Satan thinks because Hell is such a horrible place, God will never come down to exert His control (ìdriveî) over Satan and his minions.  It is ironic that he called God ìAlmightyî though he does not seem to think this is true.  By rebelling against God and plotting to do so again, he indicates that he hasnít much respect for Him.  The use of such an elevated label could be interpreted as sarcasm, as the word ìhisî in this section was not capitalized when referring to God as it usually is, depicting a lack of respect.  Since the Anglican preachers place themselves between God and their followers with the institution of the absolving of sins, the lowercase ìhî may also apply to them.  Just as the label for God is minimized in the text, so is His role in the lives of Anglicans undermined.  He also used the word ìenvy,î which is interesting because Satan was envious of Godís power, or that of the Son.  It is again very arrogant of Satan to think that God would have any reason to envy him.  These lines are filled with phrases indicating Satanís deluded state of mind and excessive pride, and also indicate that Milton feels the Anglicans are guilty of a similar sin.

Meghan Haughey

Megsabelle@hotmail.com