Satan Takes Possession of Hell

“Satan Takes Possession of Hell”
(1667)
by John Milton
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“Is this the region, this the soil, the clime,”
Said then the lost archangel, “this the seat
That we must change for heaven, this mournful gloom
For that celestial light? Be it so, since he
Who now is sovereign can dispose and bid
What shall be right: farthest from him is best
Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme
Above his equals. Farewell happy fields
Where joy for ever dwells: hail horrors, hail
Infernal world! and thou profoundest hell
Receive thy new Possessor: one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less then he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure, and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition though in hell:
Better to reign in Hell, then serve in heaven."
place
royalty
power
enjambment
alliteration
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“ 'E' questa la regione, è questo il suolo e il clima',
disse allora l'Arcangelo perduto, 'è questa sede che
abbiamo guadagnato contro il cielo, questo dolente buio
contro la luce celestiale? Ebbene, sia pure così
se ora colui che è sovrano può dire e decidere
che cosa sia il giusto; e più lontani siamo
da lui e meglio è, da lui che ci uguagliava per ragione
e che la forza ha ormai reso supremo
sopra i suoi uguali. Addio, campi felici,
dove la gioia regna eternamente! E a voi salute, orrori,
mondo infernale; e tu, profondissimo inferno, ricevi
il nuovo possidente: uno che tempi o luoghi
mai potranno mutare la sua mente. La mente è il proprio luogo
e può in sé fare un cielo dell'inferno, un inferno del cielo.
Che cosa importa dove, se rimango me stesso; e che altro
dovrei essere allora se non tutto, e inferiore soltanto
a lui che il tuono ha reso più potente? Qui almeno
saremo liberi; poiché l'altissimo non ha edificato
questo luogo per poi dovercelo anche invidiare,
non ne saremo cacciati: vi regneremo sicuri, e a mio giudizio
regnare è una degna ambizione, anche sopra l'inferno:
meglio regnare all'inferno che servire in cielo."
LANGUAGE THROUGH LITERATURE
1. Find in the text the synonyms of the following words:
a.
b.
c.
d.
king
order
owner
Omnipresent
sovereign
dispose and bid
possessor
Almighty
2. Who or what do these expressions refer to?
a.
b.
c.
”mournful gloom” (l. 3)
“celestial light” (l.4)
“he/Whom thunder hath made greater”
hell
heaven
God
3. Consider the setting
Highlight all the expressions concerning place, then group them
according to the headings:
nouns
region (l.1), soil (l.1), seat (l.2), heaven (ll.3, 14, 22), fields (l. 8),
world (l. 10), hell (ll. 10,14,22), place (ll.12,13).
verbs
dwells (l.9).
adverbs
farthest (l.6), where (ll. 9, 15), Here (ll.17, 20), hence (l.19).
Prepositions Above (l.8).
LANGUAGE THROUGH LITERATURE
4. This passage deals with Satan’s supremacy in Hell.
Highlight all the expressions related to the ideas of royalty and power in the text,
then write them down. The first ones have already been done for you.
royalty
seat (l.2), sovereign (l.5), supreme (l.7), possessor (l. 11),
reign (l.22).
power
dispose (l.5), bid (l. 5), force (l. 7), drive us hence (l. 19).
5. Write an equivalent expression for each of the following:
a. “brings/ a mind” (ll. 11-12)
– means / is going to / wants
a. “serve” (l.22)
– be submitted / be subjected / be enslaved.
GUIDED ANALYSIS
1. Read lines 1-4
a. Who is the “lost archangel”?
• Satan.
b. To whom is he speaking?
• He is speaking to the fallen angels.
c. Why is he disappointed?.
• Because he’s been expelled from Paradise.
d. How does he express his feelings of dismay ?
• Through the use of a rhetorical question “Is this ....?”.
e. What is Satan’s first reaction to the new place given to him by God?
• He uses the words “mournful gloom” as opposed to “celestial light”.
2. Consider lines 4-10.
a. How does Satan react to his fall?
• He accepts God’s will (in line 4-6 he says “Be it so since.../ right” but proudly says
that it is better to live far from God who has won only because superior in strength
not in intelligence.
b. What do his words express?
• His immense pride.
GUIDED ANALYSIS
2. Consider lines 4-10.
c. How does he show his pride?
• He welcomes the new place with words that show how he will not submit to
defeat.
3. Read to the end?
a. What does Hell represent to him?
• His reign.
b. How does Satan express his desire to be equal to God?
• He asserts the superiority of the mind which can make a heaven of any place no
matter how horrible it is: what matters is to be free and have power (ll.13-22)
4. Comment on Satan’s final phrase.
• It shows Satan’s immense pride.
5. Focus on language, sound pattern and form.
a. What effect does the repetition of the word “this” in lines 2-3 have on the reader?
• It makes the description of the place effective and stresses how great the fall has
been.
GUIDED ANALYSIS
5. Focus on the language, sound pattern and form.
b. In lines 2-3 we read that Satan is subject to God’s will; in lines 20-21 instead he
claims to have regained his will and to be responsible for what he wants to do.
Underline the words that show Satan’s different states of mind.
• Lines 2-3 “this the seat / that we must change”;
• Lines 20-21 “in my choice / to reign is worth ambition”
c.
Run-on lines (or enjambment) are frequent in the excerpt. Highlight a few
examples and say what effect they have on the reader.
• Lines 1-12, lines 15-19 and lines 20-21. They create in the reader a feeling of
expectation.
d.
Alliteration is another device used by Milton. Highlight examples in the
passage.
• “so /since” (l.4), “farthest / from” (l.6), “Farewell / .....fields” (l. 8),
• “hail / horrors / hail” (l. 9). “... heaven /... hell, ... hell / ... Heaven” (l14), “hell /
heaven” (l. 22).
6. Personal response.
• How would you call the language used? Choose among:
• a simple
c elevated
e confidential
• b refined
d colloquial