Wednesday, January 29, 2014

How does Milton portray Pandemonium dramatically in Paradise Lost?

The answer linked below does a good job describing the physical qualities of Pandemonium and the allusions its architecture makes. However, to speak of its representation "dramatically," we can look also to what actions take place within this structure.
Milton coins this word for the poem, and we see in this place of all demons a world of duplicity and self-interest. The structure is created so that the demons can hold what is clearly a parody of parliamentary debate. Each of the devils speaks from his narrow self-interest. Moloch wants open war rather than a status as a loser; Belial fears damage to his gracefulness and prefers to remain in sophist debate; Mammon wants to remain in Hell in order to mine for riches.
On what seems to be Satan's prompting, Beelzebub advocates for duplicity and disruption in Eden. One senses, though, that chaos and confusion are most likely the natural state of Milton's Hell, compared to rational debate without self-interest motivating debate.


Milton sets the scene for the building of Pandemonium in hell, where God has cast Satan and his followers in a sea of fire. Satan dramatically commands and inspires his demons, having decided that, if he cannot defeat God, he will undermine him in every possible way.
His followers hurry off to build Pandemonium, a vast temple dedicated to the worship of all the demon gods. (Pandemonium means "all demons.") This temple is probably based on descriptions Milton read of both Ancient Rome (the seat of pagan worship) and St. Peter's, the center of Roman Catholicism in Rome. As a Puritan, Milton saw the Catholic Church as the anti-Christ. As a Puritan, he also perceived God as being reflected in simplicity and honest plainness, not in a grand architecture of excess.
We learn that Pandemonium is built on a hill "where grisly top / belched fire and rolling smoke"; this would indicate it is near a volcano and, of course, in the midst of hell's fires. Milton shows the vast structure being erected in an hour and describes it in rich detail: the roof made of gold, the huge brass doors opening to a vast space, and the many pillars, embellishments, and decorations recalling the excesses of Baroque architecture. Pandemonium has dramatic power in both the wretched excess of its demonic design and in its status as the false and yet grandiose seat of power from which Satan and his legions will attack God himself.


Milton uses his Biblical knowledge and elements of epic poetry to invoke a sense of grandeur when describing Pandemonium, the capitol of Hell in “Paradise Lost.” After being banished from Heaven, Satan and the other fallen angels find a temple that becomes a meeting place where they discuss their intent of waging war against God and Man. From the opening of Book 1, it’s clear that there is a conflict between Satan and God that spans the whole universe. Before Man is even in the picture, Milton portrays the underlying conflict which Man will eventually become a part of. Regardless, God the Father has seen all this coming and will use the Messiah to restore all of creation.
Since “Paradise Lost” is an epic poem, Milton relies on certain conventions to elevate his writing. The poem starts in “media res” after the failed rebellion in Heaven. Like the ancient Greek poets, Milton calls on the Muse to inspire the story. He also makes use of lofty language, long speeches, and expanded similes.

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