Ruhr University, Bochum

John Milton: Paradise Lost
An Analysis of Hell

by

Stella Asch

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Main part

2.1 Hell as a place / an outer state
2.1.1 Placement of hell within the universe 1
2.1.2 Description of hell 2
2.1.3 Military / Hierarchical structure (in contrast to heaven) 6

2.2 Hell as an inner state
2.2.1 Hell as a place of punishment 9
2.2.2 Feelings / Emotions in hell 10
2.2.3 Feelings / Emotions in Satan 12

2.3 Hell transferred to earth 13

3. Conclusion 15

4. Bibliography 16

Introduction

Hell has a long history, even before Christianity the idea of a hell was mentioned in many cultures. During the centuries this idea has developed and changed (cf. Minois, p. 13). 
In order to characterize John Milton′s description of hell in "Paradise Lost" it may be of interest to find out what the common European idea of hell was before and during the 17th century. 
During the Middle Ages hell was thought to be in the center of the earth, it was a place that could be located geographically and was thought to be inhabitated by sinners: 

In die Hölle kommt, wer im Stand der Todsünde stirbt. [...] Die Todsünde ist ein willentlicher Akt der Verachtung Gottes, wissentlich und mit vollem Einverständ- nis begangen (Minois, p. 229). 

The end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern age (14th to 16th century) were characterized by horrible living conditions in Europe: there were famines, wars, a colder climate (cf. Minois, p. 255). Earth became a hell: 

Die Welt zwischen dem 14. und dem 16. Jahrhundert steht der Hölle in vieler Hinsicht in nichts nach, man könnte glauben, sie sei eine Zweigniederlassung. Die Hölle greift auf Europa über, wo sich Satan ergeht, als sei er zu Hause. Nie hatte man ihn so oft gesehen (Minois, p. 258). 

John Milton published his poem "Paradise Lost" in 1667, the century of the Enlightenment and Descartes. Hell was explained in detail and used to teach people morals: 

Die Hölle wird in den großen Heilsplan der Menschen eingefügt und wird zu einem bedeutenden Rad im moralischen Triebwerk. Ihr Gebiet jedoch verkleinert sich, und die Grenze ist fortan klar erkenntlich: Es ist der Tod, eine Grenze, die man nur in einer Richtung überschreiten kann, er ist ohne Wiederkehr (Minois, 286). 

The following text deals with Milton′s description of hell: as a place and as a state, and if Milton′s concept of hell does not go beyond the usual ideas of his time.

1. Main part

1.1 Hell as a place / an outer state

1.1.1 Placement of hell within the universe

Milton′s hell is placed underneath heaven and earth and "not in the center" (Milton, p. 7) (as for example Dante suggested in his "Divine Comedy") with a "dark unbottomed infinite abyss" (Milton, p. 43) between them. It is repeatedly described as being the lowest part of the universe: "the lowest deep" (Milton, p. 43), "the bottomless pit" (Milton, p. 161), "As far removed from God and light of heav′n / As from the center thrice to th′ utmost pole" (Milton, p. 11), "deep tract of hell" (Milton, p. 9). The measures used to describe the distances are of an infinite or at least superlative quality: "unbottomed", "infinite", "lowest", "bottomless", "utmost". Once a distance is multiplied by three; a symbolic number which is recurrently used in "Paradise Lost" (see 2.1.2, 2.2.3). This description suggests that no human being can imagine how far away from heaven hell is. According to this arrangement, the direct way from heaven to hell leads downwards, the fastest in a fall. This fall, a recurrent motif in "Paradise Lost", takes place in a local or geographic dimension as well as in a moral sense. Therefore the words "height" and "depth" convey two meanings, a local and a moral one: "into what pit thou seest / From what highth fall′n" (Milton, p. 11), "headlong themselves they threw / Down from the verge of heav′n, eternal wrath / Burnt after them to the bottomless pit" (Milton, p. 161). The nine days the fall lasts again give an idea of the unimaginable distance: "Nine times the space that measures day and night / To mortal men" (Milton, p. 10).

1.1.2 Description of hell

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