How Paradise Lost drew on Tobit
A documented line of influence: John Milton demonstrably engaged Unknown’s work. The commentary below is Gröblé’s, verbatim from each work’s page.
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On Paradise Lost’s page
- Paradise Lost names Tobit outright: Satan's thwarted desire for Eve is likened to Asmodeus, the demon the fishy fume drove from Tobit's son's bride (IV.167-71)
- Milton's angel Raphael is the same Raphael who "deign'd to travel with Tobias" in Tobit
- Read the short, strange book of Tobit and you'll catch the allusions Milton expected you to know
On Tobit’s page
- Milton plucks the demon Asmodeus straight out of Tobit — the "fishy fume" that drove him off Tobit's son's bride becomes Milton's image for Satan's frustrated lust
- Tobit's angelic companion Raphael returns too, named in Paradise Lost as the spirit who "deign'd to travel with Tobias"
- This deuterocanonical book gave Milton two figures — one demonic, one angelic — that he wove directly into his epic