I found that one of the pivotal moments in Book II of Paradises Lost came when Beezlebub makes the great suggestion that the army of devils attack God's new creation, man. This is certainly important, as it directly effects the downfall of man. The argument that Beezlebub gives sounds so good and convincing, that it only seems right he make the suggestion. The way Milton describes Beelzebub's authority and wiseness only strengthens his argument. Especially after hearing the three other arguments by demons previously made at the council. Before making his huge statement, Beezelbub is described as being a farily reasonable and knowledgable figure. Lines 302-304 say, "deep on his front engraven/Deliberation sat and public care;/And princely cousel in his face yet shone." Milton's words make him sound credible and it gives us a reason to listen to him. Line 303 uses an anastrophe for the word "sat." I think Milton was trying to seperate the descriptions of "deliberation" and "public care" from one another by putting the word "sat" in between them. The diction is chosen to go together, and yet it's so different. Deliberation sounds strong-standing and outright, while the phrase "public care" makes Beezelbub sound soft-hearted and wanting to take responsibility for his "people," or demons. He continues in his speech by describing the great new structure Hell shall take on, and "build up here/A growing empire" (314-315). This statement sounds very noble and empirical of Beezelbub. The use of enjambment really makes the empire stand out. It does not sound negative at all, as mostly positive rhetoric and diction is used in this speech.

Most of the scene in the demon's council comes off as very natural and realistic of any group trying to figure a way out of a miserable spot. The way that the different fallen angels describe their damnation, which God has put them in, makes one almost feel sympathetic. Milton writes out this scene in Pandemonium with only the upright most honesty of how the demons probably felt. He doesn't put in any extra narration to make us feel sorry for their place, but he certainly allows the demons to tell it for themselves. The first demon to have spoken up at the council was Moloch, who basically says nothing good be worse than the position they are already in, so making war against Heaven is of no consquence. In other words, he's saying Why not? While making his argument he refers to God as "the Torturer" (64), which sounds bad, but is understandable coming from a demon whom God has condemned from Heaven. In a way, God is torturing these fallen angels, so we almost (but not quite) sympathize for them as if they had done nothing wrong. It is after all, not really mentioned what wrong doings each one of these demons has committed. I think the fact that Milton does not discuss God's opinion or side of the story at this point in PL, we feel no strong reason to side against Satan's plan to attack God's new creation.

The second argument at the convention comes from a demon named Belial. He is described as having a "persuasive accent" (118), but I think readers are able to figure out that assumption on their own. He actually gives God the benefit of a doubt, saying that they were actually previously be worse off when they had been chained to the firey lake. Belial's argument says that if they wage war against Heaven, God would only heighten their punishment and that would be pointless. He says, "We are decreed,/Reserved and destined to eternal woe," which is strong auxesis of the suffering they are forever binded to by God. Basically, I feel that the arguments made by every demon who speaks up, make very good points. As readers we see this, therefore we do not look down at the creatures of Hell quite as horrendous as we would otherwise. They are given sophisticated voices and brains, and good reason to want to rebel against God some more. The fact that the plot sounds reasonable and the characters are of true heart, only makes me excited in finding out how exactly Satan's plan continues to unravel.