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Cecilia Ramirez

Benjamin Pressley

ENG-241

8 December, 2020

Paradise Lost: Satan Gets the Best Lines

Paradise Lost is an epic poem and therefore it is assumed that it contains a heroic figure.

In a poem portraying the fall of Satan, the formation of the world, and the subsequent fall of

man, one would be justified in accepting the hero to be God. However, when taking an ordinary

portrayal of a hero, the male character in a book, play, or film, is normally related with good

characteristics, and with whom the reader can sympathize with; therefore, it can be contended

that God doesn't satisfy this criteria, and how Satan is presented in Paradise Lost is

unquestionably more fit to be given this title. In this version, Satan, who enticed Eve to eat the

forbidden fruit, while masked as a snake, is definitely not a one-dimensional villain, but a

complex character who has his virtues, just as well as vices.

First, to see Satan as a hero, Satan should be considered to be more than just an abhorrent

and antagonistic monster. Milton understands this strain between evil and heroism and plays with

it, depicting Satan in ways as a worthy character and God as a wrathful and distanced one. This

is evident from the beginning, with Milton stating his aim to "And justify the ways of God to

men"(Milton, I. 824). This makes God the opposition and sets up Paradise Lost as a theodicy to

legitimize God, not to admire or worship him. With Satan, we are immediately intended to relate

to his desires and dissatisfactions, and notice that Satan is "Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep

despair" (Milton, I. 826) Even the very title Paradise Lost is zeroing in on Satan's deficiency of

Heaven and his achievement of fooling Adam and Eve into losing Eden, and not God's beauty
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and endeavor to battle this. One of the causes for Satan's fall from Heaven and resulting despair

was his pride, and endeavor to "equaled the Most High, / If he opposed; and with ambitious

aim…" (Milton, I. 824), an inconceivable task. While this task is outlandish, it is one that he is

determined in, and this is where his heroic characteristics originate from.

Second, writers and critics of the Romantic era progressed the thought that Satan was a

hero, setting himself in opposition to an unjust God. William Blake famously claimed that "the

reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils &

Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it” (Noud, 2013).

He expressed this opinion

chiefly in relation to the portrayal of Satan who, according to
him, has been depicted as a character possessing certain
grand qualities worthy of the highest admira

He expresses this opinion primarily to the depiction of Satan who, as indicated by him, has been

portrayed as a character having certain grand characteristics deserving of the highest admiration.

While one can dismiss this apparent exaggeration, Blake is making a valid observation, for

instance, “Against the throne and monarchy of God / Raised impious war in Heav’n and battle

proud / With vain attempt” (Milton, I. 824). This shows that Satan possesses a strong will and

determination. No matter what happens, he never gives up,

“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?

That glory never shall his wrath or might

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Extort from me. To bow and sue for grace

With suppliant knee, and deify his power… (Milton, I. 825)

The main aspect of this quote is the fact that the battle was made in vain, implying that Satan

realized that there was no chance of winning yet still he battled for what he believed in. Just the

way that Satan stood his ground would be reason enough to be considered a hero.

Thirdly, Satan is appealing for many reasons all through the text. For instance, from the

beginning, God is depicted in a dull, threatening image. A long way from traditional images of

God, which would ordinarily portray God has holy and merciful, he is characterized as wrathful

and demanding. He is an angry God who stays distant all throughout the story. This distancing of

God doesn't permit the reader to align themselves to him and are compelled to see him as a

predominant, omnipotent force without the characteristics of empathy and compassion. For

example,

“Fear to be worse destroyed: what can be worse

Than to dwell here, driven out from bliss, condemned

In this abhorrèd deep to utter woe;

Where pain of extinguishable fire

Must exercise us without hope of end

The vassals of his anger, when the scourge

Inexorably, and the torturing hour” (Milton, II. 843).

The torment is unavoidable and difficult to stop because of God's incredible strength and force.

This permits one to have sympathy for Satan, as God isn't seen giving any reasoning or argument

in defense with regards to his actions. This would permit readers to feel more connected with

Satan, as they see him as a victim. In Book IV, Satan's endeavors have become subdued and he
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starts to show his heroic characteristics by not ceasing to fall at the unequal demands of God. "So

farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear, / Farewell remorse: all good to me is lost; / Evil be

thou my good" (Milton IV. 879). At the point when all hope is lost Satan is constrained to make

the next step in order to stand up against God. In the wake of losing all hope Satan still decides

to battle, unafraid, representing him as a heroic figure. He shows enormous pride and recognizes

his capability to overthrow the divine realm of God, all characteristics of an epic hero. These are

characteristics that most people must face, which shows Satan’s human-like struggles, allowing

the reader to appreciate his character.

However, despite the virtues Satan has and all the good, the vices that decide his

character lead the former Archangel to his damnation. Among those that are the most significant

for Satan's character are his pride and his contempt towards God. One more defining

characteristic is his ambition. Satan himself blames "Till pride and worse ambition" (Milton IV.

878) for his fall from Heaven. These are the reasons that push him to bear the disasters he faces

but also to indulge in an ever-lasting number of evil deeds. But in spite of the fact that Satan

doesn't accomplish his definitive objective, he is respected for his endeavor to standing up to

God, something most mortal men would fear. He eventually realizes that to follow God would

mean to become a servant to his orders, which he feels is unfair and one-sided. Satan effectively

covers himself as engaging and forgivable to the crowd, who find God distant and threatening in

his actions and rules. The details of Satan's character permit the reader to distinguish him as the

hero in the story; one who shows human feelings and searches out to battle for equality against

God.

In conclusion, Milton's Satan is a character that encompasses good and evil, greatness

and destruction. From one viewpoint, he is almost an ideal hero, gallant and strong-willed. On
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the other hand, he is filled up with pride, hatred, ambition, and jealousy, which turn a once

splendid, elegant, and amazing heavenly angel into the tormented Devil. The fact that he has

imperfections and virtues makes Satan more human-like, as people who are never completely

good or evil. This might be the explanation why John Milton made Satan a complex and

sympathetic character. A hero does not need to be wholly good, but one who acknowledges their

complexity, will-power and someone who faces obstacles and challenges in life. These

characteristics apply to Satan; therefore, Satan is the true hero in Paradise Lost.
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Works Cited

Jennifer Noud, 2013, “Blake’s and Shelley’s reader responses to Milton’s Satan in Paradise

Lost”, https://fsu.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/fsu:204641/datastream/PDF/view.

Accessed 8 Dec. 2020

John Milton's "Paradise Lost"., 2004. SIRS Issues Researcher, 

http://nclive.org/cgi-bin/nclsm?

url=http://search.proquest.comhttps://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/documen

t/2249932939?accountid=12493. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020

“Paradise Lost”, The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 10th edited by Stephen Greenblatt

and M. H. Abrams, 2019 Norton, pp. 820-953.

Nafi, Jamal. (2015). “Milton’s Portrayal of Satan in Paradise Lost and the Notion of Heroism.

International Journal of Literature and Arts.”

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277814365_Milton's_Portrayal_of_Satan_in_P

aradise_Lost_and_the_Notion_of_Heroism. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020

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