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Belial

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Biblical term for worthlessness, personified as a demon of lawlessness

Detailed Definition
Belial appears in the Old Testament and is dramatized in Milton’s "Paradise Lost" as a smooth-tongued, sensualist fallen angel advocating passive resistance. In poetry, he symbolizes moral laxity, rhetorical deceit, and the allure of hedonism, often contrasted with more militant forms of evil like Satan or Moloch.
Example
Example in poetry:
Belial in Milton’s "Paradise Lost" speaks with smooth rhetoric, personifying false moderation and moral laxity; In medieval mystery plays, Belial appears as a tempter character using poetic persuasion; Romantic poets like Coleridge reference Belial to symbolize spiritual emptiness; In modern poetry (e.g., Eliot’s "The Waste Land"), Belial’s legacy informs characters of decadence and despair.
Additional Notes
Belial, a Hebrew term for worthlessness, evolved into a demonic figure in Christian apocrypha and Milton’s "Paradise Lost," where he represents moral laxity and persuasive sophistry; his literary character typifies the “smooth-tongued” adversary, valuable for studying how evil is personified through rhetorical style rather than brute force.
Also Known As
Beliar
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