Analyse the ways in which Milton portrays Satan and Eve in lines 444-472 (Paradise Lost Book IX)

In this extract, Satan and Eve are diametrically opposed, as Milton presents Eve as being emblematic of innocence and goodness, which is contrary to the nefarious nature that Satan is shown to exhibit. By beginning the extract with an epic simile which likens Eve to a ‘fair virgin’, Milton constructs an image of Eve’s innocence. The epic simile intensifies the wanton stature of Satan, who finds ‘pleasure’ in ‘beholding’ Eve, and is perhaps determined to exercise his droite de signeur over her. Furthermore, Milton expounds the innocent charm that Eve possesses through the structure of the Narrator’s dialogue; the regularity of the lines used to depict Eve give an effect of what seventeenth century critics referred to as ‘sweetness’, which is appropriate to Eve’s allure, denoted by her ‘nymph’ like stature. The classical allusion to the nature deity further ingeminates the beauty that Eve possesses, which supersedes that of any ordinary mortal. A further analysis of this depiction however reveals to the reader the obscured implication of Eve being portrayed as a ‘nymph’; they were commonly pursued by unwanted suitors, which once again elucidates the message of the epic simile. Satan is aiming to pursue Eve and engage in chicanery in order quench the ‘hot hell’ that burns in him. Nevertheless, Milton also suggests that Eve possesses an unbeknownst power over Satan due to her ‘rapine sweet’ scent. This suggestive oxymoron underlines the way in which Eve swiftly robs Satan of his consciousness, to the extent that he momentarily turns ‘stupidly good’.