Iconic Dualism -Satan in Paradise Lost

This paper examines the question whether Satan is really the hero of John Milton's great epic poem Paradise Lost (1667). There are controversial debates over this issue, and most critics believe that, although Satan acts and speaks heroically, God is the real hero of the poem, not Satan. The paper adopts the analytical approach. The findings of the paper reveal that the central character Satan is a devil that acts for his own self-interests, and cannot do good, even to his followers, the fallen angels. The paper finally shows that, every impulse in Satan towards good has died out. The element of nobility that redeemed his character at the outset from absolute baseness has been killed. Hardly therefore shall we believe that Milton meant us to see in the fallen and ever falling archangel the hero of his poem. That position surely belongs to Adam.

Akroterion, 2016

In the form, imagery, and language of Paradise lost, Milton makes no effort to conceal the strong influence that Classical literature has upon his work. In fact, at the opening of Paradise lost, the speaker calls upon the Holy Spirit as his Muse to assist him 'That with no middle flight [his song might] soar / Above th' Aonian mount' and pursue 'Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme' (1.14-16). This daring claim suggests that Milton himself regards his own epic poem as a continuation and indeed a surpassing of the great Classical epics that precede it. Yet during a reading of Milton's work, it may become apparent that his feelings concerning the Greco-Roman world are greatly complicated by his Christianity. A particularly poignant example of the poet's ambiguity regarding the Classics may be observed in Milton's shorter poem, 'On the morning of Christ's Nativity'. In a verse depicting the birth of Christ as putting to flight the pagan d...

ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives and Enquiries

This paper looks into the characterisation of Satan as the Capital Vice of Pride in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. It thus supports the findings of Robert Charles Fox, who in his study The Seven Deadly Sins in Paradise Lost first thoroughly analysed and comprehensively presented this issue and its importance in Milton’s epic. The authors of the study share Fox’s belief that Milton consciously used the system of the Seven Capital Vices in his epic as a structural device to present the entire scope of evil to the willing reader, and he achieved this by giving Satan and six other major denizens of Hell each the characteristics of a particular Vice. In other words, each of the seven major diabolical figures that appear in Paradise Lost embodies or personifies one of the Seven Capital Vices. As the most eloquent and characteristically perfected of the diabolical figures of Hell, Satan embodies Pride, the prime Capital Vice.

SocArXiv Papers., 2023

Satan, the 'ruler of the powers of the air' of Ephesians 2:2, is undoubtedly the tragic hero (in the sense employed by Aristotle in his Poetics) of Milton's epic poem, Paradise Lost. Blake, Byron and Shelley saw him quite differently, perceiving the heroism, but transforming the tragedy, and, instead of seeing hubris ('overweening pride'), Promethean defiance, of which they fully approved.

This dissertation seeks to analyse the dual nature of Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost. The Introduction will first establish the standpoint of the dissertation, which views Satan as the tragic hero-villain of the epic, and it will then move to an analysis of an inherent duality evident in parts of the epic that involve features other than Satan’s character. The first chapter will analyse theories of doubling from different disciplines: philosophy, ethics, and psychology, and will apply the theories to the poem using illustrations from different parts of Milton’s epic. The first part of this chapter will focus on the Apollonian-Dionysian duality as proposed by Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy, the second part will debate whether or not Satan and God’s parts in the heavenly war could be justified using the Just War Theory, and the final part will analyse doubling in Freudian terms, referring to The Uncanny and The Ego and the Id. The second chapter is the core of the dissertation. It will analyse Satan’s duality in three parts. The first part will analyse Satan’s duality in terms of heroism; classical versus epic heroism, and whether he is more of a hero than a fool. It will then move to an application of Aristotle’s Poetics, to justify the term “tragic” given to him in the introduction. The second part will analyse other features of duality in Satan, namely, appearance and reality and the interior split within him. The final part is a close reading of ‘Book IV’, using this reading as an in-depth analysis of the character. This will lead to the conclusion, which uses all that has been said to determine why there may be a split in readers between love and hate for this character, thus answering the final part of the title posed by this dissertation

John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost has inspired debate among readers over the last several centuries. Chief among the topics of dispute is that of Milton’s intention in creating Satan as an almost-heroic figure with whom readers can sympathize. Indeed, in Books 1 and 2 of Paradise Lost, Satan initially seems like the antithesis to the monarchy which Milton, in his personal and political lives, despised. It is altogether tempting to view Satan as a new-fangled Achilles; however, Satan’s image as a heroic figure is continually undercut by the binary oppositional holy and demonic rhetoric used throughout the poem. Satan’s politically-driven rhetoric of Books 1 and 2 is undoubtedly alluring, especially for contemporary readers who have become well-versed in political oratory. However, while Satan’s theological rhetoric is captivating, Milton’s provision of choice in the reader being “Free to fall” alongside Satan parallels the choices made by Adam and Eve; yet, unlike Adam and Eve, the reader is armed with knowledge of evil and is aware of Satan’s deceptive nature (3.99). Milton’s intention with Satan, therefore, is to not only portray the devious nature of the arch-fiend but to have him serve as a functional demonstration of choice between holy reason and its demonic parody. This paper provides a deconstructive analysis of the way in which Satan, like all human beings, is grappling with the meaning of God’s language.

The aim of this study is to determine whether and to what extent the English poet John Milton may have been influenced in the composition of Paradise Lost by the Old English poem known as Genesis B. The paper will examine similarities and differences in the characterisation of Satan and of the temptation of Adam and Eve in both poems. The comparison between two of the illuminations of the Junius 11 ms. and the corresponding passages in Paradise Lost will be part of the analysis.

Christianity & Literature

This article examines the falls of Satan, Eve, and Adam in Milton’s Paradise Lost, arguing that these characters demonstrate neither sincere theology nor genuinely sincere behavior in their initial transgressions and continued unrepentant behavior. In analyzing matters of sincerity concerning these characters, this article interacts with numerous voices in the history of Paradise Lost criticism, particularly those critics who, advocating a Romantic understanding of sincerity against traditional Christianity, have defended the decisions of Satan, Eve, and Adam to transgress against God’s commands. This article also examines Adam and Eve’s sincere repentance later in Milton’s epic.