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PARADISE LOST.
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Examines figure of Satan in Milton's poem. Analyzes Satan's descent into evil; parallels between Satan & Christ.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines figure of Satan in Milton's poem. Analyzes Satan's descent into evil; parallels between Satan & Christ.
Paper Introduction:
In Milton's Paradise Lost the figure of Satan presents a contrast between the magnitude of the evil he instigates and the meanness of his character. The contrast extends, in Milton's metaphoric picture of Heaven, Hell, and Paradise even to his physical size and his ability to cross the entire universe, ascend near to heaven, and visit the Sun. Formerly one of God's most glorious creations, and still possessing immense power, Satan fell because of an almost childish level of self-importance. The absurdity of his envious behavior, the foolishness of his attempts to battle God's might, his perpetual self-deluded lies, and his base deceptions are all actions and sins characterized by endless pettiness. His exercise of his free will, one of God's greatest gifts, sent him as low as possible and in his brooding discontent Satan expended his great
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Put simply, Satanlives the life that is promised to those who, succumbing to histemptations, use their free will to select that "open alternative" thatguarantees damnation. In Milton's Paradise Lost the figure of Satan presents a contrastbetween the magnitude of the evil he instigates and the meanness of hischaracter. His resistance amounts to a claim ofautonomy--total self-creation--which, as Milton's readers recognized, wasboth the height of absurdity and the depth of evil. A character who willfully throws away everything that anymember of creation, by definition, must value most highly is certainlysuspect from the beginning. Ed. The absurdityof his envious behavior, the foolishness of his attempts to battle God'smight, his perpetual self-deluded lies, and his base deceptions are allactions and sins characterized by endless pettiness. Satan persistsin his absurd struggle, however, and the spectacle that he creates for thereader is that of a reversed image of God, as his actions involveintentions and results that are diametrically opposed to God's. This is established almost immediately as the fallen angel,defeated in the great battle, speaks for the first time. This is true so far as his status as a literary creation goes.But some have argued that this character "is or ought to be an object ofadmiration and sympathy, conscious or unconscious, on the part of the poet,his readers or both" (Lewis 197). Human beings have the same free will asSatan and if they do not wish to misuse it they need to turn from hisexample of false pride to Christ's example of boundless humility. The reader understood Milton;s point thatSatan, no matter how fascinating he may be, should not be mistaken foranything but what he truly was. His exercise of hisfree will, one of God's greatest gifts, sent him as low as possible and inhis brooding discontent Satan expended his great mental power on lowschemes. In general, however, Milton "subordinated the absurdity ofSatan to the misery which he suffers and inflicts" (197). As Stein notes, in the contextof the battle in Heaven, Milton subjects Satan to ridicule and many timesthe absurdity of his actions is even "intended to induce laughter in thereader" (269). As he descends in this manner Satan is constantly shown to be in thegrip of a pathetic delusion; his "confidence to equal God in power" (VI,343). The deeper irony buried in the line, of course,is that the "field" to which he refers, as if to an individual battle, isHeaven--which truly is lost to Satan. Thusthroughout the poem Milton establishes parallels on many levels betweenChrist and Satan as he creates the mirrored image of ultimate good andultimate evil. The gloomy Satan filled with defiance, therefore, moves on to becomea busy schemer as he debates his course of action with the council in hell,produces his incestuous family, and sets out to destroy God's newcreatures. Ed. He insists that he owes nothing to God and was, in fact, self-created and, even though he knows that this is a lie, this sin ofrepudiating one's Creator is at the bottom of all sins--as Satanacknowledges when he shares it with his followers as he urges them oncalling them "self-begot, self-rais'd / By our own quick'ning power" ( VI,86 -61). Barker. Princeton: Princeton UP, 196 .Lewis, C. 196-2 4.Milton, John. Few people would disagree that Milton's Satan is a magnificentcharacter. To accomplish this he made his Satan themost fascinating character in the poem and drew him as "an interpretationof a certain type of life, a type which is always present as an openalternative for man," and of the relationship that such a type of mannecessarily has with God (Frye 25). But to view this as a sign ofsome inherent nobility in Satan is to ignore the contrast between what heonce had and what he has done. The reader is drawn to this contrast when Satan, in the midst of hiscomplaint, says, quite seriously, that all this derived from his "sense ofinjur'd merit" (I, 98). New York: Odyssey, 1935.Stein, Arnold. Works CitedForey, Margaret. Milton leaves the reader in no doubt as to the precise nature ofSatan's sin. 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? Arthur E. This position, while it is a strongtribute to the power of Milton's ability to create a character, makeslittle sense in light of what it is that Satan actually does and says inthe course of the poem. Though he acknowledges as well, but privately, that all this is alie and confesses that "Pride and Ambition threw me down" and God "deserv'dno such return / From me, whom he created" (IV, 4 , 42-43). New York: Oxford UP-Galaxy, 1965. But it also provokes a profound sense of Satan'sabsurdity. The parallel withhuman experience, however, makes it clear that anyone who sins essentiallyputs himself in God's place and in Paradise Lost Satan proceeds from hisfirst attempt to overthrow God to indirect attacks on him via humanity--always striving to equal or best God. 264-83. Milton's readers, completely familiar with the Bible wereable to spot these parallels. "Milton's Satan: Wisdom Reversed." Essays in Criticism 45 (1995): 3 2-18.Frye, Roland Mushat. Thus, in comparison with Christ'slimitless understanding and benevolence, he is tiny in spirit. God, Man, and Satan: Patterns of Christian Thought and Life in Paradise Lost, Pilgrim's Progress and the Great Theologians. Arthur E. Formerly one ofGod's most glorious creations, and still possessing immense power, Satanfell because of an almost childish level of self-importance. But the full strength of this idea of Satan as a reversed image ofGod is reserved for Satan's role as the parodic opposite of Christ inwhich, "by reminding us of the coming Saviour, Satan ironically acts as anindication of his own ultimate failure" (Forey 3 5). "Milton's War in Heaven--An Extended Metaphor." Milton: Modern Essays in Criticism. Barker. New York: Oxford UP-Galaxy, 1965. The irony deepens as Satanunwittingly goes on to outline all the absurdities of his position. The contrast extends, in Milton's metaphoric picture of Heaven,Hell, and Paradise even to his physical size and his ability to cross theentire universe, ascend near to heaven, and visit the Sun. The idea of Satan asthe opposite of humanity's redeemer is, of course, a reminder that Satan isalso more than willing to drag people down to hell with him and that thechoice remains the individual's. Hebegins with his self-description as a sort of defeated hero and continuesto speak of his unending resistance. As Lewisnotes, Satan passes "from hero to general, from general to politician, frompolitician to secret service agent, and thence to a thing that peers in atbedroom or bathroom windows, and thence to a toad, and finally to a snake--such is the progress of Satan" (2 1). But the reader is perfectly aware of the utter emptiness of his claims andtheir futility reduces Satan's towering figure to the status of a merechild kicking against an immovable building. "Satan." Milton: Modern Essays in Criticism. Milton's Satan is a fascinatingcreation, therefore, not because he is admirable (though he possesses a fewostensibly admirable traits) and not because evil in art is often moreinteresting than good (though it often may be), but because the behavior ofMilton's anthropomorphic Satan reflects the smallness of sins that intriguereaders and of which they may be more than capable. Since this is a poem meant to "justify the ways of God to men" (I,26) Milton chose to put his explanation in terms that would make thedeepest contact with his readers. Leaving aside preexisting knowledge of the story and background ofParadise Lost (although this is impossible for anyone raised with anyawareness of who Satan is believed to be), it is difficult to imagine thatan objective judge of his behavior could find much that was admirable, orsensible, in it. Inhis own telling, Satan moves from success to success as he fights hispointless action against an enemy he can never defeat. This could provoke laughter simply because of the tone of abraggart's recovery. Paradise Lost. S. Satan places his pride first and resists obedience to God, therebytaking the alternative that is also available to human beings. (I, 1 6-9)He boasts that his immortal hate and invincible will can overcome anything. Another example is therecognition of Satan by his charming family when they meet him as hereturns to hell and they are on their way to earth" Disguis'd he came, butthose his Children dear / Thir Parent soon discern'd, though in disguise"(X, 33 -31). Godcreates humanity, for example, and Satan tries to destroy it. In addition the very language of contrastbetween his former situation and the present, and between the facts and hisperceptions of them, renders Satan absurd. But, in contrastwith his self-deceptive, wholly imaginary, acquisition of greater andgreater glory Satan's true movement goes in the other direction. Satan had already decided, during thebattle in Heaven, that liberty alone was not enough and encouraged histroops by telling them they were in pursuit of "what we more affect, /Honour, Dominion, Glory, and renown" (VI, 421-22). The reader of Milton's era put himself in the position of the twodisciples and understands this as a parable regarding the difficulty ofknowing Christ when we meet him. This liberty ispointless, however, since God created Satan and all other beings and thereis no escape from this fact; no freedom exists except in worshipping God.But from the plaintive little note of childish self-regard Satan's languagerises again to describe the power of the battle and culminates in themagnificently spoken lie that he and his horde had, "In dubious Battle onthe Plains of Heav'n" shaken God's throne (I, 1 4). Yet, forhumanity, the consequences of Satan's smallness of spirit are enormous andMilton's readers were meant to be appalled at the way such evil rose fromsuch humble beginnings. Satan boasts thatno matter what God is capable of inflicting on him he will not "repent orchange, / Though chang'd in outward lustre" (I, 96-97). To amplify the forceof this transparent lie the line ends with "What though the field be lost?"(I, 1 5). But bypersisting in his perversion of free will, Satan's sin expands and developsconsequences for the human race. Forey offers examples such as the parallelbetween Satan's supposedly triumphant return to Pandemonium as "theirmighty chief returned" (X, 455) which "matches the understated" passage inJohn regarding Christ's return, "Then were the disciples glad, when theysaw the Lord" (John 2 :2 ) (Forey 314-15). Andhumanity, created in God's image, is warned by Satan's behavior not to makehis mistake of putting itself in God's place. But Satan goes on with hisplotting, despite its perfectly obvious futility, and it is his wrongheadedpersistence that strikes the reader most forcefully because Milton wishedSatan to be understood as "a commentary " on "human frustration andfulfillment" and "a strategy for understanding, and so for dealing with,certain inescapable aspects of the reality living men must face" (Frye 25). Throughout all this activity Satan is also employed inceaseless self-aggrandizement as he lies about his self-creation. Reminded of this story of humanity'svulnerability--with a message that touched ordinary worshippers so deeply--the parallel of the grinning Sin and Death greeting Satan disguised as abrilliant angel puts readers in mind of their own susceptibility to beingfooled by Satan's disguises. Satan, the Antichrist, functions in the poem as the directopposite of Christ in all things. But, whether itis intended comically (as it is on occasion) or as epic in proportion andconsequences (as it is in general), the absurdity that characterizesSatan's behavior is based on the contrast between the pettiness of his sinand the epic scale of its consequences. Satan had merely been guilty, in the first placeof a twinge of envy but then, his pride wounded, had decided that if Godappreciated him so little he would seek liberty from him. Here in this setting of return the reader would have felt theecho of "the experiences of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus" (Forey315). The second book of thepoem shows Satan on the throne of hell and the glory he finds there isfollowed by his cleverness as he outwits angels to discover humanity's homeand outwits humanity to establish himself, and Sin and Death, on Earth. He displays thedefiance of a defeated hero who, his pride unimpaired and his courageintact, will go on to fight another day. The reader knows that Satan lost the Battle and has lost thewar even before it began.
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