1. Just reading books 1-3 of Paradise Lost and have to agree with Blake that Satan is the real hero of the book.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
2. It's striking that Satan in PL is not just a noble romantic hero but Hell is much more democratic than Heaven.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
3. In Hell, the demons make decisions by putting forth competing ideas and deliberating on them. In Heaven, God dictates and everyone agrees
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Replying to @HeerJeet
4. Shorter Paradise Lost: Jesus: "God, you are so great!" God: "Jesus, you are so great." Angels: "You are both great!"
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Replying to @HeerJeet
5. "better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" -- surely any freedom loving person has to agree?
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Replying to @HeerJeet
6. Satan "reigns" in Hell but is he tyrant? No, Milton repeatedly emphasizes demons freely follow Satan because of his genuine superiority.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
7. Hell, in Paradise Lost, seems like a meritocracy: there's a consensus that Satan is most able, so he leads.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
8. Conversely, where does God's authority in Paradise Lost derive from except raw force? He defeated the rebels in arms. So: might = right?
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Replying to @HeerJeet
9. Milton's blindness, so movingly described in beginning of book 3, helps explain hidden affinity poet felt for Hell: "darkness visible"
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Replying to @HeerJeet
10. Milton was blind when composing the poem but guided, he says, by an inward illumination. So like Satan in realm of "darkness visible"
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11. Milton - blind, defeated republican living through royalist counter-revolution- surely feels affinity for demons making new life in hell
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