Abdiel
The solitary seraph who refuses the rebellion and returns through hostile scorn.
John Milton, Paradise LostExplore the ideas, beings and worlds in the books.
Three contrasting figures in Milton’s Paradise Lost: loyalty, guardianship and rebellion.
The solitary seraph who refuses the rebellion and returns through hostile scorn.
John Milton, Paradise Lost
SourceThe guardian who organises the night watch around Eden.
John Milton, Paradise LostThe rebel whose outward journey cannot free him from the Hell he carries within.
John Milton, Paradise LostAngels & rebellionRecord 1 of 3
The solitary seraph who refuses the rebellion and returns through hostile scorn.
John Milton, Paradise Lost

Abdiel opposes Satan’s claim and stands alone among the company being persuaded to rebel. The poem describes his loyalty as resistant to both the multitude and the examples around him.
He leaves through the hostile company without yielding to scorn or fear of violence. His later confrontation gives the earlier refusal a visible place in the heavenly battle.
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John Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. Walsh
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