Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Infernal Council Becomes Serpents
Coiling bodies occupy the foreground and gather towards the throne, replacing the organised ranks seen in the earlier council with a tangled mass. The hall remains recognisable, but its inhabitants have undergone a grotesque change. Milton’s caption describes the dreadful din of hissing and the crowded monsters, head and tail. Doré uses repeated curves to make that sound seem almost visible. The plate follows Satan’s return to announce his apparent victory, turning triumph into punishment and reversing the dignified political spectacle of Pandemonium’s first assembly.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The Infernal Council Becomes Serpents" [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 309. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/milton-dore-308
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
From the book
Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave DoréJohn Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. WalshUndated editionMore from this book
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Cite this illustration
Gustave Doré (design). The Infernal Council Becomes Serpents. Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré. Scan leaf 309. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/milton-dore-308