3. 1 - 79:

In Paradise Lost, lines 1-79 of Book 3, we see the writer transitioning us from Hell to Heaven. He describes to us, aspects of God. One, “God is light” (ll. 3), two, that He (God) was in existence before the sun, three, Milton refers to Him as his “sovereign vital lamp” (ll. 22). This is an interesting way for Milton to describe God because he is blind at this point, but, after Milton discusses everything he cannot experience because “wisdom at one entrance [is] quite shut out” (ll.50) (referring to his loss of sight), he writes that he would much “rather thou celestial light/shine inward”. This means that although he cannot see the ‘light’ of God himself, he wants it to shine in him so that others can see it. From the language used in lines 1-55 (thou, thy), I believe it is a prayer to God. On line 56, the language shifts to using words like ‘he’ and ‘his’; this indicates that the writer is now discussing God instead of talking to Him. Carrying on from line 56 until the end of the section, we see God looking down on all his creation, including Satan “coasting the wall of heaven” (ll. 71). The section ends with him beginning a conversation with his one and only Son, Jesus.

3. 80 - 134:

In line 80 God begins to speak to his only son about Satan whom they are watching. God points out the rage by which Satan is driven and he observes that no boundary, be it the boundaries of hell or the abyss which is the initial chaos out of which the earth and the heavens were created (cf. OED), can stop Satan. At the same time, God hints at the fact that Satan will suffer from his vendetta at a later point in time: God says that Satan was full of “desperate revenge that shall redound upon his own rebellious head“ (l.85f.). Furthermore, God observes that Satan is on his way to earth and towards the newly created man in order to test him. God already knows Satan's plan and so he can tell that Satan intends to either corrupt man by force or by treachery. God also anticipates that Satan will succeed in his attempt: Man will believe Satan's lies and soon act against his only restraint not to eat from the forbidden tree. As a next step, from line 94 onwards, God raises the apparent question who was to blame for man's disobedience. God reacts to it by denying all responsibility and justifies this position with the fact that he has endowed mankind with freedom of choice between the good and the evil. As if to prove this fact, God argues that if mankind had not been given free choice, they would not have had a chance to demonstrate their loyalty to him. A race that only obeys God's laws because it has been prescribed to them would not please him. Furthermore, God preempts objections according to which he must accept responsibility because he already knows the outcome of events. However, God emphasizes that although he had foreknowledge, this did not mean that man's fate was predestined because mankind had been endowed with free will. Therefore, man himself was to blame for his disobedience. However, God says that it was the fallen angels who instigated mankind to disrespect God's law and that “man falls deceived by the other first“ (l.130f.). God concludes by granting grace to mankind, but none to the fallen angels, but he nevertheless proclaims that his mercy shall enlighten heaven and earth.

3. 135- 143:

These lines are a transition from God’s realization that it is his own fault that “Man” has fallen due to being given “free will”. He says that God will act out of only love and mercy. Milton explains that when God speaks his voice alone fills heaven with “joy” and diffused. Milton then goes on to describe the Son who is beyond comparison to anyone besides his own father. He is full of compassion, love, grace and praise. This passage is the narrator’s way to transition between the speakers with proper introduction to the Son of God. His description of the Son can be interpreted as foreshadowing of his sacrifice for man. This can also be seen as a way to show how much love, grace and mercy God had for his creations.

3. 144 – 66:

Lines 144-66: In these lines the Son speaks directly God. He admits his love for man and with the lines“For should Man finally be lost, should Man [ 150 ]/Thy creature late so lov'd, thy youngest Son/Fall circumvented thus by fraud, though joynd/With his own folly?”He seems to be questioning God’s choice to punish men when they were fooled into their first disobedience. But of course, this is then countered by line 55’s “and judgest only right”. By the end of is part is with him asking if all of humanity, which he created in his image, are to be damned or unmade without a second chance or defence.

3. 167 – 216:

In lines 167-216 we now see God beginning to answer Christ's question of whether or not, mercy can be given without justice. God begins to explain that there would have to be a sacrifice in order for a man to have salvation. He goes on to explain that man must learn how frail he is after his fall and the achievement of salvation must be through God and God alone. This passage also shows the first instance of God expressing he has chosen a group of elect individuals and ensures that it is his will. The Lord then explains that those who are not of the elect will hear him call and be warned of their "sinful fate". God expresses that those who pray with full hearts in repentance that his "ear will not be slow" to listen. The lord goes on to explain that he will place an internal guide in every person to achieve salvation, but those who scorn it will suffer more. God then asks the question throughout heaven; of whom among the inhabitants of heaven will volunteer as the sacrifice for the race of man, but heaven was silent.

3. 217 – 26:

Lines 217-226 are describing the immediate aftermath of God asking one of the angels to sacrifice themselves for the redemption of humanity, and to become mortal. The narrator describes the scene as extremely quiet, with the entire “heavenly choir” in silence. None of the angels step forward to claim their own “deadly forfeiture” for the sake of humanity, and the narrator states that without redemption all mankind will be lost to death, Satan and Hell. Humanity finds its savior when the Son of God, or Jesus, steps forward with “the fullness of love divine”, and begins to speak.

3. 227 – 65:

These lines are Christ’s response to God that he is willing to die for the sin of man. God has commanded that someone in heaven must die because Man has “affect[ed] godhead”, and someone must pay in order that justice be preserved. Man will be subject to continual sacrifice for this treason unless someone in heaven is willing to sacrifice himself in their stead. Jesus begins his speech by observing that since God has said it, it must be now be true, because his word is law. It is in keeping with God’s conception of freewill and determinism that he just did not simply come out and order Christ to sacrifice himself, but ‘allowed’ him to step forward and volunteer himself, as Man had the ‘capacity’ to refuse the Serpent’s urgings. Grace is then personified as a winged angel who meets all of God’s creatures, yet would be unable to find Man in his state of “dead in sins”. Jesus then agrees to be the vehicle in which Grace is delivered to the fallen state of Man. Yet Christ knows that as one third God, he shall not remain dead for long, rather only the mortal part of him will, and the heavenly aspect of Christ will rise again, vanquish Satan and Death, seal them in hell, and then rise again to Heaven taking all of earth’s “elect” to enjoy eternal bliss in divine companionship.

3. 266 – 73:

This small passage of text is in between a conversation by God and his Son. God’s Son is saying that he will sacrifice himself on man’s behalf. The text between 266 and 273 is emphasizing the fact that he is doing this as his own choice; he does it without complaint, and with passion and love for the people.

3. 274 – 343:

In lines 274-343 God, speaking to his son, reveals that through sending his son out to earth for a while he will save mankind who is very dear to him, even though they are the last of his creation. He goes on to explain that his son will take the form of a man through being born of a virgin: in this way Milton makes reference to Matthew 1:23 – “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,…”. God explains that Adam was at the core of sin being brought into mankind and since all of man is his offspring they are sinful and can only be saved through God’s son. Milton continues to use many Biblical references as the almighty describes how the Son of God will be judged for the sins of the human race and die for them, but will never lose his importance or authority in heaven as well as how “heavenly love shall outdo hellish hate” (298). God supports his position of sending him to earth by declaring that he has always been good and that “love hath abounded more than glory abounds” (312). In other words the humility of the Son of God will ensure that he is rewarded by being “universal king” (317) over man. Lines 321 and 322 are almost directly from Philippians 2:10-11 - “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” and in line 328 “general doom” refers to Judgment Day when “bad men and angels” (331) will be judged by the Son and hell will be filled and closed, never to be opened. A New Heaven and earth will be created from the ashes of the old world and here there will be love and joy where God will be the only one needed to reign but the Son will forever be adored.

3. 344 – 71:

The angels immediately celebrate both God and his Son. Their shouts are “Loud as from numbers without number”, which alludes to the similar cheers of the fallen angels for Satan in Book 2; however, they are also “sweet / As from blest voices, uttering joy”, which contrasts with the harshness of the fallen angels’ outcry. The angels bow down and cast off their crowns of gold and amaranth—an immortal flower that once grew on Earth by the Tree of Life, before Mankind committed sin. This reminds the reader of how Mankind once enjoyed immortality—or in this case, would have enjoyed it—before the Fall. The flowers fill Heaven’s streets “like a Sea of Jasper”, presenting a visual idea of the sheer multitude of angels present. Unlike Satan’s followers, the angels procure their harps and proceed to sing in unison to honour God and The Son. A sense of oneness among the angels is implied in their symphony, in a way that contrasts with the prisoners of Hell, who all scattered to pursue their own activities after the council: the angels all appear to be united in their desire to honour God. This is the first we see of an account of Heaven that challenges Satan’s assertion that God’s ways are tyrannical: the angels, rather than being oppressed, are shown quite clearly to have no greater joy than serving their creator. This seems intended to emphasize the poet’s objective voiced in Book 1, line 26, to “justify the ways of God to men.”

3. 372 - 415:

This section of lines follows a dialogue between God and his son, who has not yet taken human form. God’s rage was still fervent toward Satan and men on Earth, so he considers ridding the Earth of his creation. Yet his son, who is described just as positively as God himself, speaks against this and offers his life in exchange for man’s. This example of self-sacrifice causes widespread happiness and singing throughout Heaven, during which God’s angels sing of his Son’s “unexampled love, love nowhere to be found less than divine”. (412) The angels, after praising God’s power and wisdom, shift to singing of his Son’s bravery and unrelenting compassion and pity. One must wonder though, as it has already be revealed God’s son cannot truly die, is this truly a staggering sacrifice or simply a way to punish Satan without corrupting or killing man?

3. 416 – 653:

In line 416, the narrator begins speaking again. While the angels were joyful and singing hymns, Satan arrives in the area that is called in The Argument “the Limbo of Vanity”. It is said to be “boundless” and “dark, waste, wild” (l. 424). Satan is described as a vulture seeking his prey, but he can find no creature either living or dead. The earth was bare, and not yet filled with “all things transitory and vain” (l. 446). The narrator discusses how Sin made men vain and that the kinds of people who will be in the Limbo of Vanity are those who seek riches and glory. Examples of these people include the builders of Babel, which is a tower built to reach heaven and symbolized arrogant human pride, and Empedocles, who wanted the glory of being a God so he jumped into “Etna flames” (l. 470). The narrator goes on to say that there are too many more like them, and that they would attempt to go to Heaven but when they reached Heaven’s gate, “a violent crosswind” (l. 487) would blow them back to the “paradise of fools” (l. 496). In the paradise of fools is also indulgences, dispenses, pardons, and bulls, all of which are features of Catholicism that Milton obviously disapproved of because he believed one could only enter Heaven through grace and faith. After a while, Satan finally comes to the stairway to Heaven’s gate. The gate is described as so beautiful that it would be impossible to copy and the stairs are where the ones Jacob dreams about in the Bible. Beside the stairs is the passageway to the new world that the angels use to go to and fro. Satan stands on the steps and looks down and views the new world and feels wonder and jealousy. He does not stay long and flies to the sun, where there is no shade or shadow. The sun sharpens eyes and an angel comes within sight, and Satan is pleased because he hopes to get some direction to paradise, where Adam and Eve reside. Before he approaches him, he changes his shape into a cherub so to not be recognized. The angel turns around and it is Uriel, one of the seven angels closest to God. Satan begins to addresses him.

3. 654 – 80:

Satan recognizes the Archangel Uriel, and approaches him in a cherub form, or a low-ranking angel, to deceive Uriel. He claims to have just come down from Heaven due to his curiosity of this new world God has created, and after hearing so much about the world and it’s inhabitants: “To visit oft this new Creation round;/ Unspeakable desire to see, and know/All these his wondrous works, but chiefly Man” (661-63). Satan spins a tale of how he wishes to observe man:

That I may find him, and with secret gaze,
Or open admiration him behold
On whom the great Creator hath bestowd
Worlds, and on whom hath all these graces powrd. (671-74)

He speaks so well that he fools Uriel, who believes him to be an enthusiastic young angel, even going so far as to praise God for driving him and his fallen angels out of Heaven and into Hell, creating Man to serve him better and calling him wise.

3. 681 - 93:

In lines 681-693, the narrator speaks of how Satan lies to manipulate the archangel Uriel. Uriel is unaware of Satan’s deceit because, according to Milton, “hypocrisy” is “the only evil that walks Invisible, except to god alone.” (III, 683-43) This is the first display of Satan’s deception that will be used later on to trick Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. Milton also states “goodness thinks no ill where no ill seems” (III, 688-89) which implies that good cannot see evil when it has no reason to suspect otherwise. Through hypocrisy, Satan was able to take advantage of this innate goodness of both angels and mankind. Satan, being a former angel of heaven, could have been aware of this weakness. The passage is important because it shows that Satan is becoming more cunning, and more powerful, since he was able to trick even Uriel, “The sharpest sighted spirit of all in Heaven”(III, 691). This flaw illustrates a weakness in God’s creations.

3. 694 - 735:

This section is Uriel’s reply to Satan. He beings by saying “..thy desire which tends to know/ The works of God, thereby to glorify/ The great work-master, leads to no excess/ that reaches blame but rather merits praise…From thy empyreal mansion thus alone,/ To witness with thine eyes what some, perhaps/Contented with report, hear only in Heaven“(ll. 695-701.) Here Uriel appears to praise Satan for wanting to witness the splendour of God’s creation as opposed to just hearing about it in Heaven.

Then Uriel begins to praise God for His wonderful creations. The angel remarks that a creation of God (meaning angels and men) cannot possibly understand all of God’s wisdom. He then recalls when God was making Earth. It is important to note that God brings order to chaos of the elements “…Confusion heard his voice, and wild uproar/ Stood ruled, stood vast infinitude confined…and order from disorder sprung” (ll. 710-13) That God can control the elements gives the reader an overwhelming sense of God’s power. There is also the mention of the “ethereal quintessence of Heaven” It is interesting that Uriel would mention Heaven’s element last because it was supposed to have been created first according to Geniuses.

The angel then proceeds to explain how the stars and universe were made and how God had a place in mind for each of the countless stars. “That rolled orbicular and turned to stars/ Numberless, as thou seest, and how they move./ Each had his place appointed, each his course” (ll. 718-720) These lines reminded me of Jeremiah 29:11 : “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It reminds the reader that God has planned everything.

Uriel then points out earth to Satan and remarks on its light, but he says that it is a reflection of the light from the sun. “Look downward on that globe whose hither side/ With light from hence, though but reflected, shines;” (ll. 722-23) This reminds the reader the earth’s light is a mere reflection off of Heaven and therefore not true light. Uriel also mentions the light that emanates off of the moon. He is careful to mention that the moon provides light and keeps the dark from overtaking the earth. This is a metaphor for the light of God’s protection even in the darkest times.

This passage also seems to be alluding to the Platonic idea of forms. “I saw when at his word the formless mass,/ This world’s material mold, came to a heap…” (ll. 708-709) “And this ethereal quintessence of Heaven/ Flew upward, spirited with various forms…” Here we see that God alone is the master of the realm of forms and therefore the ultimate creator.

Lastly, after his speech, Uriel seems to casually leave Satan to freely travel to earth while he attends to his own business. This is a testament to the angel’s ability to trust and to be deceived by Satan.