Download Paradise Lost Study Guide
"Tears, Such As Angels Weep"
(Magill's Quotations in Context)
Context: When Satan prepares to address the rebel angels, then newly plunged into Hell, he appears straight and proud before them. The fallen angels bend their ranks to make a half circle about their leader and stand quietly to hear his words. But though he be proud and courageous, Satan cannot entirely control his emotions; three times he tries to speak, and three times he fails because his emotions get the best of him:
Thrice he assayed, and thrice in spite of scorn,Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth: at lastWords interwove with sighs found out their way.