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JBordignon_Satan's speech
by JBordignon - (2014-05-12)
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John Milton's "Paradise Lost" - Satan's speech

In this extract from "Paradise Lost" by Milton, the protagonist, Satan is intent on contemplating the new kingdom where he was thrown out. In fact, Satan does not define this a kingdom, but region as if to indicate the place where he is, full of suffering, as a part of creation.
Here Satan was exiled after he tried to rebel against God (without naming him, during the speech), comparing himself to he for reason (but not for power). Despite all this, Satan does not regret what he did; Satan prefers "to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." He says farewell to beautiful places where he lived, but agrees, reluctantly, to live in these inhospitable lands.
Milton defines Satan as "the lost archangel"; he used "lost", not "missed" because it is God who has lost an archangel, not Satan who has lost God and Heaven.