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Satan and Paradise Lost
In Paradise Lost by John Milton, Satan represents the royalist, Catholic and aristocratic enemies of the Puritans during the civil wars and religious wars of the 17th Century and reflects the culture and events of the era such as the Renaissance, Reformation and Scientific Revolution. Milton was a Puritan who had supported Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War and the overthrow of the king, aristocracy and Church of England. He was disappointed by the outcome of this revolution, and especially with the Restoration of the monarchy and the old order in 1660, which banned and censored many of his writings for being too radical. Not only is it a specifically Christian story of original sin, the fall from grace and hope for redemption, it should be considered as a revolutionary tract from the Puritan-Protestant side during the civil wars and religious wars of the 17th Century. Satan is shown as vain, arrogant and power-hungry,...
Satan represents the king, the bishops and the old aristocracy, at least symbolically, as they are cast out of heaven by God, and from the Puritan viewpoint, their enemies during the civil war certainly were satanic. By the time he wrote this story, they were back in power again as well, severely persecuting Milton and all those who had opposed them over the past thirty years. He was continually at war with God and the angels and saints, including the Puritan saints, who rejected and opposed him. Angels warn him that the "the Golden Scepter which thou didst reject is now an iron rod to bruise and break thy disobedience," which is a veiled reference to Cromwell's army of 'Ironsides" (Milton 1674). Satan in Paradise Lost is proud, arrogant and beautiful, and always boats of his magnificent qualities. Because of his aristocratic vanity and pride, he believes that he is entitled to all the power on heaven and earth, taking the place of God -- just as corrupt and evil monarchs at the time all claimed to rule by divine right. He was expelled from heaven because he had decided "to set himself in glory above his peers, he trusted to have equaled the most High" (Minton 1674). Yet like the Stuart monarchs he was overthrown and exiled to hell, but he continually plotted…
WORKS CITED
Milton, John. Paradise Lost, 1674 edition. Dartmouth.edu http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/index.shtml
Paradise Lost, Book I Analysis Use of Imagery in Paradise Lost -- Book I Paradise Lost offers an introduction to the story of original sin. Milton uses powerful imagery and allegory to relay the Biblical account of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis and forfeiture of the Garden of Eden. The story of good and evil is presented in a unique and interesting narrative form. In Book
Paradise Lost Book II begins with the assembled devils holding their council in Hell. It begins with a general address by Satan, who says "I give not Heav'n for lost" (II.14). In other words, Satan considers war against God to still be a possibility, and he begins the discussion by asking whether the war should be an outright attempt to take Heaven, or whether it should be conducted, surreptitiously, as
332-333, 336-337). The fallen angels' response to Satan's call is the final confirmation of his character, because it demonstrates how he is able to maintain the respect and interest of his followers even though it appears as if they have been stripped of everything. In this sense, Satan is a kind of idealized revolutionary leader, outmatched by the "Almighty" but unwilling to give up, all the while maintaining the respect
Tests will follow. Continue to cultivate by day, and sleep by night, for even the Nightingale sings of golden slumbers. No want or will of evil haunts this Heavenly hour or dare awakens conscience. Do not act in haste for the fate of humankind has not yet been marbled in stone. According to Milton, Satan's persuasive speech advices Eve that her eyes will be open and that "Millions of spiritual
And so, Kenton goes on, given this schism between East and West, it is his theory that the schism was perhaps symbolized through the interactions between God and the Devil. The freedom of the individual to find his way to God "through Scripture...coincided with Milton's commitment to symbolically unify East and West as proof of the regeneration," Kenton wrote (p. 17). Indeed, Milton's Christian background "necessitates" the need for
Journal Two: God's Will? The issue of God's omniscience vs. The supposed free will of man has plagued theologians for millennia, and it is doubtful that I will solve it in this half page response. Milton's version of the tale does not really seem to support this reading, however. Though God was ultimately responsible for Satan's being in the right (or wrong) place at the wrong (or right) time, he clearly