ASSIGNMENT

Name: PREITY LAISHRAM

Roll no: 21ENH126
Course: B.A(H) English
Semester: III
Paper: BRITISH POETRY AND
DRAMA (17th and 18th
century)
Q. Describe Satan’s character and Milton’s approach to Satan.

Ans:
“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.”
— From The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

John Milton is ambiguous in his approach to Satan and his

characterisation of Satan raises a question on whether Satan is actually
the hero of the epic poem, Paradise Lost. Milton was greatly influenced
by the ancient Greek writer like Homer and it can be heavily seen on his
invocation and his approach to Satan. He has given Satan the principal
actor, a voice, a platform to express his thoughts and speeches, and
Milton has brought the devil closer to the readers rather than giving
emphasis on God and His moral virtues. Milton acquires the central
position as a puppeteer and presents the harsh reality of the 17 th century
England, and he has brought into limelight the ordinary ambitions of the
common people striking through their hearts with the remarkable speech
of Satan.William Blake commented that Milton produced Paradise Lost as
a silkworm produces silk, as the activation of his own nature.

Milton has very carefully crafted the character of Satan

portraying characters of an epic tragic hero, who upon his fatal flow or
hamartia ceases to downfall. In spite of having so many unambiguous
sketches of Satan in The Bible as well as other religious scriptures and the
holy books, Milton paints Satan with a different hue and colour,
completely standing apart from the stereotypical Satan that have been
known of.

“I may assert Eternal Providence

And justify the ways of God to men.”

In the opening of Paradise Lost, Milton invokes his Muse, the

Holy Spirit, to grant him “Eternal Providence” that he may achieve his goal
for the epic to “justify the ways of God to men”. Milton believed in a God
that was infinite, eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient.
Satan is described as the protagonist who is very ambitious, proud and
he even denies the omnipotent God, and as a result he was expelled from
heaven to the most dreadful hell. Here, one can see the Christian
perception that those who disobey God will surely reach hell and have to
suffer greatly the consequences of their sins. Milton is in a way rewriting
the bible from his own angle with secular imagination. He takes help pf
the Muse to give justice to this magnanimous theme of talking about God
and the justice system of God.

Milton has laid the foundations of Satan’s logic for wanting to

revive his old glory. Satan’s reason to disobey God is built upon the idea
of becoming better than he already is. He believes that it is always
possible to rise higher. Satan was the highest among the angels, yet he
still felt confined by the hierarchy God had set in place. He reasoned
there was no harm in seeking to better himself and rise even higher in the
hierarchy. Satan was the first of created beings who, for endeavouring to
be equal with the highest and to divide the empire of Heaven with the
Almighty, was hurled down to Hell. His aim was no less than the throne of
the universe. His ambition was the greatest, and his punishment was the
greatest, but not so his despair, for his fortitude was as great as his
sufferings.

“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”

Even after falling into the dark fiery gutters of hell, Satan
refused to submit and seek repentance. Satan’s indomitable courage and
pride in himself drifted him from abandoning his ambitions and rebellion
against the justice system of God the Almighty. Satan is the abstract love
of power, or pride, of self-will personified. Milton through his support of
an antagonist character supports and speaks for his own views and
arguments. Inspite of all the punishments, Satan stood, he never bowed
down and begged for forgiveness, his pride, courage and rebellious spirit
is of remarkable essence. Christ may not win much of the reader’s
sympathy but Satan surely does with his rational emotions and will,
invoking in readers a sense of catharsis. In a critical essay, Anderson
(2010) states that, for the purpose of allowing readers to uphold or reject
divine law, Milton includes elements in the poem contrary to the will of
God. These elements add to the paradoxical nature of Satan’s portrayal,
and “these conflicting aims ultimately lend contrary thematic values to
the poem”.
One important way in which the narrator develops the
character of Satan is through His speeches giving the readers in depth the
picture of Satan. The epic similes, the lengthy speeches and the
magnanimous comparisons draws a picture of the ever so powerful
Satan. The speeches of Satan have remarkable content, and are
themselves a very great statement of the ordinary ambitions of human
beings, it conveys the ideas of the common masses. Milton has presented
a contemporary scene, putting together God, Religion, and Leaders in one
framework compelling the readers to Think. To emphasise this thought,
Gen Ohinata utters that Satan’s petition cultivate on one occasion with
his unhappiness.

“Here we may reign secure, and in my choice

To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heav’n.”

Satan sought after freedom, freedom of rule and rejected

the idea of serving God and being a servitude to God’s rules and virtues.
He refuted against God’s hierarchical system, order and punishments. He
tried to make the best out of Hell. Milton’s created the human image of
Satan breaking down the supernatural barrier, providing the people of
the earth with a common ground upon which they may view Satan and
relate to him as just one more person who desired emancipation and was
consequently persecuted, Milton brought the readers closer to Satan. He
has crafted the character as a human embodying both the evil and the
heroic natures. On a different level, Satan’s frequent moaning and
debates with himself regarding his attempt to usurp God’s throne are
very pertinent. Satan is torn. How often are we, perturbed by our own
conscience, pulled this way and that by conflicting desires.

According to Coleridge, “the character of Satan is pride and

sensual indulgence, finding in self the sole motive of action. It is the
character so often seen in little on the political stage. It exhibits all the
restlessness, temerity and cunning which have marked the mighty hunter
of mankind from Nimrod to Napoleon. Milton has carefully marked in his
Satan the intense selfishness, the alcohol of egotism, which would rather
reign in hell than serve in heaven”.

One can draw a close comparison of Milton’s Satan and

Christopher Marlowe’s Dr Faustus. The tragic fall of Satan from heaven
into the gutters of hell and the tragic downfall pf Dr Faustus takes on a
similar course. The lack of control that Milton’s Satan exhibits concerning
his pride and ambition is both a cause and effect with regards to the lack
of contentment he felt in heaven. These are the same feelings of distress
and irritation that Faustus demonstrates in his first soliloquy. The current
political, social and cultural background can be seen and is deeply
highlighted in both the works, the notions of religion prevailing in the
renaissance period.