Satan's Hell comes from within him and, as a result, can never be escaped. His Hell is personal torment created by his own thoughts and memories (4.18-25). He remembers what he was and knows how far he has fallen (4.24, 25). Not content with being the greatest of the angels, he attempted to overthrow his own creator, and now doesn't have even what he had before his transgression. From bitterness and dissatisfaction, hatred has developed, and the three keep him from peace. Unable to repent, for he knows it would be a false repentance (4.93-100), or to gain what he desires, his thoughts torture him with the memories of what was, and what is to come. They create his hell.

No one can run from their inward self. In Hell itself, on his throne, Satan is tormented, not by his physical surroundings but by his thoughts (4.88-89). The beauty of God's creation in the garden does not bring him peace. Instead it reminds him of his previous glorious state and provokes his hate (4.37-39). He can be distracted from those whispers in his head occassionally by concentrating on other things, such as when he crosses chaos (2.927-1055). But his thoughts, his attitude, will always be with him. They are a part of him and changing location will not rid him of them.

Satan's thoughts have made him what he has become. His rebellion began with ideas and desires considered in his head (2.751-757). His Hell began with his deisre to become Gos. Now his thoughts are a worse Hell than any physical punishkent (4.76-78) because they torment him with the memories of what was as well as with what is. These thoughts come from within him, no one suggests them to him. They are a part of himmmm and, unlike the physical Hell, cannot be left behind. No matter where he goes, he will carry his own Hell with him


Paradise Lost (1667)
Anne Kingsmill Finch, Countess of Winchilsea
Source: British Literature 1640-1789: An Anthology
Essay written January 16, 1998
grade: A-/A