Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all.
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all.
Regions of sorrow, ......... that comes to all.
Reference
(i) Poem: Paradise Lost
(ii) Poet: John Milton
Context
(i) Occurrence: Book I (Lines 65-67/798)
(ii) Content: Satan lies dazed in a lake of fire that is totally dark. Next to him is Beelzebub, Satan's second-in-command. Satan speaks to him and laments their current state. Satan suggests that they should leave the burning lake and find shelter on a distant shore. Beelzebub asks Satan to summon his armies. Satan takes up his armor and calls to his legions to join him on land. He addresses his legions and commits himself to continue his fight against God. With their supernatural powers, the devils construct a massive temple, Pandemonium, for meetings.
Explanation
In these lines the poet describes the utter despondency of Satan in Hell. Satan and his cohorts, after their revolt against God, were cast down from Heaven to Hell. They lay unconscious in the fiery lake of Hell for nine days. When consciousness recovered, Satan observes that the region in which they are imprisoned is a horrible, round and fiery dungeon like a great furnace. It is a region of permanent sorrow, misery and suffering. Not a single ray of sun reaches down here; it has "doleful shades", i.e. its utter darkness evokes only sadness. Moreover, there is never a chance of peace and rest here. Above all, hope which comes to all beings is totally absent. It is because hope comes from God, hope is in God and they have revolted against God. Thus there is never a possibility of release for them from Hell. "Hope never comes" is a deliberate echo of Dante's Inferno 3.9: "All hope abandon, ye who enter in!" In short, the Hell described by the poet in these lines is full of endless sorrow, darkness, restlessness and hopelessness.
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