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Milton: PARADISE LOST & PARADISE REGAINED

Assesses changes in the characterization of Satan in John Milton's PARADISE LOST & PARADISE REGAINED.

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In terms of the characterization of Satan specifically, Paradise Regained offers a logical development from Paradise Lost. The character of Satan is different, but it is a difference that can be explained by the time that has passed and by changing circumstances as he must deal with the issues of battle over the souls of human beings rather than with the vast war in Heaven pictured in the earlier epic. Satan thus develops as a character through the two epics and between them, and an analysis of the Satan of the two works show how this has been effected, how it is portrayed, and what effects it has on the narrative.

The Satan of Paradise Lost is a military leader, a commander of a legion of doomed angels rebelling after having been cast out of Heaven. Satan is a very real character in Paradise Lost, as he is in Paradise Regained, though he works out his inner turmoil in diffe

Tillyard says he is in fact too clever and "cannot staycontent with a clear single issue, but must ever be advancing secondaryreasons to persuade Christ to act in a certain way" (pp. (1978). Whenseducing human beings, he is making use of God's creations to challenge Hisauthority and undermine His influence. 689).Waldock states: "The impression carefully built up in book I and confirmedin Book II, is that the rebellion (in the eyes, of course, of the rebels)was a thoroughly rational undertaking, with a fair fighting chance ofsuccess" (p. Of course, even Satan the warrior,while that may be the image that is remembered from Paradise Lost, is notthe Satan seen in the last books of that earlier epic, and the Satan of thelast books of Paradise Lost is a good preparation for the Satan of ParadiseRegained. The human-ness of Satan in Paradise Regained matches the human natureof Christ, setting the two adversaries more on an equal footing. Paradise Lost. Satan from the beginning seems to realize that heis in danger, that there is someone coming who will threaten his power andhis control in the lives of human beings: And now too soon for us the circling hours This dreaded time have compast, wherein we Must bide the stroak of that long threatn'd wound, At least if so we can, and by the head Broken be not intended all our power To be infring'd, our freedom and our being In this fair Empire won of Earth and Air; For this ill news I bring, the Womans seed Destin'd to this, is late of woman born. From the beginning, the focus of the epic of Paradise Lost is on humanbeings even though human beings do not appear until late in the work. 67). (1975). He calls on Christ to perform tasksthat will prove who he is, for instance: But if thou be the Son of God, Command That out of these hard stones be made thee bread; So shalt thou save thy self and us relieve With Food, whereof we wretched seldom taste. 349). A. The action of the poem thus comes to turn on Satan'sattempt to corrupt Christ. . 57-65)The action of this poem centers on Satan's attempts to understand thenature of Christ and to corrupt Christ if possible. . Satan is not leading hordes into battle but is insteadacting one-on-one with human beings as he tries to seduce them to his wayand away from God. 263-264). 15 -155) The Satan in this second epic is a seducer and a con-man who uses hiswiles to learn all that he can about his enemy in ways that taunt thatenemy and force him to reveal himself. He has led his troops into battle and has been defeated,but he remains unbowed and changes tactics, using his abilities on adifferent level. 356). . Whenleading his legions into battle, Satan is fighting an enemy directly. 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? The Satan of the first book is a character of great power and one withmany admirable qualities, not the least of which is his determination notto give in to his enemies. . Satan's temptations that he uses on Christ involve some form of humanappetite. ? 1-6)Indeed, it can be seen that the subjects of both Paradise Lost and ParadiseRegained are linked together in these introductory lines to the first epic. Tillyard says that the Satan ofParadise Lost "would never have resorted to such a variety of allurementsas did the Satan of Paradise Regained; he would have staked everything onthe utmost he could devise and have accepted his defeat with restraint" (p.263). It is also the next stepin the continuing saga of the downfall and redemption of mankind, and it isnecessary for Satan to tempt Christ and for Christ to resist thattemptation for mankind to be redeemed. Satan in Paradise Lost and Satan in Paradise Regained has essentially thesame purpose - challenging the power of God - and in both cases he fails. (Paradise Lost, Book I, pp. The Satan of Paradise Lost is a military leader, a commander of alegion of doomed angels rebelling after having been cast out of Heaven.Satan is a very real character in Paradise Lost, as he is in ParadiseRegained, though he works out his inner turmoil in different ways in thetwo poems. Christ has redeemed humankind, and he has done so bydefeating Satan simply by resisting the temptations Satan cast in his path. New York: Collier Books.Waldock, A. Miller also notes that the poet does not begin with the revolt ofLucifer, for if he did, "our initial interest would have focused upon theorigin of evil in an angel presumably created perfect; but since Miltonwishes to teach of mankind's disobedience, he does not set out to justifyGod's ways with demons" (p. Tillyard sees the "second" Satan as weaker as well as more human andvery clever. New York: W.W. M. He hascorrupted God's handiwork after failing to defeat God in battle, and nowthat effort is being challenged by the redemption offered by Christ. 342-345)At this juncture, Satan appears as a hermit. In part, the difference is a difference in the immediateadversary, or rather in the means to attack the same adversary. His supplication is subtle,for he is asking for charity in a way that would force Christ to show thathe has extraordinary power. (1966). Paradise lost and its critics. The character ofSatan is different, but it is a difference that can be explained by thetime that has passed and by changing circumstances as he must deal with theissues of battle over the souls of human beings rather than with the vastwar in Heaven pictured in the earlier epic. Norton.Tillyard, E. John Milton: Poetry. God knows whatSatan will do once Christ is on earth and expresses this in the followinglines: He now shall know I can produce a man Of female Seed, far abler to resist All his solicitations, and at length All his vast force, and drive him back to Hell, Winning by Conquest, what the first man lost By fallacy surpriz'd. (Paradise Regained, Book I, pp. Thisleads to a number of theological difficulties with which Milton has tocope, but in essence Satan has to exist for the glory of God and as thealternative Christ rejects and overcomes. Both havea power that is not human, yet both have human qualities which mitigatethese external factors. . 83). 1 5-1 9) Tillyard (1966) sees the Satan of the first epic as very differentfrom the Satan of Paradise Regained and as a stronger character than thelater incarnation: "The earlier Satan, though at times subject to despair,hate, and other passions, gives the impression of having as strong a self-control as Milton himself" (p. Who first broke peace in Heav'n and Faith, till then Unbrok'n, and in proud rebellious Arms Drew after him the third part of Heav'ns Sons. This emphasizes once more theessential importance of Satan in the scheme of things - for there to begood and for human beings to choose good, evil must exist which they couldselect if they failed to see the importance of not choosing evil. But the drift of their talk cannot but affect us, and it is meantto affect us" (p. The conflicts in Paradise Regained are more internalized than those inParadise Lost. BibliographyMiller, D. In the second, he has taken therole of subtle seducer who seeks out the weaknesses in human beings andexploits them. (Paradise Lost, Book I, pp. This is a temptation rather than asupplication, but Christ is not fooled and states "Man lives not by Breadonly" (p. Milton emphasizes thehuman-ness of Christ, carrying through the idea started in the first epicthat the story is about the fall and redemption of mankind. When Christ arrives on earth, Satan combines hischallenge to God and his seduction of human beings into the attempts hemakes to seduce Christ. Boston: Twayne.Milton, J. . This emphasizes again the human-ness of Christ on earth as wellas the role of Satan as tempter of the human being. Satanin the second epic can be presented more in his "normal" guise, after hisdelusion of challenging God with military might has been shown to be justthat - a delusion. Thisparticular Satan is a continuation of that earlier Satan and not adifferent person. . M. (1966). .until such time, at least, as he has his poem properly moving and Satansecurely established in our imaginations as a worthy Antagonist of Heaven"(p. Death states that the rebels are actually outnumbered twoto one: Art though that Traitor Angel, art thou he. (Paradise Lost, Book II, p. Satan thus develops as acharacter through the two epics and between them, and an analysis of theSatan of the two works show how this has been effected, how it isportrayed, and what effects it has on the narrative. In the first, he is much more direct, challenging the authorityof God and leading his army into battle. His own wordsshow this aspect of his character: What though the field be lost? This is a logicalcontinuation of his behavior in the first poem. Waldock says that Milton does not expect us to remindourselves again and again that Satan is a liar and thus a less admirablecharacter than he seems: "We feel the element of bravado in the language;we know that in such circumstances we cannot look for strict accuracy; wedo not take the word of these defeated ones for a perfectly literal reportof fact. Cambridge at the University Press. . In terms of the characterization of Satan specifically, ParadiseRegained offers a logical development from Paradise Lost. Indeed, Christ also sees through the disguise: "Knowingwho I am, as I know who thou art" (p. For Milton, the serpent of Genesis is possessed bySatan, and Satan's motivation is analyzed and detailed in the course ofthis poem. Satanloses this battle as well, and after this he turns his battle towardindividual souls rather than over mankind as a whole. 67). . Christ becomes his central focus, since he knows thatChrist is the one who will save mankind and destroy the empire Satan hasbeen building. 84). (Paradise Regained, Book I, pp. W. While this differs from the Satan who commanded therebellious troops, it is a clear continuation of the Satan who tempted Eveand Adam in the last books of Paradise Lost, turning then to this battlefor men's souls after losing the rebellion. That aspect of thebattle is now lost. Satan is, as might be expected, a liar and often makes statements thatare suspect. J. 263). 66). This has been Satan'srole since the creation of Adam and Eve at the end of the first epic. The character of Satan in this second epic isreflected in the view taken of Christ by the poet. This is clearly a victory over Satan, who hasbrought about the Fall and who sees this as a victory over God. The Satan of Paradise Lost is anindividual who never admits defeat and who instead battles on, showing adedication and assuredness that carries him past the defeat of hisrebellion and into a different mode of battle thereafter. Milton. Thisis because Milton states in his introduction what the subject is: Of Man's First Disobedience, and the Fruit Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste Brought Death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful Seat, Sing Heavenly Muse. Waldock (1966) notes the way Satan ischaracterized in the first epic and that the rebellion is carefullydeveloped so it seems credible even though Satan and his forces are vastlyoutnumbered, a fact held back until late in the work in such a way as tocreate an image of strength and "possibility" for the rebels that the truthwould dissipate. (Paradise Regained, Book I, pp. His present guise is no less dedicated to underminingGod's power, but now Satan operates on a level where his power can beeffective as he wages wars to acquire the weaker minds of human beings anddoes so through stealth, wiles, and subtlety rather than any attempteddisplay of raw power. In this second epic, the battle between Christ and Satan has to bedecided in favor of Christ for Christ to succeed in ascending to Heaven andas a result redeem mankind. As a narrative poet, then, Milton has given himselfthe job of creating a certain sense of character that makes us forgetSatan's reality as an evil and as embodying everything that is notadmirable in Christian doctrine, as well as giving this character a powerhe cannot possibly possess against an antagonist who is Omnipotent: ". Miller (1978) states: "Despite the announcement that the poem's theme isman's disobedience, Milton does not begin with man; for all cosmogoniespush at least one step beyond the known in an effort to make the existenceof evil and suffering comprehensible, and an extra human agent is usuallyat fault" (p. In Paradise Regained, however, these strictures do not apply.

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