Paradise Lost, Book IX characters

Appears from the start

The first man, living with Eve in Eden under God's single prohibition against eating from the tree of knowledge. He loves Eve, values reason and obedience, and begins this part of the poem confident that their partnership can withstand the enemy they have been warned about.

Appears from the start

The first woman and Adam's companion in Eden. Intelligent, independent, and eager to prove the strength of her virtue, she proposes that the pair divide their work despite Adam's concern that the tempter will find either of them more vulnerable alone.

Also known as The Tempter

Appears from the start

The fallen archangel who led a rebellion against God and now seeks revenge by corrupting humanity. Having returned secretly to Eden after earlier reconnaissance, he searches for an animal form through which he can approach Eve without immediately revealing himself.

Appears from the start

An animal of Eden whose body Satan uses to address Eve. Its apparent ability to reason and speak becomes the tempter's first false piece of evidence that eating the forbidden fruit enlarges a creature's nature rather than bringing death.

Appears from the start

The creator whose command permits Adam and Eve to enjoy Eden while forbidding the fruit of one tree. He does not appear as a speaking participant in this book, but the freedom he has granted humanity and the warning he has given them define the choice at its center.

Appears from the start

An angel who previously warned Adam about Satan's rebellion, the creation of the world, and the danger now facing the human pair. His instruction belongs to the knowledge Adam and Eve possess before the temptation begins.