Paradise Lost-Book I Summary | John Milton

16th & 17th Century poetry, BASIC, English Hons 3rd Year
November 24, 2022
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John Milton has written the poem “Paradise Lost Book I” and we made a summary of this. The moral pathways that one can follow after disobedience are illustrated in Paradise Lost by Satan’s spiral of growing sin and degradation and Adam and Eve’s path to redemption. So, lets enjoy the Paradise lost-book I summary

Writer’s Intro:

John Milton-was an English poet, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. (December 9, 1608, Cheapside, City of London, United Kingdom–November 8, 1674, Chalfont St Giles, United Kingdom).

The Summary of “Paradise Lost-Book I” John Milton

The first part of the summary

Like all great epic writers before him, Milton uses the Muse to get his thoughts out in the prologue to Book I of Paradise Lost. He invokes Urania, a classical Muse, but also refers to her as the “Heavenly Muse,” indicating the Christian nature of the composition. He adds that the consequences of disobeying God will be the subject/ theme of the poem. At the conclusion of the prologue, he promises to explore the reasons behind God’s actions.

Following the invocation and prologue, Milton begins the epic by describing Satan and the other fallen angels as they lie face down, bound to a lake of fire. Since this is an epic poem, it naturally begins in the middle of the action. Formerly known as the brightest and most powerful of all angels, Lucifer, Satan now leads an army of fallen angels in battle against God. As a result of their defeat, God cast them from Heaven into the depths of Hell.

The second part of the summary of “Paradise Lost-Book I”

When Satan is lying beside the lake of fire, he looks enormous. People have compared him to Leviathan (A more in-depth analogy is made between Satan and Leviathan, which is a whale that is so large that passing ships think it is an island.) and Titans (Any of Uranus and Gaea’s offspring, or any of their subsequent offspring, is considered a Titan in Greek mythology. Uranus stood for the sky, whereas Gaea for Earth.) Satan’s second-in-command, Beelzebub, is seated next to him. Satan makes a remark on how God’s judgment on Beelzebub has altered him for the worse. He insists, however, that he will not stop resisting God. To serve in Heaven is worse than ruling Hell, in his opinion.

If Satan strives hard enough, he can free himself from his bonds and escape the flames. Beelzebub chases after him as he flies to an open plain. One by one, the other fallen angels respond to Satan’s appeal and ascend out of the lake to join him on the plain. Moloch, Chemos, Baalem, Ashtaroth, Astarte, Astoreth, Dagon, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, Orus, Mammon, and Belial are only some of the key devils that Milton is able to recognize as they arrive in Hell. There is an official list of demons. Milton makes it plain that only God gave these fallen angels the strength to break free of their shackles.

The third part of the summary of “Paradise Lost-Book I”

Although large and intimidating, this army of demons is smart enough to know it has just suffered an embarrassing defeat. Satan encourages them by talking to them. He assures them of their continued strength and declares that they will now set out to oppose God. Then he adds, “War, war, open or understood, must be settled.”

After hearing this, the devils are pumped up, and under Mammon’s command, they immediately begin construction on the Hellish Empire’s new capital city. They locate mineral deposits in the Hell Mountains and promptly begin constructing a metropolis. Mulciber is the constructor of Pandemonium, the capitol of Hell. The army of Satan is like a swarm of bees, buzzing around aimlessly. When the construction of the new capital is complete, a first great council will be held.

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