Book I explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Obedience and Disobedience

  The poem begins with 'Man's first disobedience' and Satan's revolt, establishing disobedience as the central act that leads to the fall and all subsequent woe.

• Pride and Ambition

  Satan's pride and ambition to equal the Most High are the driving forces behind his revolt, and his speeches in Hell are filled with defiant ambition.

• Tyranny and Liberty

  Satan frames his rebellion as a fight against tyranny, claiming 'Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven,' while God's absolute power is depicted as both just and irresistible.

• Good Versus Evil

  The chapter establishes the cosmic conflict between God's goodness and Satan's malice, with Satan vowing to pervert God's good into evil.

Characters to notice

• Satan

  The Arch-Fiend, leader of the fallen angels, who after nine days of lying stunned on the burning lake rises and rallies his legions with speeches of defiance and ambition.

• Beelzebub

  Satan's second-in-command, who converses with Satan about their fall and encourages him to rally the other fallen angels.

• God the Father

  The Almighty Power who hurled Satan and his rebel angels from Heaven into Hell, and whose providence permits Satan's actions for a greater good.

• Moloch

  Listed among the chief leaders of the fallen angels, described as a horrid king besmeared with blood of human sacrifice.

• Mammon

  Listed among the fallen angels, noted as the least erected spirit that fell from Heaven, who first taught men to mine for gold.

• Belial

  Listed among the fallen angels, described as a spirit more lewd and luxurious than all others, who fled from Heaven but was the most graceful and plausible.

Key passages

• “Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit / Of that forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste / Brought death into the world, and all our woe, / With loss of Eden, till one greater Man / Restore us, and regain the blissful seat.”

  The poem tells the story of humanity's first act of disobedience, eating the forbidden fruit, which brought death and suffering into the world and caused the loss of Paradise, until Jesus, a greater man, will redeem humanity and restore Eden.

  This opening passage states the epic's theme: the Fall and the promise of redemption through Christ.

• “The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.”

  A person's state of mind determines their experience of any place; one can find happiness even in Hell or misery even in Heaven.

  Satan's famous declaration of mental independence, asserting that his will and mindset cannot be altered by his physical circumstances.

• “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.”

  It is preferable to be a ruler in a place of punishment than to be a servant in a place of bliss.

  Satan's defiant motto encapsulates his pride and rejection of God's authority.

• “What though the field be lost? / All is not lost; the unconquerable will, / And study of revenge, immortal hate, / And courage never to submit or yield.”

  Even though we have lost the battle, we still possess our unbreakable will, our desire for revenge, our eternal hatred, and our courage to never surrender or give in.

  Satan rallies his fallen angels by emphasizing that their inner resolve and hatred remain intact despite their defeat.