John Milton: A View of Evil vs. Ignorance Essay

The poem “Paradise Lost” and the novel “Northern Lights” both have a focus on the traditional character role of Satan. The character of Satan is a complex one as he is usually considered to be evil, however they also display natural human traits that the reader or audience can relate to. In John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”, Satan is a central part of the story. While he is depicted as a hero at the beginning, this changes as the story develops and Satan starts to behave in a more sinister manner. This is shown in the ways that Satan tries to rebel against God and Heaven, as he does not want the structure and order that comes from following a God and instead wants freedom from this, even if it leads to chaos. Satan does not allow anyone or anything to get in the way of completing his task. His dedication to his cause is his only reason for doing what he does, even if it causes death and destruction on the way. Philip Pullman also portrays the character or role of Satan in the “His Dark Materials” trilogy through the character of Lord Asriel. He is very similar to Milton’s Satan in many ways due to Pullman’s inspiration from Paradise Lost; however Lord Asriel uses different methods to achieve his aims. While Asriel would have been considered as a purely evil character in most contexts, the way that he is shown to the reader in Northern Lights allows the reader to sympathise with his beliefs to some extent. This is what makes the character of Satan unique as he possesses many qualities that usually belong to the hero of a story; however he has goals that are morally wrong.

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

In Milton’s Paradise Lost, surely we have come to ponder upon the makeup of Satan’s attractable character—his rebellious, seductive, almost “bad-ass” attitude—a case of admirable evil. But let us not forget his ambition, his strive to weld the image of God. We have seen many moments throughout where we get Satan’s ground for imitating the image of God: “…In imitation of that Mount whereon / Messiah was declar’d…” (V 764-65). But why does Satan do this? What is it in Satan that causes him to “look up” to God? Is God a tyrant yet a role model to Satan? I propose that Satan’s drive is something more than just an act of pretending; maybe, it is rather a means of trying to grasp what he has been taken away from him. Or, we can say that Satan was more. Perhaps he came to existence not in the mold of angel, but as a divine tool. There must be a reason as to: why Satan was considered God’s “first and favorite angel”? This seems to suggest that Satan is, originally, at some level of divinity; an experiment of God’s that was put to the test (or is a test)—a divine prototype.

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?”

"In the forefront of the battle, where we expect him, is Milton's Satan, the great rebel of Paradise Lost" (Hamilton 7). Hamilton also introduces the idea of an underdog, describing Satan as a person fighting against an inferior power, with extreme odds against a victory for his side (14). In the scenes around the battle in heaven, Milton shows how Satan is viewed as a leader by the other fallen angels.

In the poem of ?Paradise Lost?, critics disagree with Milton for portraying Satan as a hero, while many oppose it; others view it as Milton?s style. Even-though within the poem Milton carries the same moral concepts and ambiguity of Satan?s heroism which has been a topic of discussion for more than three centuries (Murphy). Aristotle?s idea of hamartia to a reading of ?Paradise Lost? is rational of that of Satan, because he is perceived as a strong leader to the fallen angels and has tremendous importance which can be viewed as a hero. Even-though throughout the poem, he struggles to overcome his apprehensions, he eventually choses to dedicate himself to evil. Satan goes though many constructions; one is the way Milton sees him and the other which is not as evident, but in the context itself (Murphy). Satan lacks strength to accomplish his goal of corrupting mankind as well as becomes unable to judge God?s grace and is not able to find a way of making his past right. Therefore, he is punished by being condemned to eternal Hell. There is really no consideration if Satan is morally perverse, the only things that is comparable is his consequences of his difference within his morality and his literary heroism.

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

Paradise Lost was written by John Milton in the 17th century, and through the course of time it has stayed an important fixture in Western Literature. It tells the story of how one of God’s angels (known as Satan) fell from grace, and how he plotted to turn God’s creation of man to sin. While going through the text Milton portrays Satan as the antagonist, and God and his Son as protagonists, and while Milton portrays this idea pretty clearly it has stemmed a topic of scholarly debate. This debate is can Satan be viewed as a heroic figure? And to push the idea further, what are the ways in which Satan can be described as an epic hero? While this is a question that has been tossed around for years it has remained

Through his creating on Paradise Lost, John Milton was greatly influenced by three alterations in his life: religious conversion, lose of family and political fail. Firstly, although he was born at a Catholic family, he converted to Protestant while he only partially accept its teaching. His individual christian ideas brings complicated aspects on his literary works such as Paradise Lost. Secondly, he lost his wife and first son while he was working on his epic poem which some of the characteristics of Satan had been polished and sympathized. Thirdly, I believe Charles II, the son of whom had been opposed by Milton, regained power after the downfall of Oliver Cromwell gave potentially impressed him of God’s image. In his words, God “sits/high throned above all height bent down His eye/His own works and their works at once to view”. It demonstrate God is contradictory which presents two conflicting characters. Compared with God’s description, Milton tells of Satan's banishment from Heaven in Paradise Lost, and Satan is a complex

In Paradise Lost, Satan is presented as the antagonist of Omnipotence, whose role is to bring evil out of good, and whose later aim is to cause the fall of humankind (God’s best creation) as a means to find solace in making others as miserable as he is… In this essay I will analyze the evolution of Satan’s character, and how the reader’s perception of Satan will change either seeing him as a hero, a poetic force, or as a personified-self-contradiction throughout the books I, IV, and IX from Paradise Lost.

In Milton's Paradise Lost, he writes the story of the fall of Satan, his followers, and mankind. Many critics often view Satan as the unlikely or tragic hero of the epic poem. Satan is, obviously, the main character throughout most of the poem, but not necessarily the hero. Satan's main purpose is to fight G-d, and try to be on the same level as Him. The important thing is to realize that Satan is sin, and being humans, who are all born into sin, we can easily relate to a sinful character. G-d is holy and perfect. This is something which we, being fallible humans, cannot begin to comprehend. Satan does, at the beginning, follow many of the attributes which coincide with Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero; however, after the

The argument over who is the true protagonist of Paradise Lost, has been brewing for centuries. One would gather that Milton, a Puritan, would have no problem casting God as the hero, and Satan as the antagonist. But looking back in history, Milton saw that most epic heroes had conflicts that prevented them from accomplishing their goals. God and his Son have no conflict, and Adam's story doesn't really begin until the Fall of Man. Therefore, Milton was forced to select Satan as the hero of Paradise Lost because he adheres to the guidelines of epic poetry set by Homer, Vergil and others. There many examples of how Milton uses and edits the tradition of these previous epics in the formation of the Devil as a hero.

One of the most intriguing characters in the epic Paradise Lost is Satan who rebels against God and chooses to live his life on his own terms. While Satan is commonly associated with evil, John Milton portrays him sympathetically and shows uses him as a tool to demonstrate the power of free will. In Paradise Lost, Satan can be considered to be the ultimate rebel. Not only does he defy God, but he also influences others to think for themselves and to blindly follow others.

While many arguments can be made to defend Satan as the hero of this story, his power clearly declines throughout the poem. In the end, he does not achieve his goal. Satan is “bitter, but also acknowledges the reality of his circumstances” (Smith). We see Satan reach his peak, then his power gently declines by the end of the story. Although Satan is powerful and persevering, he is no match for God. We begin to see more of his flaws. Satan is undoubtedly charismatic and persuasive in his speeches, as well as a powerful military leader, yet he seems to be somewhat hypocritical as well. For example, when we are first introduced to Satan, he tells his followers not to be afraid, yet he is afraid himself. Some might view this as Satan being brave, but this could also be viewed as him being deceptive, which illustrates how he

John Milton divided the characters in his epic poem Paradise Lost into two sides, one side under God representing good, and the other side under Satan representing evil and sin. Milton first introduced the reader to the character Satan, the representative of all evil, and his allegiance of fallen angels that aided in his revolt against God (Milton 35). Only later did Milton introduce the reader to all powerful God, leader and creator of all mankind (John). This introduction of Satan first led the reader to believe acts of sin were good, just like Eve felt in the Garden of Eden when she was enticed by Satan to eat the fruit off of the Tree of Knowledge (Milton 255). The later introduction of The Almighty had the readers change their feelings towards sin, as the ways of God were introduced to them and these ways were shown to be the way to feel and believe. This levy of good vs. evil carried on throughout the poem with the interaction of Satan and his fallen angels with God and his son in Heaven.