A Discussion of Milton’s Theodicy in Paradise Lost

Even though this event is mentioned often within the Holy Bible Milton expounds upon it and dedicates the first two books of Paradise Lost entirely to a description of hell and Satans plan to tempt humanity. It can be assumed that Milton basses his arguments on one of the more detailed descriptions of Satan that can be found in the book of Isaiah, chapter 14:12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the most High.

Through his work of Paradise Lost, Milton exposes his view that God allows suffering in order for a greater good of the human race to exist. Milton uses the Fall- both Satan’s and Adam and Eve’s- as a device to demonstrate human corruption, as each fall is “a step down from a higher being to a lower being”. Both the Fall of Satan and the Fall of Adam & Eve are falls away from a position of divine power to a position of chaos and disorder- something Milton illustrates as an undesirable event. Milton introduces Satan as a selfish, power-hungry character; similar to an individual of today’s society who believes they are the greatest- nobody can ‘one-up’ them. He inherently denies of the existence of a greater God, as that would discredit his own belief that he is the utmost being. Instead of blind denial, Satan instead builds up a power against God himself, in an effort to “contest the throne of Heaven” (slide). However, this in of itself is a hypocrisy on his own beliefs, as he cannot be autonomous in a search for autonomy, since he is unable to defeat God on his own. This is Satan’s first fall, because he has now relinquished his stance on denying a being greater than himself, and must maintain his uprising unless he wants to face what Milton would consider a second Fall. Milton uses Satan as a representation of disobedience within the human race; he is the ‘wrong direction’ in the two paths of moral decisions. He uses Satan to show that rebellion that stems from self-

“Satan as archangel, before his fall, is never shown by Milton, but this stage of existence is often alluded to, as is the fact that some of his archangelic powers remain”(Carey pg.162). Satan is a character within Milton’s “Paradise Lost” who exemplifies a being on a journey to achieve goodness for himself by getting back at the being who put him into eternal damnation. Satan is forced by his own mind to rebel against God for what he has done to him by ‘making him fall from the eternal kingdom’. Satan is allowing himself to take up a journey through hell, heaven, and earth for the sole reason of trying to gain the seat of heaven because of his yearning for revenge against God, “Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile stirred up with envy and revenge.”(I.34-35). Satan tempts other beings by using a powerful technique known as pathos through his rhetoric seen in the passage, “Look on me, me who have touched and tasted, yet both live.”(IX.687-678) which shows Satan’s style of tempting Eve to eat of the forbidden tree through pathos. He offers himself up as the supernatural being who will take up an adventure which he is hoping will lead him to gain heaven for his own wants and cast God off his heavenly throne. Satan uses the demons in hell to help him achieve his goal of casting out those in power of heaven, which is shown in the quote “We may with more successful hope resolve to wage by force or guile eternal war irreconcilable, to our grand foe”(I.120-122) giving the

In Early Modern England, the idea of men being superior to women was thought to be a God-given law. Sexism, though not yet coined as an English word at the time, was very prevalent in this time period and bled into the writing it produced. John Milton’s Paradise Lost is no exception to this, as it explores human sexuality and gender roles. It has been argued that when Adam and Eve are described as “Two of far nobler shape erect and tall,/ Godlike erect” (4.288-289) there is no distinction between the two, and that they are being portrayed, even by Satan, as equal. This is the reader’s first introduction to Eve who, based on these two lines from Paradise Lost, is Adam’s equivalent in power and in majesty. However, this passage cannot be isolated and taken as the theme of the entire epic work: Milton goes right on to convey “Milton’s idea that true freedom involves obedience to natural superiors” (Milton, p. 2009, footnote 9) by saying that there is “true authority in men” (4.295). Throughout Paradise Lost, Milton shows stark contrast between Adam and Eve, overall implying that Eve is a less perfect character. In his epic poem, Milton makes Eve out to be the misogynistic image of a simple, subordinate woman by showing her as being distanced from God, trained to be obedient to men, and conveying the negative outcomes that transpire when Eve is persuaded into making her own decision.

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 primary operational problem in Paradise Lost is his lack of obedience. The fundamental misunderstanding which leads to Satan's disobedience is his separation of free will from God's hierarchical power. In the angel Raphael's account, Satan tells his dominions, "Orders and Degrees/Jarr not with liberty" (5.792-93). Tempting as this differentiation seems, Satan is mistaken. Free will and hierarchical power are not mutually exclusive, as Satan suggests, but overlapping concepts. Even though Satan has been created with sufficient freedom to choose to disobey, he tacitly acknowledges God's sovereignty when he exercises his choice. Satan is constrained existentially, from the outset, by

Throughout time, John Milton's Paradise Lost has been studied by many people and comprehended in many different fashions, developing all kinds of new interpretations of the great epic. There have been many different interpretations of this great epic. Milton's purpose in writing the epic was to explain the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the epic is similar to the Bible story in many ways, Milton's character structure differs from that of the Bible's version. All through out the epic Milton describes the characters in the way he believes they are. In book II of Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as a rebel who exhibits certain heroic qualities, but who turns out not to be a hero.

Paradise Lost is a story of Genesis told as it normally would be, but with a protagonist focus on Satan. The story is told largely with Satan being favorably portrayed and God having little presence other than cursing things, which convinces the audience that Satan’s view of God as a tyrant may not be too far off. Still, Satan is portrayed as the villain of the story. However, he has characteristics of a classical hero; including flaws that make the audience relate to and feel sympathy for him. By using part of the black-and-white Genesis story which paints Satan as evil and juxtaposing a narrative which paints Satan as a sympathetic hero, Milton raises a question about morality that largely define the audience’s reaction to the story:

Adam and Eve had free reign within the boundaries of the Garden, and free will to make their own decisions, though there were few necessary. Milton writes in Book 3,

In this plan for man's salvation the end shall justify God's means. Therefore justifing the problem of evil and reasons for allowing both sin and death to exist. This ultimate plan of God's Milton presents in Paradise Lost is also a Greater Good Defense. Still, some might not understand why God finds it necessary to put his creations through this process. Milton shows us how this process benefits mankind who has fallen from grace, and also benefits God.

Milton in Paradise Lost illustrates God as the main creator of life. Milton also expresses that God’s real desire is power. God here used his own power of free will to make the decision to create life. From this, the reader can already see the ability of free will being practiced. He mentions that he gave all angels and man the power of free will so they can express their own individuality in

A central problem in John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in the theological issue of free will versus fate, a traditionally much-debated question. Free will is the condition of having control or direction over fate or destiny; the individual shapes his life and future through his actions. The opposing view, complete lack of free will (made famous by John Calvin), is predestination, which expresses the idea that our futures have been foreseen long before our existences, so our actions are preordained, and our paths chosen for us. Milton's presentation of the character Adam wrestles with these ideas around free will throughout Paradise Lost; while he does in fact eat the apple of his own

The concept of revenge has prevailed as an integral component of literature, exemplified in Paradise Lost written by John Milton among other works. In Paradise Lost, Satan acts as the main proponent of revenge. The actions of his character create the basis for a Miltonic ideal of revenge, later modified by Emily Brontë and Mary Shelley. Wuthering Heights written by Brontë presents Heathcliff as a modernization of Satan. The characters share the experience of evolving from their lives as outcasts within their societies by means of revenge. The monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein romanticizes the Miltonic concept of revenge found in Paradise Lost. Although the creation and experiences of Satan and the monster differ, their premises for revenge become similar as the monster realizes his contempt toward his position within society and desires to retaliate. While the revenge exemplified in Paradise Lost shares similarities with both Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, the origins of the desire for revenge, as well as its function within each book, differ due to changing life and literary styles following the writing of Paradise Lost. While the roots of the revenge of Satan lay in a desire for power, Heathcliff and the creature use revenge as a means to chase love and companionship.

As Book VIII of John Milton’s Paradise Lost begins, the “new-waked” human Adam ponders the nature of the universe and the motion of the stars (ll. 4-38). When Adam has finished his speech, Milton takes the opportunity to describe Eve, who is listening nearby. We find Eve reclining in the Garden, but with grace, not laziness: “she sat retired in sight,/With lowliness majestic from her seat” (41-42). This “lowliness majestic” is the central phrase to understanding Eve’s character—she is both humble and glorious. Everything that beholds her is captivated by her “grace that won who saw to wish her stay” (43). Even in this paradise, every other beautiful creation is drawn to Eve. She walks