Notes from ‘Hero or Antihero?

’ by Edith Kaiter
CONTRASTS WITH KROGSTAD
 No convincing single source for Milton’s Satan has been found, not even the Bible, which contains very little evidence
referring to Satan. Satan is, according to some theories, a vital part of a Manichaean universe, the “infimum malum” is
necessitated by a “summum bonum” which is God. Page 73: Have you forgotten that your
 Milton’s Satan is a multifaceted presence, often contradictory, both a hero and a villain, a character revolted against
reputation will be in my hands? : Contrast
tyranny and a tyrant, a preacher of freedom and a prisoner of his own egocentrism. John Carey calls this Satan’s
“ambivalence”. to Satan who has given up, and now just
 According to Biblical records, he is the author of all evil, the master of disguise and man’s worse enemy.
 wishes to relentlessly destroy, giving up his
In the Greek tradition, the tragic hero was supposed to stir up admiration, fear and pity, and had to display a tragic
weakness or flaw in his character which was to lead to his downfall.

Angel position, as he is now FALLEN.
In spite of Milton’s attempts to make Satan an incarnation of evil, he is still a fascinating figure which gains our admiration
and sympathy. As William Hazlitt remarked, he is “the most heroic subject ever chosen in a poem”. Indeed this
protagonist, who is meant to be the most dissenting character of the poem, is by far the most interesting and convincing
through his complexity and authenticity. Hamilton states “he wins our admiration more firmly because he is ultimately
Page 72: I want to get on my feet again, Mrs
real, while the inhabitants of Heaven are remote and strange”. Helmer. I want to get to the top…I was
 This can be easily understood when Satan’s description is compared to God’s. God is described monochromatically; He is
the omniscient and omnipotent God of Righteousness. content to fight my way back inch by inch.
 Milton makes efforts to belittle Satan through the use of less favourable imagery, and by highlighting his flaws. ColeridgeNow I’ve been chucked bac into the mud,
recognises in him the “alcohol of egotism” a self-absorbed, self-obsessed creature. Milton shows skilful tact in his
treatment of Satan – he degenerates and gradually loses our sympathy. He introduces didactic and revelatory and I’m not going to be satisfied with just
commentaries during Satan’s speeches as if the poet were afraid that his fiction will not subject itself to the orthodox
meaning he wants to assign to the story.
getting back my job.: Both Krog and Satan
 Milton is surely aware that Satan’s rebellion might be considered libertarian, and makes frequent attempts, it seems, to have a willingness to regain what they have
undermine this.
 Satan’s consciousness is also problematic. At times he becomes torn with conflicting passions. The inner debates and self-lost, for Krog it is his job but for Satan, it is
Eden. The antithetical point is that Krogstad
criticism reveal him as a creature of dynamic tensions. Therefore at some points in the story, it is difficult to label Satan as
essentially evil: “Me miserable! which way shall I flie / Infinite wrauth, and infinite despare? Which way shall I flie is Hell;
my self am Hell” has good intentions, and later asks for
 Satan also has a tendency towards love and beauty; he is not irrevocably hardened or incapable of gentle emotion. As he
forgiveness but Satan is contrastingly much
surveys the new world and approaches the couple in Paradise, he says he feels an inclination to love them, thus surprising
the reader with a desire for love in a figure which was believed to be wholly committed to wickedness. more relentless and motivated entirely by
 The psychological approach which adopts Freud’s analysis of the psyche suggests Satan is the expression of the id
ostracised by the superego (God) and exercising his influence upon the ego (Adam and Eve). The superego demands of revenge.
the individual to restrain his aggressiveness and his hunger for self-satisfaction. (not sure about comparison here, but interesting!)
 The Romanticist criticism perceived Satan as the quintessential hero. It is in Satan that Shelley finds the true embodiment
Both Satan, “a creature of dynamic tensions” and Krogstad, who
of Milton’s personality and of his moral ideal. (look up Marxism – we cover this in Year 13) too suffers from many self conflicts (end of Act 2- suicidal
 In his opinion, Milton certainly intended Satan to be “a terrible warning, and embodiment of, the unrestrained passions”.
Other critics believe that Satan expresses something in which Milton believed strongly: heroic energy.
thoughts)- both have wavering moral ambivalence and this inner
 As he pursues his vile purpose and “desperate revenge”, Satan degenerates from the proud rebel of the first books to the turmoil is what sparks the severity of their actions/threats.
liar, cruel and spiteful seducer of the following books. His superior endowments decline, until at last, he becomes the
lowly serpent, he fades away and Adam emerges as the hero during the later course of the poem.
 AO4 –
WHAT’S THE
LINK TO PL?
Krogstad’s Quotes Act 1 - 2

Page 46: From that day, every

opening was barred to me…I Page 71: you’re so anxious to
must try to regain what keep this matter hushed up.
respectability I can.

We first meet Krogstad through Rank, who makes two interesting observations about him:
P. 39: Rank claims that ‘there’s a moral cripple in with Helmer at this very moment .. (who is)
morally twisted’.
P.40: Unlike Krogstad, with his job at the bank, ‘the healthy ones just have to lump it’.
Page 72: I want to get on my
feet again, Mrs Helmer. I want
to get to the top…I was content Page 73: Have you forgotten
to fight my way back inch by that your reputation will be in
inch. Now I’ve been chucked my hands?
bac into the mud, and I’m not
going to be satisfied with just
getting back my job.
 AO3
Pit
Stop
Antinomianism

- In Christianity, an antinomian is one who takes the principle of salvation by faith and divine grace to the point of asserting
that the saved are not bound to follow the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments.

- The distinction between antinomian and other Christian views on moral law is that antinomians believe that obedience to
the law is motivated by an internal principle flowing from belief rather than from any external compulsion.

(i.e if you follow any rules, it's because you want to rather than because you are told to).
A03: Background Book 9 Lines 204-411 Adam and Eve
Point 1 from reading: Point 2 from reading: Point 3 from reading: Point 4 from reading:

How this relates to the passage: How this relates to the passage: How this relates to the passage: How this relates to the passage: