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Satan portrayed as a hero
John milton paradise lost literary analysis
John milton paradise lost literary analysis
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There have been many different interpretations of John Milton's epic, Paradise Lost. Milton's purpose in writing the epic was to explain the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the epic is similar to the Bible story in many ways, Milton's character structure differs from that of the Bible's version. Through-out the epic Milton describes the characters in the way he believes they are. In book II of Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as a rebel who exhibits certain heroic qualities, but who turns out not to be a hero.
Milton's introduction of Satan shows the reader how significant Satan is to Paradise Lost. He uses Satan's heroic qualities to his followers, and his ability to corrupt to show the thin line between good and evil. Satan was one of the highest angels in Heaven and was know as Lucifer, meaning, light bearer. This shows he was once a good angel. Milton makes the reader see him as a leader and a strong influence to all in his presence. He best describes Satan's ways when stating, "His pride/ had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host. / Of rebel angels, by whose aspiring/ To set himself in glory above his peers" (Milton Book I). Satan's pride was the main reason that God banned him from heaven. Satan always tried to be number one and a leader, instead of following in God's shadow. He would of lived a life in Paradise forever, but he had to follow his feelings as he states, "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" (Milton 31). This shows how strongly he felt about not being above everybody else.
Milton uses many events like the ones listed above to encourage the reader to view Satan as a hero. "Satan is described to be the brightest and most important angel" (McColley 32). These traits of Satan show...
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...e lead to ingratitude towards God" from the beginning of the epic (Weber 25). Although Satan is a great warrior and can give wonderful speeches, he seems to be hypocritical of what he tells his followers he believes and what he really does. An example of this is when we are first introduced to Satan. Satan and the other fallen angels are in hell and Satan tells the others to not be frightened, when he is frightened as well.
The character of Satan "deteriorates" greatly through the epic (Ruma 81). Satan is viewed as a great warrior and then as time passes, his own followers begin to doubt him. "Milton has his brilliant hero advance to be met and repulsed, first verbally, and then in arms" (Revard 225). This explains how the two most heroic qualities, that Milton uses to describe Satan as a rebellious hero, were diminished and Milton's Satan is not a hero after all.
Satan is the core of Milton’s master piece and no matter how he is interpreted; the overall complexity of his character cannot be overlooked.
In Lehnhof’s summary he states how Satan grew envious of God’s power. Due to his attempt of overthrowing God he is cast out of heaven along with his league of fallen angels. As well how although Satan
In John Milton’s, The Paradise Lost, Milton’s representation of Satan makes us uncomfortable due to the recognition of his humanizing and relatable reaction to what happened to him. The reader expects Satan to be an evil, and malevolent figure who does evil acts because he loves it and there is no defense for it. While these aspects are prevalent in his character in the poem, Satan does not come across as a completely wicked person but instead, a victim. The representation of Satan has a personifying quality that any of us may have and do not want to admit. In book one, Milton’s portrayal of Satan makes us uneasy because we relate to his actions, which are ordinary human responses to similar situations. It is troubling to say that in this particular poem, Satan resembles humans. However, our human nature is to have an instant reflex to justify our actions without taking any responsibility, which resembles the way Satan justifies his mischievous acts in this poem. Most of the time, we would never think of Satan as a victim; yet, we find ourselves discovering our human nature in Satan’s rationalizations. So, what humanizes this monstrous figure? After thoroughly reading book one, there are many instances when Satan justifies what he has done to make sense of it. Satan believes that God deceived him because he did not know how much power he possessed. According to Satan, God did unjust things that justified his actions. Satan has a whole rationale that God had arbitrary power that caused Satan to become the way he is in the poem. This perception serves as Satan’s foundation on behalf of his justification, which we all can relate to because he does not take responsibility but pr...
In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Milton characterizes himself as a prophet in order to encourage us to listen to God’s order and turn away from our evil. As one becomes aware of Milton’s prophetic intentions, one recognizes how Milton uses Satan and his reaction to his downfall with God as a way to lead us to think of our own human sins and experience. Milton’s characterization of Satan’s envious, jealous, prideful and rebellious nature while battling God allows us to see Satan as mirror reflection of our own selves. By characterizing Satan, an evil icon, as a being with human flaws, Milton encourages us to see our own weaknesses in order to turn away from these sins.
Firstly, a few words about Satan would seem prudent, as he is the first of the fallen angels, the leader in the revolt, and the first to venture to earth to corrupt mankind. He is Milton’s main character, and the only one to extend outside of strict biblical interpretations of his character. He appears first in the Bible (if you discount the snake in the Garden of Eden) in the Book of Job, in which he convinces God to test Job by taking away all his worldly possessions and bringing harm to himself and his family. He is addressed with the angels and named as Satan, so his status as an angel who helps bring pain and suffering is no stretch from the ‘biblical truth’. Old Testament Books such as Isaiah and Ezekiel refer to what appears to be Satan, but are in the midst of passages that reflect upon wicked, fallen kings. In Isaiah 14:12 it is written, “how you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” Most speculation is that this directly refers to Satan, although in no other passage is he referred to as Lucifer. The passage is actually concerning a Babylonian king, as is Ezekiel 28:14-15, which laments (for the King of Tyre), “you were the anointed cherub… till iniquity was found in you.” These passages are about wick...
In the story Milton describes Satan in many different manner. He first talks about him as a form of a snake, tempting 'our grand parents'; to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Milton also shows Satan's appearance as a beast. Pretty much you can see how his appearance and personality are quite related. Milton gives us a vivid description of Satan. That he has eyes that sparking blaze, monstrous size. This describes to us how Satan looks now, but before Satan was an Angel. He is not the same being that he was before.
Milton prompts the reader to understand God’s grace as the most almighty and powerful aspect within the first twenty-six lines. God is a powerful ruler who bestows blessings if his policies are followed and eternal damnation if not. The first two books of Paradise Lost portray Satan as a confused, resentful man who feels the need to rebel against God. Since Satan rebelled against God, he was banished from heaven and summoned into an eternal hell. While in hell, Satan gathered his fallen angels for a pep talk and exclaimed to them, “Farewell, happy fields, where joy forever dwell; in my choice to reign is worth ambition though in Hell” (Book 1, Line 1). In this exclamation Satan bids adieu to the pleasure and blissful surroundings of paradise and greets the gloom and dreadfulness that now surround him with open arms. The reader can conclude that Milton relays Satan’s speech as remorseful and full of regret at the penalty of his rebellious actions, but accepts what he has done and is ready to rule the underworld. The reader can also note one difference between Satan and God in this passage because unlike God, Satan chose to speak to all who follow him and wanted their feedback for his rebellious plans. Satan continues his speech by adding, “Receive thy new possessor. Not to be changed by place or time” (Book 1, Line 1). Satan is regulating his mental perception as he greets Hell. He portrays himself as equipped and ready for Hell to receive him as the leader. Like God, Satan brought his autonomous mentality, free of time or location, to Hell. As the new supreme leader of the underworld, with his independent mind, Satan boldly compares himself to God through the element of
The epic poem 'Paradise Lost' by 17th century poet John Milton is about the biblical story of God, Satan, Adam and Eve and their abode in heaven. The poem begins after Satan tempts Adam and Eve to commit a sin and they are sent to Earth while Satan is condemned to hell. Satan declares war against those who will henceforth try to follow God's orders. The rest of the poem follows the arrogance of Satan and his adherence to the famous quote "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." After becoming the fallen angel, he becomes the quintessential villain for all of eternity. He is the ultimate monster who is the primogenitor of all imaginary and real beasts and devils to come. He is the example to be followed and emulated.
Throughout time, John Milton's Paradise Lost has been studied by many people and comprehended in many different fashions, developing all kinds of new interpretations of the great epic. There have been many different interpretations of this great epic. Milton's purpose in writing the epic was to explain the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the epic is similar to the Bible story in many ways, Milton's character structure differs from that of the Bible's version. All through out the epic Milton describes the characters in the way he believes they are. In book II of Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as a rebel who exhibits certain heroic qualities, but who turns out not to be a hero.
Milton follows the tradition of epic poetry when he asks a muse to speak through him. It is clear that for Milton it is the poet's submission to the voice of his muse, to divine inspiration, which ultimately distinguishes the soaring creation of Paradise Lost from an insulting speculation of what happens in the Garden of Eden. Milton does not, however, present the hymn of a heavenly muse as his only defense against presuming too much. Through the book, he remains sensitive to the relationship between himself as poet and his center of attention. While he insists on the honest intentions of what he undertakes, he never neglects to expose the satanic aspect of his poetic posture. In this way Milton differs a slightly from a traditional epic. Instead of speaking through Milton, the muse is more of a second person that inspires Milton. Never the less, Paradise Lost still follows the outline of a customary epic poem.
In Milton's Paradise Lost, he writes the story of the fall of Satan, his followers, and mankind. Many critics often view Satan as the unlikely or tragic hero of the epic poem. Satan is, obviously, the main character throughout most of the poem, but not necessarily the hero. Satan's main purpose is to fight G-d, and try to be on the same level as Him. The important thing is to realize that Satan is sin, and being humans, who are all born into sin, we can easily relate to a sinful character. G-d is holy and perfect. This is something which we, being fallible humans, cannot begin to comprehend. Satan does, at the beginning, follow many of the attributes which coincide with Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero; however, after the first few Books, Satan looses his status as a tragic hero rather rapidly. Along with this, Satan's thoughts parallel the idea of "Evil, be thou my good," (p76, line 110) which is the opposite of what G-d intends.
Two important things that make Satan a hero are identified in the beginning of Paradise Lost: an obstacle Satan is trying to overcome and flaws that Satan has. In the beginning of the poem, Satan falls into Hell, which sets up the en media res (starting with action in the middle of the story) narrative so that the reader does not know the circumstances under which Satan rebelled against God. Satan despairs at first at the thought of eternal damnation and debates making up with God, but decides that if he tried to redeem himself he would eventually rebel again. Instead, Satan decides to corrupt the rumored new race, the human race, that God has created and, with his host of demons, “reascend / self-raised, and repossess their native seat [in Heaven]” (1.633-634). While Satan determines his end-game, however, some of his flaws are revealed, such as pride and vanity. Satan is not afraid of eternal damnation, rather he figures since he is immortal he can keep rebelling and causing harm ...
Thus, when the character of Satan is traced through its evolution of Paradise Lost, the reason behind the order of development can be seen. Milton’s desire to create a strong hatred of Satan is achieved best by highlighting Satan’s good points first. Then, when Satan’s real character begins to emerge, the reader is appalled at the actions of their “hero”, causing them to dislike him more than had he originally been a bad character. The reader’s distaste for Satan is strengthened by Satan’s shift in motives. The conquering of humans, which he originally presented as a rebellion against God and his authoritative rule, later came to be about pure corruption and hate. It’s therefore possible to say that if Satan had never given up on his original reasoning, he would still be the hero of Paradise Lost.
John Milton introduces the reader to Satan in the first book of Paradise Lost. Satan is shown defeated in the Lake of Fire after rebelling against God in heaven. Satan rises from the lake and gives a heroic speech to his fallen angels. This displays Satan as a tragic hero, someone who is seen as great but is destined to fail. Satan tries to be the victor, but in the end Satan fails, and Christ is the true hero.
Since Paradise Lost is an epic, the reader is instinctively drawn to the search of deeds typical of a heroic figure that could be either legendary or based on real historic personages. However, Milton displays several characters that could perform that role, as all of them prove their heroic courage by accomplishing deeds of great valour. Satan is portrayed as a rebellious lord displaying energy and drive. That contrasts with the fact that he is the enemy of God and mankind, as his name in Hebrew indicates; ‘adversary’ (Loewenstein, 1993, p.58). In turn, God’s Son is the expected hero, responding to the admirable quality of classical heroes (Bradford, 2001, p.98), who redeems the world God had created from sin and sacrifices himself for mankind. Similarly, Adam and Eve heroically face the struggle of living in a fallen world infested by sin.