We might think that because Satan is associated with evil and all bad in the world, it is hard to sympathize with him. In accordance with this, there are plenty of examples in Milton’s Paradise Lost that communicate the idea that Satan is not a sympathetic character. At one point Satan states: All is not lost—the unconquerable will, And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield: And what is else not to be overcome? That glory never shall his wrath or might Extort from me (106-111). In this short passage Satan is convincing himself that all will be okay for them, because even though they lost on the battlefield, they still have their will, courage, and hatred of good. However, would it not seem somewhat foolhardy to state this? Satan has just lost an extreme battle with God, the most powerful being in the universe, and he still believes in himself so much. Satan is trying to persuade himself that it is okay to be ignorant of God’s might, but he himself had just woken up in a lake of fire after being punished for his desecration. His use of pathos in this section reinforces how he is avoiding the truth, but only speaking out of emotion. We see a similar display when it is …show more content…
Satan is using his mind, deducting that even though they lost the battle, they can use the intelligence they have gained about God to strike back even harder. Satan is fueled by anger, and because God has an excess of joy now, he needs to strike back. However, he is also appealing to the demons by dismantling the power structure in Heaven, with God as the all powerful ruler. Satan refers here to God’s rule as tyranny, and it would appear that God may be abusive of his powers against the angels, not taking into account better methods. Therefore, Satan’s anger against him and drive to exact revenge are justified. When Satan is having a discussion with Beelzebub, he
...e after all, he is the most sinister. The irony of this situation is compelling once we are told that Satan is in fact the “…soul that suffers the most.” (Canto XXXIV. Line 61).
His determination is shown by the quote ‘He circled, four times crossed the car of night’. This makes it obvious to the reader that Satan’s desire for revenge is much more than a simple whim it is lust. In Book 2 of Paradise Lost, Satan’s determination is introduced as he leaves the other fallen angels in Pandemonium to wreak havoc on Earth and orchestrate their revenge. It is now, in book 9, that his efforts come to fruition, as Eve eats from the Tree of Knowledge and convinces Adam to do the same, consequently, man falls. Despite this, Satan does not receive his full punishment until Book 10
Satan is very easy to sympathize because he is more like man than god is, he has more characteristics and feelings that god does not have. He has jealousy, fear, pride and he makes mistakes like we all do. His pride is what got him where he is today, thinking he could take over heaven for the better of the angels. But when has god ever made a mistake? He doesn’t because he’s so perfect. When one looks around it is clear every human around you is not perfect. We all make mistakes, regrets, but that does not mean we should be thrown away from earth. The way Satan thinks, feels, and acts is all very human and that’s one reason we can sympathize with him, because we’ve all been there at one point in time. At an all-time low, that’s we he ends up embracing his future like he should.
Satan aspires to rise above God in power, yet his ambition makes him unable to recognize the impossibility of such desires. Satan’s lofty position as God’s second-in-command raises his ambition: “lifted up so high/ I sdeined subjection, and thought one step higher/ Would set me highest” (Milton 4.49-51). The angel’s ambition drives his hope for absolute power and convinces him that he could fulfill such grandiose desires. However, God is unequalled in supremacy and can never be defeated; his absolute dominance renders Satan’s hopes futile. The angel will never be able to challenge God’s power, let alone defeat the omnipotent. Still, Satan is overly ambitious and thus blind to the impossibility of defeating God. Satan’s ambition parallels to the monster’s desperation for love in Shelley’s Frankenstein. As the monster observes the daily lives of the cottagers, he develops an ardent longing to enjoy the love and sympathy of mankind. He knows his desires are impossible to fulfill, but his desperation drives him to feign ignorance: “I persuaded myself that when they should become acquainted with my admiration of their virtues they would compassionate me and overlook my personal deformity” (Shelley
When a person hears Satan, a streak of fear, and the thought of evil, arises. People fear Satan, and think of him as evil, but in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he displays a thought of the Father being the evil being, and Satan a tragic hero. In Paradise Lost, Book 1 and 2, the minor areas where God is shown, He is displayed as hypocritical. He contradicts himself by creating the humans to be of free will, but when Satan displays free will, he is shunned. Satan can be described in many terms, and by many people, but all can be disputed.
In Paradise Lost Satan Ends up telling us how much he hates God and tells us this,"To do aught good never will be our task,/But ever to do ill our sole delight,/As being the contrary to his high will/Whom we resist. If then his providence /Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,/Our labor must be to pervert that end,/And out of good still to find means of evil" (Milton 745). Satan in this quote basically says that he will will stop at nothing until he gets his revenge against God. This corresponded to the monster quite well.
Satan proves his leadership by managing to cause the fall of other angels as well. He has a legion of rebel angels that he has somehow convinced to join him in his revolt against God. The angels and he mistakenly believe him to be just as powerful as God (line 40). Perhaps his futile attempts to win are what attract the sympathy and understanding of human beings, for mankind is constantly trying to change things they will never be abl...
Before any of this happens, Satan is kicked out of heaven. Satan betrays God by raising up an army against Him and Satan is gone. This is an indication of Satan’s bad temper, jealousy, and envy. Satan had been put in charge of so much, but he was always coveting the top position. It was the position with all the power and he wanted it. The day that Satan was kicked out of heaven was the true beginning of the fall that would ruin God’s creation forever. Satan revolted from God and created his own army of ...
Satan frequently characterizes “the tyranny of heaven” and employs negative diction in his depictions of both heaven and God (I.124). His negative portrayals of God and his kingdom highlight his utter dissatisfaction with being subservient to God and, from that, his desire for autonomy. In the exposition of the text, Satan’s emotions toward God make themselves apparent when Satan “throws his baleful eyes / That witnessed huge affliction and dismay / Mixed with obdúrate pride and steadfast hate” (I.56-58). Satan reveals himself to be furious with his continued subjugation to God as well as his inability to truly revenge himself against his subsequent punishment. According to Satan, God’s dissimulation of his power tempted Satan and others to rise
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.
Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost is a complex character meant to be the evil figure in the epic poem. Whenever possible Satan attempts to undermine God and the Son of God who is the true hero of the story. Throughout the story Milton tells the readers that Satan is an evil character, he is meant not to have any redeeming qualities, and to be shown completely as an unsympathetic figure. Satan’s greatest sins are pride and vanity in thinking he can overthrow God, and in the early part of the poem he is portrayed as selfish while in Heaven where all of God’s angels are loved and happy. Satan’s journey starts out as a fallen angel with great stature, has the ability to reason and argue, but by Book X the anguish and pain he goes through is more reason for him to follow an evil path instead. Even so, Milton uses literal and figurative imagery in the description of Satan’s character to manipulate the reader’s response to the possibility that Satan may actually be a heroic figure. As the plot of the story unfolds there are moments where the reader can identify with Satan’s desires and relate to his disappointments.
The delicate way in which he holds the character of Satan. poised between heroic and villainous acts during his physical ascent and spiritual fall. makes use of the full gamut of poetic devices, including allusion, metaphor, and a variety of other forms. hyperbole, diction, and more a tricky juggling act of character development, until he. is ready to let the ball drop. Bibliography Bradley, S.A.J. (1992)
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.
These lines create an aura of awe and majesty for Satan, showing his glory and splendor through material things, while at the same time inferring indirectly that this material show is all that Satan has, rather than real power or value.
Ask anyone to draw Satan and you 'll get a red snake-like figure with horns and a pitchfork. Satan, as introduced in the Hebrew bible is an unworthy adversary of God. His longing to be like God is quickly recognized and dealt with. God banishes him from Heaven and sends him to Hell. That 's the last we see of him until he talks with God about his faithful servant Job. In each interaction we see Satan in, we get only a glimpse of who he really is. Satan 's motive is not developed and we assume he does evil simply because he is evil