John Milton, Paradise Lost
Sin in Paradise Lost
Sin sits at Hell’s gate, fair above the waist but serpent-shaped below, surrounded by barking creatures. She carries the fatal key and interrupts the impending fight between Satan and Death. She tells Satan that she emerged from his head amid the heavenly conspiracy. Recognition turns the apparent strangers at the gate into a destructive family relationship.
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In the sources
Principal account
LiterarySin sits at Hell’s gate, fair above the waist but serpent-shaped below, surrounded by barking creatures. She carries the fatal key and interrupts the impending fight between Satan and Death.
Further detail
LiteraryShe tells Satan that she emerged from his head amid the heavenly conspiracy. Recognition turns the apparent strangers at the gate into a destructive family relationship.
Context & interpretation
The entry concerns Milton’s personification of Sin and her account of origin. It keeps the figure distinct from an abstract doctrinal definition of sin and treats the family narrative as part of the poem.
Original passages
Source 1
Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré
woman to the waist, and fairOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Milton, Paradise Lost, active reader leaf 61
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0115-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0115-E001-P0061
- Original scan leaf
- 62
- Recorded leaf number
- 62
- Current Reader position
- 57
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré
Out of thy head I sprungOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Milton, Paradise Lost, active reader leaf 64
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0115-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0115-E001-P0064
- Original scan leaf
- 65
- Recorded leaf number
- 65
- Current Reader position
- 60
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Death in Paradise Lost
The crowned shadow guarding Hell, whose appetite turns towards the human world.
Shared source pageHell in Paradise Lost
The burning realm whose confinement continues inside the rebel who leaves it.
Same subject and traditionChaos in Paradise Lost
The ruler of the unformed abyss who welcomes ruin as a recovery of lost territory.
Same subject and traditionNight in Paradise Lost
The ancient consort of Chaos, seated in the court of the unformed deep.