Book 2. The thing that interested me the most about Book 2 is the portrayal of Heaven versus Hell. The most striking difference, to me, is how Hell is presented as a rapidly-developing, already-changing kingdom with an open forum for the expression of ideas and the ruling of the land. This stands in stark contrast to Heaven, which is presented as stagnant and unchanging (it always has been and always will be as it existed before, and even after Satan's fall, I didn't get the impression that anything in Heaven had really changed) and as a place ruled solely by the commands and judgments of God. This portrayal is particularly fascinating because I find myself to like the fallen angels' new Hell more than I like God's Heaven. We are shown, in Book 1, the result of God's anger at Satan and his followers (who are cast out of Heaven) as well as his forgiveness towards them (as he allows them to be free of their adamantine chains). Yet even though there are several devils in Book 2 who express anger at God and wish revenge upon him, their open forum system keeps such emotions in check and allows for calm reason to play out. And even though this reason does lead to the decision to taint God's new creations with sin, it is nevertheless a course of action decided upon by the popular majority by way of reasoned argument. Further, I have resisted saying "Satan's Hell" because I never truly get the impression that Hell is completely Satan's. He may be the most powerful of the fallen angels, and he may have been the leader of the rebellion in Heaven, but I don't get the impression that he could pull rank and veto the other fallen's suggestions for actions in favor of an unpopular suggestion of his own and have all the other fallen angels follow him regardless, as is the case (again, as I read it) with Heaven's God. I realize that much of these impressions that I have are the result of Satan and Beelzebub's dialogue and that feeling tempted by Satan and his cause is maybe an intentional reflection of how Satan and sin (i.e. evil) are tempting to man. Further, the poem may condemn this republic-like government structure in associating it with Satan and Hell, but the fact remains that Heaven is still under the dictatorial-like (as far as I can see) rule of God whereas Hell is a place wherein debate is allowed, in whatever form you may see it to be. So if it is a sin to choose Hell over Heaven on the basis that Hell seems more reason-based and fair than Heaven, where one all-powerful figure makes all decisions and requires obedience from his followers, well, I'd still choose Hell. Just sayin'.
Book 4. I have never understood the Tree of Knowledge (of Good and Evil) test which God made for Adam and Eve. God knows that Adam and Eve have the potential to break the rule God gave to them to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge--it is the human flaw which Satan capitalizes on when he observes Adam and Eve in this book--and yet he nevertheless places Adam and Eve near the tree while evil-inducing Satan is, with God's knowledge, on the loose. Why not, you know, put the pair elsewhere, if he really didn't want them to be tempted by Satan into eating from the tree? Or why didn't he keep Satan in his chains so that he wouldn't be free to bring sin into God's new world? Hm. In the end, I think that God is the true bringer of evil into the new world. He clearly demonstrates the he is aware of Satan's presence in Eden (when he presents Satan with a sign), and he also has demonstrated that he has the power to stop Satan (sending him back to Hell, either with or sans his adamantine chains), yet all he sends to Satan is an "I'm watching you" message. It's almost as though God is just using Satan as a puppet to do evil; Satan may perform the actual evil acts (though, arguably, persuading Adam and Eve to obtain a knowledge of good and evil isn't so much evil as it is an act of disobedience of God's command), but God is clearly pulling the strings. Gabriel even shows up and apprehends Satan, holding a clear advantage over Satan, but God lets him fly off anyway. I honestly cannot see Satan as a bad guy here; rather, I see him as a pawn for God's will, whether Satan sees himself as such or not.
Anyhow, research post number 1 to follow!
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