Book One of Paradise
Lost is set in hell just after Satan and other ex-angels have been cast
away from Heaven. It is important to remember that these creatures lying broken
in the darkest part of the world once enjoyed the glorious world of Heaven.
They look to Satan as their leader and he seems to have a plan.
The best description of Satan after his fall from Heaven is
given on page 815 of Book One. Lines
599-601 give the description, “Darkened so, yet shone above them all th’
Archangel: but his face deep scars of thunder had intrenched…” I think that the
deep scars of thunder appeared on Satan’s face after God cast him down from
Heaven, because the Archangel was surely beautiful while he lived in Heaven. I
imagine that God threw him down with lightening bolts and that’s how the scars
appeared on Satan’s face.
Lines 602-603 proclaim, “Care sat on his faded cheek, but
under brows of dauntless courage and considerate pride….” This is a really good
description because it shows that Satan still had the drive to fight and cared
about what would happen to him and the other outcasts. However, above his
caring cheeks, Satan had a look of pure defiance and courage in his brows. This
part hints that he is ready to lead a battle against God. Pride is also one of
the seven deadly sins. The fact that Satan is prideful suggests that he is too
confident in his ability to rise up and reclaim Heaven.
Satan is described as having a look of remorse in his eyes
in line 605. Why would Satan be remorseful?
Why did the other ex-angels look to Satan as their leader?
To answer your second question I think that the other ex-angels probably looked to Satan as their leader because of his confidence and as you mentioned above because of his pride. Also I personally see Satan as stirring up the other ex-angels in heaven before they actually rebelled so it would probably be natural for them to follow him again.
ReplyDeleteSatan also had an extremely high self image of himself. He thinks he is God's equal (even though he''s obviously not) so naturally he would emit and air of authority that other ex-angels would probably respect and fear. Plus they've already fallen, so there are not very many options left to them, and Satan was very good at rilling up his army and instilling optimism in them and making them believe that they could still beat God.
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