Art, Symbol & Imagination
Satan Surveys Eden
The winged observer stands at the right beneath spreading branches, looking towards the garden below. Great trunks and dense foliage frame a lighter opening in the distance. The caption illustrates Milton’s description of Eden as a happy rural seat, but Doré includes the presence that threatens its apparent security. Landscape and intruder occupy one image: the observer remains in shadow while the cultivated prospect opens beyond him. The plate turns a description of place into a moment of watching, before the poem’s danger reaches the human household.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Satan Surveys Eden" [editorial title]. In Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré, John Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. Walsh. Undated John W. Lovell Company edition; exact publication year unverified, undated edition, John W. Lovell Company. Source scan leaf 113. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/milton-dore-112
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Full source plate, printed verse caption and surrounding poem reviewed. Editorial title; original scan tonality retained. Over-dark plates excluded.
Sources
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Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave DoréJohn Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. WalshUndated editionMore from this book
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Gustave Doré (design). Satan Surveys Eden. Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré. Scan leaf 113. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/milton-dore-112