![]() ![]() Satan chooses, using his own free will, to continue down the path of bringing evil into the new perfect world that God has created for man. Not once does he ask for God's redemption in order to serve Him again, nor does he try to serve God's will on Earth. ![]() Instead, his path is selfish as he chooses only to serve himself. He does not need to serve evil he was not made that way.īut he chooses that path, and with no greater noble cause to fight for, he is unable to be a true hero. 98-99), indicating that his path is not the only one available for Satan. God explains that Satan was made "just and right, sufficient to have stood, though free to fall" (3. Readers may find compassion with Satan as if he were a person fighting for a cause he truly believes in as he struggles against what he considers oppression, but the actuality is that his cause is an evil one - the corruption of mankind. To the human mind his intentions may seem rational and understandable, but in the realm of Paradise Lost it is only fitting to see that as the reality of the corruptible human kind. Satan's desires, as human as they may be, are never noble. But he is missing one trait to prevent him from being a true hero: sacrifice for the greater good. ![]() He fits into the criteria for what the hero of an epic poem should be. This deep building of the Satan character gives the illusion that he is a hero. His evil is brought to human level which enables the reader to understand him emotionally while his power is elevated to that of a hero, allowing the reader to see him as a powerful warrior capable of waging war. On top of that, he is still the unfathomably massive being able to lead an army of fallen angels. This makes Satan easy to relate to, which makes him more likeable. He is angry that God holds His Son in higher regard than His angels, who have done so much for him. While logically speaking Satan is not a character to root for, his portrayal is very human in this case. He is the main character leading his men in a revolution against a system that is all powerful. In Book I, he delivers what is in essence a rallying cry to his fellow fallen angel. This essentially lures the reader into viewing him as the character to root for. And like Satan, these heroes were the protagonists of their respected epics. Epic heroes such as Odysseus and Achilles were written with very similar traits: strength beyond that of normal men, natural leaders and warriors, followers who believed in them, deities remaining watchful of their actions, yet imperfect to the death. As a smaller creature compared to God, yet such a powerful creature compared to man, Satan is the most essential character to the entire story. Even before Paradise Lost began, Satan has already undergone his rebellion against God, lost, and been banished from heaven along with his renegades. The fallen Satan takes on the role of protagonist which presents him as a false hero. His williningness to die for man is, in fact, his greatest heroic strength. However this fall is not due to any flaw of his. The Son is not depicted as a warrior at all, but still remains as the savoir of humankind who falls. The complex character of Satan has power beyond measure when compared to man but ultimately falls due to his very human flaw of refusing to bow down before God. Satan is directly constrasted by God's Son, who is not a gloriously strong warrior like the antique heroes. While Satan fits the archetype of an epic hero, he is in fact showing readers that classic heroes are not the true savoirs of the people. ![]() The story of mankind's fall from Eden as written by John Milton in his epic poem Paradise Lost portrays a classically heroic Satan and a modern hero in God's Son, Jesus Christ. ![]()
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