The Role of Satan in Paradise Lost

Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost is a complex character meant to be the evil figure in the epic poem. Whenever possible Satan attempts to undermine God and the Son of God who is the true hero of the story. Throughout the story Milton tells the readers that Satan is an evil character, he is meant not to have any redeeming qualities, and to be shown completely as an unsympathetic figure. Satan’s greatest sins are pride and vanity in thinking he can overthrow God, and in the early part of the poem he is portrayed as selfish while in Heaven where all of God’s angels are loved and happy. Satan’s journey starts out as a fallen angel with great stature, has the ability to reason and argue, but by Book X the anguish and pain he goes through is

Satan is proven to be a tricky and clever character in most stories that he is talked about in. Even in the movie “Devil’s Advocate. The movie was good with a great amount of suspense, and kind of gives a real outlook of the Satan and how he works. The movie is about Satan and sin. The point of the movie and the poem was not to glorify sin but exposes it and all the devious things the devil would do or has done. But it also shows the consequences of sin. Just like “Paradise Lost” The “Devil’s Advocate” shows Satan is filled with vanity, greed, and lust who is a great deceiver and knows how to twists words and meanings. The movie is a modern re-interpretation of the poem, I also think it is pretty cool that the Devil in the film is name John Milton.

Can Satan -- a being, so evil that even as an Ethereal being of Heaven, who was cast out of God's grace - be a hero? John Milton's Satan in Paradise Lost is very much a romanticized character within the epic poem, and there has been much debate since the poem's publishing in 1667 over Milton's sentiments and whether Satan is the protagonist or a hero. As an angel in God the Father's Heaven, Satan rose up with a group of following of one-third of all of Heaven's angels and tried to unseat Jehovah from His station as the Divine Ruler. God cast Satan and the other rebellious angels out of Heaven and eternally damned them to Hell and to morph into demonic

Satan has many heroic characteristics which can be defined by his ability to lead the fallen angels, his determination which in turn becomes his fatal flaw, and a comparison to other heroes such as Beowulf and Sir Gawain can serve to extrapolate the extent of his heroism.

When a person hears Satan, a streak of fear, and the thought of evil arises. People fear Satan, and think of him as evil, but in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he displays a thought of the Father being the evil being, and Satan a tragic hero. In Paradise Lost, Book 1 and 2, the minor areas where God is shown, He is displayed as hypocritical. He contradicts himself by creating the humans to be of free will, but when Satan displays free will, he is shunned. Satan could be described in many terms, and by many people, but all can be disputed. According to my sources, Satan is displayed as the hero, while God is the evil deity, and Milton was wrong for writing Him as so. In this essay, I will show my thoughts on the subject of Satan as an evil

In the story Satan wanted to rule above all else in Heaven, which sparked a war. Satan tried to be bigger than God. Satan is described as a titanian typhon. Satan wanted to rule over everybody. He wanted to be bigger than everybody

Even after being defeated, Satan is not deterred from his desire to fight against God, and Heaven. Satan would go on to let out a speech to the Fallen Angels. He really is his Legion of Fallen Angels, and persuades them that this fight is not over in this scene, Satan is almost represented as if he is an underdog. The speech is moving, and even includes slightly manipulated quotes from other epic works. Again, this is something that seems fitting for someone the reader would be rooting for.

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

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.

I Believe Milton considers Satan to be the hero, or protagonist, of the story, because he struggles to overcome his own doubts and weaknesses and accomplishes his goal of corrupting humankind. Satan is a very complex character in the epic poem. I belive Milton considers Satan as his hero because he want Satan to seem heroic and appealing early in the poem to draw us into sympathizing with him against our will, so that we may see how seductive evil is and learn to be more vigilant in resisting its appeal. Milton devotes much of the poem’s early books to developing Satan’s character. Satan’s character changes significantly from Book I to his final appearance in Book X. In Book I he is a strong, imposing figure with great abilities as a leader and public statesmen, whereas by the poem’s end he

Satan can only be a hero to the people who support him. Satan was once one of Gods angles. He was later banned from heaven by God because of his pride. The readers see Satan as a leader and strong influence to his followers. Once Satan began to rebel against God he had been able to persuade others followers to join. When Satan states, “to govern, not to serve” (Revard 216). This lead others angels in heaven to consider freedom and join him to go against God. This showed one of his heroic qualities. He gave speeches often to persuade other. He was able to convince “one third of all the angels in heaven” to join him (Emerson 399). Satan gave speeches through the story and he gain followers mostly every time.

The most important characters in the epic poem, “Paradise Lost”, are Satan and Eve. These two characters are most responsible for the development and progression of events within the poem. Satan is the main figure throughout the vast majority of the plot. “Paradise Lost” follows Satan’s ultimately successful attempt to destroy God’s perfect creation, humanity, by forcing Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. In creating humanity, God set expectations and put in place boundaries for Adam and Eve, yet they were not particularly restrictive.

In the world of literature, the most memorable characters are often those who are the most complex. Readers may sympathize with a character they find appealing, but the most enigmatic characters will stick out in their minds when they think back on their reading. In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan provides an archetype for this sort of character. Throughout the poem, an obvious contradiction develops between the apparent heroism in Satan’s actions and his role as the poem’s main force of evil.

Adhering to as well as challenging the conventions of the epic genre, Milton portrays Satan as heroic, determined to form a new equilibrium for himself and his followers. Declaring “For this eternal pit shall never hold” (Milton 2008), Satan presents God as a ruthless tyrant – entrapping Satan and the devils – and inspires morale with the idea that they’re more powerful than the confines subjected to them. The epic hero traditionally serves as an inspiration to his followers. Additionally, Satan leaves Pandemonium “Hurling defiance towards the vault of Heaven”(Milton 2008); Milton imagines Satan as a mighty force who defies his enemy in the face of adversity to avenge his mistreatment. As Milton’s early audiences would’ve been aware of Satan’s infamy as a religious figure, his decision to display Satan as heroic subverts the idea of the morally driven epic protagonist. Furthermore, Milton’s presentation of Satan has proved contentious, “For roughly three centuries, readers have demanded justice

, he recreates the Genesis story of the fall of man, as it was caused by Satan. It is Satan's fatal flaws of pride and ambition that led him to battle with Heaven, and even though he was defeated, he would not give up his battle against God. Ultimately, he did accomplish both the instilling of sin into man and the promise of doing evil against both God and man for an eternity. On the other hand, throughout the epic poem, we also observe Satan struggle with despair, desire and even repentance, making him seem more human than evil, eliciting our sympathy for him. Satan's fatal flaws, continuous inner struggles, and determination to wage covert battles in his war against God (that he knows he cannot win), makes him Milton's unlikely hero.