then he is likening Satan to the Pope -- a potent accusation, and one he was wise to bury deep in metaphor.
The passage concludes with a description of Satan’s face, deeply scarred by thunder (601) and showing evidence of care on “his faded cheek” (602), but set under brows of courage and pride (603). Milton has chosen words that would just as aptly characterize the hero Ulysses; he almost appears to be admiring Satan’s battle-scarred visage. It is in the final two words of this passage, though, that he seals the devil’s fate. Satan is “waiting revenge” (604). In the desire for revenge lies his weakness, and in his weakness lies his doom. The revenge he exacts against God will not exceed that which he will receive.
[1] According to Calvinism "There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the Pope of Rome, in any sense, be head thereof, but is that Antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalts himself, in the Church, against Christ and all that is called God." Westminster Confession, Chap. 25, Art. 6 (1646).