What does it mean that Milton echoes the Classic passage from The Aeneid about passing out of Hell through a gate?
by Selina Llewellyn
1. Even though the epic poetry resounds with Dante's "Abandon all hope ye who enter here" both Aeneas and Satan seem to maintain hope, regardless of their trip to the Underworld.
1.1. In the Aeneid, Aeneas passes out of the gates of Hell through the Ivory Gate, alluding to the fact that he was fed with false dreams.
1.2. Satan temporarily leaves Hell with the hope that he can start his empire on Earth.
2. Instances of Passing Out of the gates of Hell
3. Searchable Paradise Lost
4. There are two gates in both epics
4.1. Two gates out of the underworld
4.2. One gate out of heaven and one gate out of hell.
5. Though the gate that Satan travels through is not ivory, I think the instance of having him travel through a gate is hugely important and may suggest that his dreams are either false or real. If we are paralleling him to Aeneas, that would imply that while the dreams seem to foretell truth, they actually foretell lies.
5.1. If this is true and Milton is depicting Satan's false dreams, then it means that he is following the theme of not allowing classic "epicness" to overshadow piety and true worship.
5.2. Milton points to the classics and says, "They are beautiful pieces of work, and I admire them. But perhaps I shouldn't admire them because they are Heathen. Their attraction is parallel to that of Satan's attraction. False.
6. Milton points to the classics and says, "there are beautiful peices of work, and I admire them. But perhaps I shouldn't admire them because they are Heathen. Their attraction is parallel to that of Satan's attraction. False.
6.1. While it is a "divinely inspired plan" it is not inspired from the one and only true God. Therefore, it is a false dream.
7. God sends his angels out through the gates of Heaven
8. Heaven's gate opens on it's own, Hell's gate must be opened by a key on the inside and then it is left open- unable to close.
9. Aeneas passes through the Gates of Hell--after having seen the vision of his posterity--through the Ivory gate, implying that his dreams were false dreams.
