Satan as Failed Prosecutor in Byron's "Vision of Judgment"

Introduction: Satan's Prosecution of George III

In Lord Byron's poem The Vision of Judgment, Satan ascends from hell to prosecute the newly deceased George III and claim his soul. After a farce of a trial, George slips into heaven, where he spends eternity practicing his psalms.

One could argue that Satan loses George's soul not because of his failings as a prosecutor, but because the celestial court becomes so consumed with resolving the superfluous matter of Mr. Southey that it loses track of George entirely. That charitable interpretation, however, would be giving this particular Devil far more than his due.

While clearly a glib and confident speaker who is not lacking in his ability to play to an audience, Satan loses custody of George's soul because he makes a series of blunders so basic that most first-year law students would be humiliated to admit to making them. Satan lacks enthusiasm for his own case. He focuses far too much on the vices George does not have, and he is vague and indirect when discussing the faults and sins for which he wants to see George damned. Finally, he makes the mistake of calling a "rogue" witness. With a prosecutor like this, it is little wonder George's soul slips safely into heaven.

Satan's Strengths as a Speaker

No discussion of Satan's mistakes during his prosecution of George III would be fair or complete without acknowledging his obvious inherent strengths as a speaker. He is bold and confident, as evidenced by his greeting of the Archangel Michael: "He merely bent his diabolic brow / An instant" (XXXVII). When he speaks, his words are equally self-assured. "Even here / Before the gate of Him thou servest, must I claim my subject: and will make appear / That as he was my worshipper in dust, / So shall he be in spirit," he tells Michael (XXXIX). Satan is off to a good start. Confidence in oneself inspires confidence from one's audience, and it is one of the hallmarks of a successful speaker.

Satan is also unquestionably articulate. For instance, he describes George's reign in the following terms: "From out the past / Of ages, since mankind have known the rule / Of monarchs — from the bloody rolls amassed / Of Sin and Slaughter — from the Caesar's school, / Take the worst pupil; and produce a reign / More drenched with gore, more cumbered with the slain" (XLIV). Although Satan problematically provides no specific examples of how George caused such great harm, his words do elicit a vivid, gruesome picture of tyranny and bloodshed.

Finally, Satan knows his audience. The last charge he levels against George is the charge of discrimination against Catholics — those who worship "not alone your Lord, / Michael, but you, and you, Saint Peter!" He adds slyly, "Cold / Must be your souls, if you have not abhorred / The foe to Catholic participation / In all the license of a Christian nation" (XLVIII). Saint Peter, incensed, immediately vows that he would sooner be damned himself than allow George to enter heaven. George's soul is saved only by the restraining calm of Archangel Michael: "Good Saint! And Devil! / Pray, not so fast; you both outrun discretion" (LI).

Clearly, then, Satan does possess some talent as a speaker. He is bold and self-confident, he is articulate, and he knows how to wring an emotional response from his audience by playing to the causes nearest to their hearts. So why, ultimately, does George enter heaven rather than hell? The unavoidable answer is that Satan's strengths as a speaker and prosecutor do not outweigh the errors he makes in prosecuting this case.

First Blunder: Indifference to the Case

Satan makes his first blunder almost immediately. He lets it be known that he does not really care whether or not he convinces his audience and wins his case. He tells Michael at once that he considers the human race "paltry" and that the only humans he deems worthy of his attention are kings. He adds, "And these but as kind of quit-rent to / Assert my right as Lord" (XLI). Thus he has committed one of the most serious blunders a speaker can make: he has let his audience know that he simply does not care about the subject of his speech.

Later, he repeats the mistake even more explicitly: "I have merely argued his / Late Majesty of Britain's case with you / Upon a point of form: you may dispose / Of him; I've kings enough below, God knows!" (LXIV). Because Satan himself is indifferent to the fate of George's soul, his audience is equally indifferent. Thus, when George slips into heaven, there are no voices to raise objections.

Conclusion: Why Satan Loses

In spite of a confident start, some well-choreographed verbal gymnastics, and an appeal to St. Peter's hatred of those who oppress Catholics, Satan does not claim George's soul due to a variety of mistakes. Satan lets it be known early on that he does not care about the case, he specifically enumerates George's positives while neglecting his negatives, and he calls a witness who speaks out in George's favor. If Satan were working for the office of any district attorney in the United States, he would likely find a pink slip on his desk the very next day.

The question that comes to mind is how Satan happened to bungle such a "can't-miss" case. Is it possible he secretly hopes for George to escape his clutches? That interpretation seems unlikely. Although Satan does mention George's virtues on several occasions, it is also clear that he believes the man belongs in hell. "Whose / History was ever as stained as his will be / With natural and individual woes?" (XLV) he asks Michael rhetorically.

Probably the best explanation for the mishandling of George's case can be found in Satan's own words of indifference about the affairs of the world. Speaking of the men of earth, he confides in Michael, "[T]hey are grown so bad, / That Hell has nothing better left to do / Than leave them to themselves; so much more mad / And evil by their own internal curse, / Heaven cannot make them better, nor I worse" (XLI). Prior to calling his first, disastrous witness, he reaffirms, "To me the matter is / Indifferent" (LXIV). Indeed, when King George slips into heaven, Satan makes no protest or outcry.

He is clearly telling the truth when he says he is indifferent to the proceedings. Because he does not care, he makes no special effort to win his case. He is simply going through the motions, arguing "upon a point of form" (LXIV). Like almost any indifferent speaker, he does a poor job, makes a multitude of mistakes, and, unsurprisingly, fails to convince his audience — sealing George III's unlikely passage into eternal rest.