"What in me is dark / Illumine, what is low raise and support; / That to the height of this great argument / I may assert eternal providence, / And justify the ways of God to men."
This quote appears within the first paragraph of the text, in which the narrator begins with an invocation of the muse in order to aid him in his poetry. This invocation announces to the reader that Milton is writing in the style of the epic, a genre of poetry from antiquity that almost always began with an appeal to the muses. This quotation also establishes Milton's overall goal: to explain the ways of God to humanity through an elaborate retelling of the book of Genesis.
"So spake the apostate angel, though in pain, / Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep despair."
Book I of Paradise Lost begins with Satan in Hell after he was banished from Heaven. He wakes to a dungeon of a place, with darkness all around, and laments his fallen state while also declaring God a tyrant for his actions. In this quotation, the narrator notes that Satan is suffering and in a state of despair despite his "vaunting," an early sign to the reader that Satan is weaker than he may seem. Some critics have argued that this reminder to the reader that Satan is forever "racked" with pain make him more relatable and sympathetic for audiences.
"Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven."
This is perhaps the most famous quotation from Paradise Lost, as it succinctly describes Satan's argument that it is preferable to have absolute power in hell than to be a servant to God in heaven. This quotation emphasizes Satan's narcissism and desire for power above all else. Scholars of early modern political theory have also suggested that this quotation is a slight to those monarchs who believe in absolute rule and the divine right of kings.
"Long is the way / And hard, that out of Hell leads up to light."
After the fallen angels decide that they will use mankind for their revenge, none of the angels are willing to make the journey out of hell to travel to earth. Eventually Satan opts to do it himself, but this quotation underscores the sheer depths of Hell and how far the angels have fallen. It also suggests that once one has fallen like Satan and the archangels, the path to redemption (or "light") is a difficult and trying one.
"Behold me then, me for him, life for life / I offer, on me let thine anger fall; / Account me man."
Because God and the Son have been watching Satan in Hell, they are aware that he is traveling to earth to tempt man to eat from the tree of knowledge. God sees everything that is to come, and is about to seal man's fate when the Son intercepts. In this quotation, the Son (later Jesus Christ) announces that he will take on the punishment of man for himself, and that God should consider him human. Here, the Son offers redemption for man through himself, foreshadowing the birth and crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament.
"Though both / Not equal, as their sex not equal seemed: / For contemplation he and valour formed, / For softness she and sweet attractive grace, / He for God only, she for God in him."
This description introduces a lengthy description of Adam and Eve that underscores the differences in their sexes. Many have pointed to this quotation as evidence that Milton believed Eve was always doomed to fall, being the "weaker" of the two sexes. However, it is important to note – as many feminist scholars have – that this quotation, though spoken by the narrator, is dramatizing Satan's perspective as he observes Adam and Eve in Eden. Thus, many interpret this quotation as an acknowledgement that the concept of a "weaker sex" is actually a warped perspective associated with Satan's plan.
"And why not gods of men, since good, the more / Communicated, more abundant grows."
At the beginning of Book V, Eve recounts to Adam a disturbing dream she had in which she was guided by a voice to eat from the tree of knowledge. She emphasizes that the fruit on the tree is so sweet that it can make gods out of men, and then, in this quotation, asks why men should not be made into gods after all. This quotation represents Eve's first corrupt thought, having been influenced by Satan in her sleep. It also, in a political reading of the text, showcases how the divine right of kings – which many English monarchs sought to claim – is a myth created by power-hungry rulers with little regard for God's supremacy.
"He leading swiftly rolled / In tangles, and made intricate seem straight, / To mischief swift."
This quotation describes Satan's movements after he has assumed the body of the serpent and tempted Eve toward the Tree of Knowledge. It emphasizes how Satan is skilled in the art of deception, and how his ability to tempt humans comes in the form of making difficult ways appear easy. Some political scholars of the English Renaissance use this quotation often to argue that Paradise Lost is a profoundly political text, as this quotation mirrors some of Milton's political tracts in which he cautions the people about demagogues who claim to have immediate solutions to the nation's problems.
"Out of my sight, thou serpent, that name best / Befits thee with him leagued, thyself as false / And hateful."
After Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam becomes hateful and degrading toward Eve, comparing her Satan himself. His focus in this quotation on Eve's "false" character ushers in a misogynistic rant against all women. Many feminist scholars have argued that the misogyny that occurs in Paradise Lost comes notably after the fall, suggesting that misogyny was introduced by Satan's temptation of man and man's original sin.
"The world was all before them, where to choose / Their place of rest, and providence their guide: / They hand in hand with wandering steps and slow, / Through Eden took their solitary way."
These are the final lines of Paradise Lost. It describes Adam and Eve's path out of Eden after God has expelled them from paradise. This conclusion emphasizes three major themes: first, the isolation and "solitary" state of Adam and Eve as they leave Eden. Second, that Adam and Eve are "hand in hand" suggests that they are united even in their fall. Finally, despite moving in a "solitary" way, Adam and Eve have "providence" as their "guide." This term suggests that, despite their expulsion from Eden, God's protection continues to follow them as they start their life outside of paradise.
