Jolene Patricia Brown
Dr. R. Levin
ENL 122
15 Oct 2009
Words to Remind You: Milton’s Subtle Reminders
Beyond this flood a frozen continent
Lies dark and wild, beat with perpetual storms
Of whirlwind and dire hail, which on firm land
Thaws not, but gathers heap, and ruin seems (590)
Of ancient pile; all else deep snow and ice,
A gulf profound as that Serbonian bog
Betwixt Damiata and Mount Casius old,
Where armies whole have sunk: the parching air
Burns frore, and cold performs th’ effect of fire. (595)
Thither by harpy-footed Furies haled,
At certain revolutions all the damned
Are brought: and feel by turns the bitter change
Of fierce extremes, extremes by change more fierce,
From beds of raging fire to starve in ice (600)
Their soft ethereal warmth, and there to pine
Immovable, infixed, and frozen round,
Periods of time, thence hurried back to fire.
(Page 49, second edition.)
Words Defined:
Fierce (line 599): Fierce is a word that has two very different meanings according to the OED. In one instance it can mean a “formidably violent and intractable temper, like a wild beast” but it can also mean “high spirited, brave, and valiant.” These two definitions ring together in line 599, as the word is not mentioned once, but twice in the same line. Milton gives Satan all of these qualities: he rises against his creator violently, but he is also a hero among his men for his valor and heroism in battle. Hell, it seems, takes on the same qualities of its king in that the extremes of hell are such that those who are damned must suffer physically under the angry torment but also remember that which they lost. In hell one can have no valor, so the memory of such a grand emotion only compounds the terror and pain of existence in the place furthest away from God.
Extremes (line 599): An extreme is the “farthest from the center” and if two things are in extremes they are “removed as far as possible from each other in position, nature, or condition” (OED). This word in its line context reinforces the effect of the word fierce (above) creating a juxtaposition of God/Satan and Heaven/Hell. This reinforcement, especially as this word is also repeated in this line, contrasts one with the other setting them as opposites in the scope of the universe, and the reader is forced to see the good in heaven and the evil in hell. By doing this Milton has given no room to doubt that hell is, in every way, the opposite of heaven, and Satan the opposite of God. There is no confusing the two, despite the charisma and beauty that Milton might endow Satan and hell with, and the reader must look past the deception to realize that in being in opposition with heaven, there is nothing worthy or virtuous in hell.
Starve (line 600): This word was particularly interesting as it, surprisingly, is used specifically to describe a “pestilence” or “a pestilent being (esp. applied to the devil).” It is a usage that is described as rare in the OED but Milton, as well-educated as he was, probably had knowledge of the word in this form. The context in which it is used in the poem refers to being “brought gradually nearer to death” as well as “to suffer extreme cold.” Each definition ties in deeply to other words and ideas presented in the passage: Satan as a pestilent devil, the damned gradually dying of their suffering in hell, as well as the cold heat that is described. It is obvious that Milton used this word very deliberately in this passage, as the word has many definitions and meanings that are relevant to his vision of hell. It is also a word that raises fear in the reader since to starve is a terrible, prolonged way to die, so it would be appropriately used if Milton wants to make clear the torments that are waiting for sinners in hell.
Pine (line 601): Continuing the succession of words that reinforce one another in Milton’s description of hell, the word pine is, according to the OED a “punishment, torment, torture, suffering or loss…as punishment” especially in hell or purgatory, but it is also “suffering caused by hunger or lack of food” and the OED even calls it a “starvation.” The word gives strength to the word starve in the line immediately before it, but it also conjures the ideas of punishment for sins committed against God. It is not only the sinners who are suffering starvation, it is the fallen angels as well, who through their rebellion are forever punished, banished from heaven. Both definitions are integral in connecting the mortal sinners from the immortal; both sinners will suffer for their choices infinitely through the torment of hell.
Immovable (line 602): This word stood out among the other three descriptors in this line (infixed, frozen) because it implies the inability of the situation in hell to change. This damning of the sinners and the angels and their suffering is not changeable by just any being. In placing this word right after the word pine, Milton continues to make his case for the uncomfortable, unceasing torments that await sinners against God. Neither angel nor mortal will be able to change his own circumstances; it is only through the asking of forgiveness that hell will cease to exist and since Satan will not relent on his position, hell will continue, immovable, until the end of days.
Stylistic Devices:
Imagery (lines 587-590): Milton opens this passage in a surprising way: hell is not a burning, fiery place, but instead a place that is frozen, dark, wild and stormy (586). This image is different from what we now imagine hell to be with heat, fire and burning lakes. This contrast is important to note because hell is the furthest place from God and this implies that God is a source of heat. A frozen wasteland would be barren of life, uninhabitable by plants, animals and, of course, man. The imagery that he is presenting is one without life, pleasure, comfort and nothing like the warm paradise of heaven and that of the newly created earth.
Simile (line 592): The simile being used in this line compares the deep snow and ice of hell to that of a “Serbonian bog.” The deepness of that bog is one “Where armies whole have sunk” (596) and is an image of helplessness. The comparison that Milton is drawing is one of despair since the sinners cannot help themselves and, like a bog or quicksand, they only fall further into the depths. Hell is cold, but it also renders sinners helpless, and the more they fight the depths of hell the deeper they will sink into despair.
Paradox (line 595): I had a hard time deciding whether line 595 was a metaphor or if it was a paradox. I have decided that it is a paradox because Milton takes two opposing sensations and uses the comparison to enhance the meaning of the ideas. The comparison being made is between cold and fire: “cold performs th’ effect of fire” is an overwhelmingly simple paradox where the reader immediately can imagine the burning cold as much as they can imagine the cold fire. Those two things are contradictions, therefore paradoxical, signifying the true power of God over this hell. A true paradox cannot be solved by imperfect reasoning. God, however, is perfect so his reasoning would be perfectly capable of imagining and creating a world of paradox that would harbor both cold heat and hot cold. I believe Milton is using the idea of a paradoxical hell to indirectly show the power of God in comparison to the weakness of Satan.
Alliteration (lines 595-603): There is an immense number of alliterative words that occur in lines 595-603, especially words that begin with the letter f. It begins with the two words in opposition: frore and fire in line 595, and the word fire is repeated three times in the following lines. Other words include footed, Furies, feel, fierce (mentioned twice), From, soft, infixed, and frozen bringing the total of f-sounding words to eleven, in a very short nine lines. This is significant to the tone of the poem because Milton has just described hell as a cold, inhospitable place yet they are on a lake of fire. It seems Milton wants to remind the reader of the burning of hell with the series of f-sounds that do sound similar to burning when pronounced by the reader. The reminder is subtle but effective and the use of this recurring f also reminds us of the paradox of hell: the cold heat torture that awaits those who sin against God.
Repetition (lines 595-603): There are three words that get repeated in these lines: fierce, extremes, and fire. These words are significant first because of the words themselves. They are each words without a trace of ambiguity, as they conjure of definite images within the mind of the reader. They are words with which one might describe hell, as indeed Milton does here, but they are also words of passion that would be used in both good and bad contexts. The repetition is what makes the words all the more interesting. The words fierce and extremes are each used twice and in the same line (599). As in the definitions state above, I believe that Milton wanted us to ponder these words carefully and note the different ideas that are encompassed by those words. The word fire is used three times, reinforcing the fiery image of hell, and the repetition acts as a reminder, between the descriptions of ice, that hell is a wasteland of paradox, evil, and curses which one should avoid at all costs.
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