In Books 1 and 2 of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the action focuses firmly on the fallen angels and, specifically, Satan. We see his fall from Heaven after the vicious rebellion in which he led a third of Heaven against God, we see him writhing in the burning lake for nine days, and then we see him rise and increase in defiance, choked with tears as his legions affirm their loyalty and commitment to him, and finally we see him take on Sin and Death and cross Chaos in his journey from Hell. He acts "heroically" in that he decides to fight on, even though he knows he can never win, and decides to go alone through the gates of Hell. But is he the true hero of Paradise Lost? What other heroic actions does he partake in?.
Satan is an "arch angel ruined", a fallen angel. Once called Lucifer, he was one of the most powerful angels in Heaven. Now he is the leader of the fallen, and he burns in eternal pain in the depths of Hell, a place of pure torture created by God before the rebellion, to hold all those that followed Satan. Satan quickly crushes any hope that he has decided to change his ways upon the dreadful loss of his rebellion, saying, "To do aught good never will be our task,/But ever to do ill our sole delight,/As being contrary to his high will/Whom we resist." He quickly affirms his continuing hate of God, and with this sentence says nothing has changed, he still has the same spirit - despite the smashing of his rebellion, the burning and twisting of his body, his spirit and mind are still intact. He says they must go about "reassembling our afflicted powers,/Consult how we may henceforth most offend/Our Enemy", showing that, like any good hero, though beaten, he does not stay down. Despite the fact that he knows they can never win, he will not give up. This is, in itself, heroic, but perhaps also very foolish. He also soon comes up with a very brave, heroic statement, trying to snatch a sort of victory from defeat: "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.
