Analysis Of John s Milton s Paradise Lost - 1636 Words

â€Å"...spirits bright/[...] whom my thoughts pursue/With wonder and could love†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Milton 4.361-363). This is but one example of Satan’s sympathy toward humanity in Paradise Lost, John’s Milton’s epic poem that details Satan’s involvement in tempting Adam and Eve to rebel against God, and thus be punished with expulsion from the Garden of Eden. In both Christian and Jewish doctrines, Satan is often painted as a malevolent, treacherous being. Further, many readers often view Satan’s decision to tempt Adam and Eve in Paradise Lost as one that comes from a place of cruelty rather than concern. In this essay, I posit, however, that Milton’s Satan, can be read as a sympathetic figure who considers the best interests of humanity. The beginning†¦show more content†¦Many readers are quick to assume that Satan is an entirely hateful and evil being, yet this passage shows the range of Satan’s emotion. As Satan’s soliloquy continues, it seems to many readers as if Satan aims to make Adam and Eve miserable. However, as the reader continues through this soliloquy, Satan’s good intentions become more obvious when read closely: â€Å"Ah, gentle pair, ye little think how nigh/Your change approaches when all these delights/Will vanish and deliver ye to woe,/More woe the more your taste is now of joy!† (366-369). Satan is aware that his decision to tempt Adam and Eve will cause misery for them, especially due to the fact that the pair experiences nothing but pure bliss while living in the Garden of Eden. It is unsurprising that a reader would interpret this passage as Satan being ill-intentioned. With the knowledge of the fact that Adam and Eve are happy in Paradise, how could Satan be so heartless as to encourage the pair’s misdeeds that will lead to expulsion? This passage can be read as Satan having the intention to cause misery for Adam and Eve, but th ese statements should not be read as one of intention. Rather, Satan acknowledges that Adam and Eve’s loss of innocence will cause misery compared to their current state of blissful ignorance. In this moment, Satan sees his prior angel self in Adam and Eve’s innocence. This is the very definition of empathy. To live in God’sShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1852 Words   |  8 Pagesliterary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot. (2010 AP Literature and Composition) Disobedience and Exile an Analysis of Satan from Milton’s Paradise Lost John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, has been the subject of criticism and interpretation through many years; these interpretations concur in that Adam and Eve are the sufferers of the poem, and it is their blight to lose Paradise because of their disobedience; however, their exile is merely a plight brought by Satan, and it is he who suffersRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost Essay2201 Words   |  9 PagesEve’s story arc in Paradise Lost, by John Milton, is a bildungsroman, the German word for a â€Å"novel of education.† Eve develops through the five stages of a typical bildungsroman character, as demonstrated by several different works from the genre. It will be useful to discuss several different bildungsromans from different eras and regions to fully determine the necessary characteristics of a bildungsroman, like The Odyssey, To Kill a Mockingbird, David Copperfield, Adventures of Huckleberry FinnRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s The Of Paradise Lost 1122 Words   |  5 Pageshumankind could be considered heroic according to well-known author John Milton. Book IX of Paradise lost portrays this sense of heroism through the sins of Adam and Eve, but also creates a sense of controversy through the unexpected personality swap between Satan and of God. This literary work is a major contribution to biblical and literary history; therefore a reason why this work is still read today. The poem must turn tragic, and Milton asserts his intention to show this great fall is more heroic thanRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1606 Words   |  7 PagesIn books one, two, four and nine of Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as heroic, introducing freedom and reason to the minds and lives of humanity. Satan allows his subservient fallen angels, as well as Adam and eve to recognize authority, reason and the true meaning of freedom. The beginning of the story is told through Satan’s point of view, making him the first empathetic character the reader is introduced to. From the very beginning of Book One, Satan explains how him and other fellow angelsRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1499 Words   |  6 Pagesbeing, an epic hero if that being has done what is required. In John Milton’s, â€Å"Paradise Lost†, the character of Satan presents itself as an epic hero, Milton tests that the character of Satan forces the reader to consider the possibility that Satan may actually be a hero, or at the very least, a character worth seeing in a more complex light. This along with the following examples are all showing how the character of Satan in â€Å"Paradise lost†, can be view and is viewed as an epic hero thought the novelRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1071 Words   |  5 Pages Writing AP Exam Essays Advanced Placement English Literature Composition Name Juan Linares Major Work Data Page Paradise Lost Writer/Nationality John Milton/ UK 1608-1674 Theme/Meanings of the work as a whole Disobedience plays a key role in the unfolding of Milton’s poem. Satan disobeys God because God gave him free will, and causes Eve to disobey Adam, to disobey God. Justification of God. Death must happen to the world but because of the Son, DeathRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1035 Words   |  5 PagesSatan is the first figure to speak in Milton’s poems in Paradise Lost. His words to Beelzebub are the sort of utterances a politician would make to his party members after a defeat. It combines convincement with the virtue of emotional manipulation. Satan’s words shift like a dream from expression of grief and sympathy to the restatement of united defiance, to which Beelzebub replies unconsciously. Milton creates this shift so subtly that it is hardly noticed and highlights through this that theRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 869 Words   |  4 PagesIn his epic, Paradise Lost, Milton entertains the reader with his version of how one of the greatest falls of humanity occurred. Although many would consider God or Adam and Eve as the main characters in a story like this, the main character of this epic is truly Satan. Satan is shown as a strong and powerful character who is completely overwhelmed with emotions which create a type of hell in his mind; even when he is in heaven, he cannot escape his true life. Satan’s desire for vengeance on God’sRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost1442 Words   |  6 Pages(Name) (Instructor) (Course) (Date) Heroism in John Milton’s Paradise Lost There are many definitions of a hero, and establishing the hero in John Milton’s Paradise Lost has been object to scholarly debate. One definition of a hero is that by Aristotle, who defined a hero as a person who is divine and superhuman. However, other definitions encompass the aspect of virtue in heroism. Despite all the definitions for a hero, it remains factual that a hero would be someone that the readers would delightRead MoreAnalysis Of John Milton s Paradise Lost 1253 Words   |  6 Pages Students often read John Milton’s works with great difficulty; he is determined to have his audience know his goals and how important his writing is through epic metaphors and masterful language. In Paradise Lost, he tells his audience that this will the epic to end all epics and that this is the most important tale of all mankind: the fall of Man. Comparatively, Alexander Pope used the same style of epic not to tell an important tale, but to question much of the life of ar istocracy in his time