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British Poetry

Notes 10. Which scene happens first chronologically?
(a) Satan and the devils rise up from the lake in Hell
(b) The son is chosen as God’s second-in-command
(c) God and the son create the universe
(d) The angels battle in Heaven

22.6 Paradise Lost-I: Grand Style and Character Portrayal of Satan

22.6.1 Character Portrayal of Satan

Some readers consider 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. This
goal, however, is evil, and Adam and Eve are the moral heroes at the end of the story, as they help to
begin humankind’s slow process of redemption and salvation. Satan is far from being the story’s
object of admiration, as most heroes are. Nor does it make sense for readers to celebrate or emulate
him, as they might with a true hero. Yet there are many compelling qualities to his character that
make him intriguing to readers.
One source of Satan’s fascination for us is that he is an extremely complex and subtle character. It
would be difficult, perhaps impossible, for Milton to make perfect, infallible characters such as God
the Father, God the Son, and the angels as interesting to read about as the flawed characters, such as
Satan, Adam, and Eve. Satan, moreover, strikes a grand and majestic figure, apparently unafraid of
being damned eternally, and uncowed by such terrifying figures as Chaos or Death. Many readers
have argued that Milton deliberately makes Satan 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 greatest
fault is his pride. He casts himself as an innocent victim, overlooked for an important promotion.
But his ability to think so selfishly in Heaven, where all angels are equal and loved and happy, is
surprising. His confidence in thinking that he could ever overthrow God displays tremendous vanity
and pride. When Satan shares his pain and alienation as he reaches Earth in Book IV, we may feel
somewhat sympathetic to him or even identify with him. But Satan continues to devote himself to
evil. Every speech he gives is fraudulent and every story he tells is a lie. He works diligently to trick
his fellow devils in Hell by having Beelzebub present Satan’s own plan of action.
Satan’s character—or our perception of his 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 slinks back to Hell in serpent form. Satan’s gradual
degradation is dramatized by the sequence of different shapes he assumes. He begins the poem as
a just-fallen angel of enormous stature, looks like a comet or meteor as he leaves Hell, then disguises
himself as a more humble cherub, then as a cormorant, a toad, and finally a snake. His ability to
reason and argue also deteriorates. In Book I, he persuades the devils to agree to his plan. In Book
IV, however, he reasons to himself that the Hell he feels inside of him is reason to do more evil.
When he returns to Earth again, he believes that Earth is more beautiful than Heaven, and that he
may be able to live on Earth after all. Satan, removed from Heaven long enough to forget its
unparalleled grandeur, is completely demented, coming to believe in his own lies. He is a picture of
incessant intellectual activity without the ability to think morally. Once a powerful angel, he has
become blinded to God’s grace, forever unable to reconcile his past with his eternal punishment.

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