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Critical analysis of character of Satan in paradise lost
Fallen angels in johm miltons paradise lost
Satan's presentation as a hero in Milton's Paradise Lost
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In order to support John Milton’s characterization in Paradise Lost of Satan as a fallen angel “Stirred up with envy and revenge…” but also “…racked with deep despair,” Gustave Doré’s Satan is Wounded portrays Satan in his weakest state and illuminates Satan’s facial features to show his despair and how it fuels his wrath (1.35,126). When scrutinizing Satan’s facial features in Doré’s portrait, the emotions of despair, disbelief, and rage are clearly shown in his expression, supporting Milton’s claim that, “…the thought/Both of lost happiness and lasting pain/Torments [Satan],” and he allows his despair over those losses to fuel his hatred (1.55-56). Doré’s depiction of Satan’s face shows the fallen angel with furrowed brows, a crestfallen frown, and an aghast yet enraged expression. This depiction of Satan clearly shows that although he is wracked with disbelief and despair at being hurled from Heaven, Satan also exhibits …show more content…
Doré’s sole depiction of a fallen Satan in his portrait also goes to support Milton’s claim that no one was more greatly affected or ashamed from the fall than Satan, whose utter humiliation and despair fueled his desire “to find means of evil…so as perhaps [to] grieve [God],” (1.166-167). In Paradise Lost, Milton expressed Satan and his troops’ fall from Heaven to be a hard and shameful one, as God threw them from Heaven into the abyss of Hell where they laid unconscious from the harsh fall. In Doré’s portrait, Satan is placed in a position in which his body is fully on the burning lake with his leg nestled on one of the pillars of fire, instead of being in position in which he is standing up. Doré’s placement of Satan in a sedentary position shows Milton’s description of the fallen angels’ defeat in their battle with
In the Christian tradition, Satan is commonly accepted as a hideous and monstrous being in direct contrast to God’s graceful mercy, often a shadowy figure with little depth. Yet there exists another very gothic view of this figure, as demonstrated by Milton in Paradise Lost, of a long suffering villain who appears more tragic artist than ultimate deceiver. The Monk, by Matthew Lewis, makes use of more tragic and mythical elements to make something altogether different, a Dionysian figure. Lewis uses such descriptive speech, symbols, and themes all connected to Greek myth to present a chaos creating character who transgresses not only God, but societal boundaries. While transgressions have been profusely researched in Gothic literature, the Dionysian myth connected to the Daemon spirit have been overlooked. I will reveal how much the scene of Ambrosio’s first meeting with Satan draws upon myths, symbols, and perceptions of the Greek God, and furthermore why these connections exist and reinforce the gothic genre.
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 could be described in many terms, and by many people, but all can be disputed. According to my sources, Satan is displayed as the hero, while God is the evil deity, and Milton was wrong for writing Him as so. In this essay, I will show my thoughts on the subject of Satan as an evil deity, and other’s opinions on the matter.
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem that describes the fall of Satan and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Satan is the protagonist of Paradise Lost and has several characteristics in which readers may identify with him. Throughout the poem, Satan is not only a tragic hero but also the key character that drives the plot and portrays many flawed human qualities. As an angel fallen from the high esteem of God and a possessor of hubris that leads to his downfall, he represents a tragic hero but also a character in which readers may identify with. Following the standards of classic tragic heroes, Satan is a determined leader with an extreme amount of hubris.
Milton’s adherence to orthodox views resulted in an uninspired portrait of Heaven. Hell, in contrast, was greatly developed; the vivid imagery of the volcanic and desolate terrain gave Hell a genuine ambience. Milton described Hell as a “lake of fire” (280) and commented on the “Floods and Whirlwinds of tempestuous fire” (77). He indicated that darkness is given off instead of light: “No light, but rather darkness visible” (63). The devils, especially Satan, were characterized in more detail than the angels or God. The first two books of Paradise Lost featured the fallen angels’ debate regarding their future plans. As a “true Poet” Milton sought to appeal to the emotions of his readers. The natural human inclination towards evil inspired Milton’s powerful description of Hell as opposed to his unimaginative view of Heaven.
Paradise Lost Is an epic novel depicting the creation of the world and Man's fall from grace. It also shows the fall of Lucifer and his entrapment in Hell with other arch demons. Though Lucifer was one of the most beautiful angels, he became the most hideous of creatures in hell as Satan, the most powerful demigod-god. Satan resents God for the punishment that he has received and seeks revenge on Him. Satan knows, however, that he and his forces are no match for the might of Heaven, so he calls for a debate among his devilish council to work through their options. John Milton portrays the arch-demons of hell like members of the Senate, toiling over how to get back at God. The arguments are similar only in that they all believe that some course of action must be taken, but in most ways they are vastly different. Each debate builds on the last until the best compromise is met.
Since the every dawn of time, man has had to make swift judgements. The main point of all judgement is appearance and such this is most logical place to start. Appearance plays a rather crucial role in the works under the scope of this essay. Firstly, in Paradise Lost one should note that a reoccurring theme of: “its better to rule in Hell then be a servant in Heaven,” (Milton.I.263) makes a few significant points regarding make aspects into the neosis of Satan, but more so the appearance of Satan. The line in itself causes one to believe that he hath experienced both dominions in the physical and may further lead us to the pathogenesis and origins on this fallen Angel. However Milton gives us a contrasting view of the Devil compared to Dante. “He stood like a tower; his form not yet lost. All her original brightness, nor appeared less then archangel ruined and the excess of glory obscured.” (Milton.I.591-599) This description leads to the all important grandeur of Lucifer. Dante takes us to completely Devil, a ...
In John Milton’s epic, Paradise Lost, the author establishes Satan as the most complex and thought-provoking character in the tale through his depiction of Satan’s competing desires. Throughout the first four books of Paradise Lost, Satan repeatedly reveals his yearning both for recognition from God and, simultaneously, independence from God. The paradox that prevents Satan from achieving his desires may be interpreted as a suggestion of Milton’s establishment of a sympathetic reading for this character, as he cannot truly find happiness. In actuality, the construction of Satan’s rivaling aspirations evince Satan’s repulsive depravity to Milton’s audience and encourage readers to condemn his character.
Many arguments have been made that Dante’s Inferno glimmers through here and there in Milton’s Paradise Lost. While at first glance the two poems seem quite drastically different in their portrayal of Hell, but scholars have made arguments that influence from Dante shines through Milton’s work as well as arguments refuting these claims. All of these arguments have their own merit and while there are instances where a Dantean influence can be seen throughout Paradise Lost, Milton’s progression of evil and Satan are quite different from Dante. Dante’s influence on Milton is noted by many scholars and is very apparent in several instances throughout Paradise Lost, however, Milton shows a progression of evil through his own vision of Satan and creates a Hell that is less meticulously constructed than Dante’s and more open to interpretation.
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.
Helen Gardner addresses this notion, claiming how “Satan is, of course, a character in an epic, and he is in no sense the hero of the epic as a whole. But he is a figure of heroic magnitude and heroic energy, and he is developed by Milton with dramatic emphasis and dramatic intensity” (Baker/Helen, 208). Satan is without a doubt the antichrist, or “villain” in the biblical scriptures, however one must take into consideration his alternative and more ambiguous portrayal in Paradise Lost. In this paper, I will analyze Satan’s actions, physical portrayal and speeches in Book I of Paradise Lost, and argue that from the textual evidence, these aspects of Satan are ultimately ambivalent, thus Satan cannot be categorized as either the extreme hero or the extreme villain, but rather as a dramatic figure with both heroic and villainous characteristics. The preliminary depiction of Satan’s actions in Paradise Lost appears after Milton describes God, his kingdom of heaven, and his children Adam and Eve.... ...
Although Satan may be an epic machine, he is best portrayed as the tragic anti-hero of "Paradise Lost" or, at the very least, a main character who possesses the stature and attributes which enable him to achieve tragic status. In the Greek tradition, the essential components of tragedy are admiration, fear and pity for the 'hero', who has to display a tragic weakness or flaw in his character, which will lead to his downfall. It might be argued that the flaws in Satan's character are such that we should feel no admiration, fear or pity for him, yet he can be seen to inspire these emotions. Satan's tragic flaws are pointed out in Book I. They are envy, pride, and ambition towards self-glorification. Satan's pride, in particular, is stressed throughout Paradise Lost. In accordance with epic convention, Satan is frequently qualified by Milton's use of the word 'proud'. Virgil used the same device in his epic the Aeneid, in which the name of Aeneas rarely appears without being preceded by 'pious'. The most striking visual example of Satan's main weaknesses appears in Book IV (89-90) during Raphael's narrative to Adam regarding the battles in Heaven, Raphael refers to Satan as 'the proud/Aspirer'. 'Proud' at the end of one line and 'Aspirer' at the beginning of the next gives equal emphasis and impact to Satan's pride and ambition and it is implied that, in Satan, the two characters are inseparable and of equal importance. Milton, in fact, defended his use of blank verse as a suitable vehicle for epic poetry, as opposed to the frequently favored heroic couplet. How then, does Satan inspire the feelings of admiration, fear and pity necessary to a tragic figure?
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.
Seeing paradise only reminds Satan of what he lost as a result of his fall from Heaven. Satan comes to the conclusion that he is the very embodiment of hell, bringing it everywhere he goes : “The Hell within him, for within him Hell /He brings, and round about him, nor from Hell/One step no more then from himself can fly (20-22).” Compared to the Bible, we actually get to see the torment Satan suffers as he lives his life as God’s adversary. Satan actually takes responsibility for his fall , pointing out the flaws that led to it: “Till Pride and worse Ambition threw me down” ( 40 ) . Unlike the Satan in Genesis and Job, Milton’s Satan clearly understands why he has fallen. As Satan continues to ponder his situation , he realizes that even if there was a chance for his redemption, he would never be comfortable being God’s servant. Sooner or later, the same feelings of inferiority and the desire to overthrow God would rise. Satan becomes bitterer as his soliloquy goes on and resolves that his fate is sealed : “So farwel Hope, and with Hope farwel Fear,/ Farwel Remorse: all Good to me is lost;/Evil be thou my Good;”( 108-110). He then goes on to continue his revenge plot on God. Angry with God for putting him in the position to fall , Satan sees the same potential for failure in Adam and Eve. He then explains that it is in fact God’s fault that he must corrupt them and tells them to “ Thank him
MacCaffrey, Isabel. "Satan’s Voyage". Modern Critical Views: John Milton . Bloom, Harold, ed. Chelsea House Publishers: New York, 1986.
Paradise Lost is one of the finest examples of the epic tradition in all of literature. In composing this extraordinary work, John Milton was, for the most part, following in the manner of epic poets of past centuries: Barbara Lewalski notes that Paradise Lost is an "epic whose closest structural affinities are to Virgil's Aeneid . . . "; she continues, however, to state that we now recognize as well the influence of epic traditions and the presence of epic features other than Virgilian. Among the poem's Homeric elements are its Iliadic subject, the death and woe resulting from an act of disobedience; the portrayal of Satan as an Archillean hero motivated by a sense of injured merit and also as an Odyssean hero of wiles and craft; the description of Satan's perilous Odyssey to find a new homeland; and the battle scenes in heaven. . . . The poem also incorporates a Hesiodic gigantomachy; numerous Ovidian metamorphoses; an Ariostan Paradise of Fools; [and] Spenserian allegorical figures (Sin and Death) . . . . (3)