Character Analysis of Satan in Milton's 'Paradise Lost'

“O Hell!” Satan’s opening exclamation of frustration immediately alerts readers to Satan’s state of mind. As Satan gazes on Adam and Eve, he is struck by their blissful state, which sends him into a spiral of confusion as he slightly reconsiders his plan to destroy them. To himself, Satan addresses the pair; he begins regretful and with pity for Adam and Eve. He later shifts in tone to vengeful, envious, and angry. Further exemplifying Satan’s contrasting attitudes, Milton uses antonymous words of emotion throughout the passage. By the end of passage, Milton solidifies Satan’s hardening of heart and ends the struggle that has been festering inside Satan since his first act of rebellion against God. Milton successfully uses both the shift in tone and the emotional diction to reveal Satan’s stormy internal conflict.

Satan's pride further constrains him. Because he is able to prove his freedom via dissent, and because he has ignored the fact that his free will comes from God, Satan thinks (or at least tells the angels before his own fall) that all heavenly beings including God are "Equally free" (5.792). Focused on his own freedom, Satan cannot understand that God has even more freedom than he. When confronted with the hegemonic power of the Son, then, Satan believes that "new Laws" have been imposed, that God has changed the rules (5.679-80). But this is not a new constraint; it is merely a new formulation of the Godhead.

John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, has been the subject of criticism and interpretation through many years; these interpretations concur in that Adam and Eve are the sufferers of the poem, and it is their blight to lose Paradise because of their disobedience; however, their exile is merely a plight brought by Satan, and it is he who suffers exile before any others. Satan changes from Book I of the poem to Book XII; his introduction is heroic and grand, appearing as a hero rebelling against an unjust God. But by the finalization of Milton’s poem, Satan is a burnt shell of himself and, though ruler of Pandemonium, he sits in a throne in the lowest pit from God’s light. Satan’s exile brings forth the salvation of mankind and his own regressive transformation; tying in with the theme of disobedience, Satan’s exile gives

First, to prove that Satan must be something more than a mere “favored” angel, some kind of divine being, let us consider Adam’s longing for a companion (as I think the concept here holds basis): he reasons with God as to why it is appropriate for him to have an equality alongside, and of course, God, “not displeased,” grants Adam’s request, that is to become, Eve. Now imagine God in the shoes of Adam, that is

Satan’s definitions include the advocate of God, a personification of evil, the fallen angel, a spirit created by God, and also the accuser. People see Satan differently, some know of his existence, others think of him as just a myth, and there are those that just ignore him. John Milton's Paradise Lost tells of Satan's banishment from Heaven and his gain of earth. He and his brigade have plotted war against God and are now doomed to billow in the fiery pits of hell. Satan is a complex character with many different qualities. God is a character who we, as Christians, know about but do not completely understand. We also do not completely understand Satan. Some may think they know Satan but when asked “Is Satan divine?”

Since the beginning of Paradise Lost, a reader can witness the dramatizing power possessed by Satan, and how he takes advantage of this very power in order to satisfy his own causes. One such property of Satan's fantastic powers is his ability to manipulate any individual into a false belief of who he really is, and therefore prevent a habitant of paradise from discovering his true purpose that is hidden behind his actions. One such example of this, and one of the most major in the epic, are the events that occur in Book IX involving Satan and Eve around the forbidden tree. Here, Satan uses, what is to Eve, excellent reasoning to convince her to eat the forbidden fruit, thereby exploiting

However, craving independence from God ferociously backfires on Satan when he finds out that even after leaving hell, he cannot escape it, “which way [he] [flies] is Hell, [he] [himself] is Hell,” (IV, 75). Satan finds his way to revolt against and separate from God to overrule Heaven and become king, instead however, he takes on the role of the representation of all evil which is evidently seen in his interactions with Eve.

Satan’s character embodies the idea of a heroic figure because he questions what he feels to be true, even though his tragic fall is that he becomes easily misguided.

Following the standards of classic tragic heroes, Satan is a determined leader with an extreme amount of hubris. He knows that God is the most powerful being and yet he still

In addition, here, as throughout much the poem, Satan continues to hedge the other side of the argument, insisting that he isn't forced to do evil by opposing God, but that "to do ill our sole delight" (160). This belief that he has a choice in the matter is tied up in the misconception that he was, and continues to be, equal to God, as "reason hath equall'd" (248) them.  Quite to the contrary, Milton makes it clear that "the will And high permission of all-ruling Heaven Left him at large to his own dark designs" (211-3).  And it is only Satan's perverted sense of reason that convinces him that "The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n" (254-5).  He believes that his reason and contemplation will help him discover "How overcome this dire Calamity" (189), or failing that, change his will such that it fits his current circumstance.  This is the classic method of the delusional and disenfranchised, holding out hope for change, but at the same time putting forth the belief that the current situation can actually be beneficial.  The sophistry has shown through Satan's speech, as he declares that there is no way for God to beat him, in his mind, when we know he is already defeated.

In “Paradise Lost” I think that Milton’s character Satan may be considered one of the most complex characters and is always changing. Of course at first he comes off as a very evil guy, who had a strong thirst for vengeance and liked to wreak havoc. Even though

Satan encourages his followers and reminds them of their original cause. He shows great leadership skills by re-emphasizing their ideas that at least when they are reigning in Hell, G-d doesn't interfere, and although it is Hell it is still worth ruling rather than serving in Heaven. Satan is dwelling on his power which could be seen as his tragic flaw. He is allowing his pride and ego to surface by glorifying Hell (calling it "profoundest") and declaring himself in possession of Hell. He starts to think of the idea of Heaven and Hell as a mindset. He starts to believe that the mind is what creates a place as Heaven and a place as Hell. Satan feels as though Heaven is Hell because he must serve G-d there, but in Hell, he has a true Heaven because he is served and worshipped. This could be determined as his tragic flaw.

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

In book I of “Paradise Lost” the speaker characterized Satan as a leader based on his ability to lead the falling angels. By “Paradise Lost” being a Christian poem some may wonder why Satan is considered a powerful leader. I believe Milton portrays Satan as a heroic figure in order to show God’s ultimate power.

John Milton's epic “Paradise Lost” is one that has brought about much debate since its writing. This epic tells the Biblical story of Adam and Eve, although from a different perspective than what most people usually see. Milton tells the story more through the eyes of Satan, whom most people usually consider the ultimate villain. The way in which Satan is portrayed in this story has caused speculation as to whether Satan is actually a hero in this situation. He certainly has heroic qualities throughout the story, yet still is ultimately responsible for Adam and Eve's sin. Satan can easily be classified as a hero in this story, as well as the main antagonist, depending on the viewpoint of the