Satan in Paradise Lost

In Milton's Paradise Lost the figure of Satan presents a contrast between the magnitude of the evil he instigates and the meanness of his character. The contrast extends, in Milton's metaphoric picture of Heaven, Hell, and Paradise even to his physical size and his ability to cross the entire universe, ascend near to heaven, and visit the Sun. Formerly one of God's most glorious creations, and still possessing immense power, Satan fell because of an almost childish level of self-importance. The absurdity of his envious behavior, the foolishness of his attempts to battle God's might, his perpetual self-deluded lies, and his base deceptions are all actions and sins characterized by endless pettiness. His exercise of his free will, one of God's greatest gifts, sent him as low as possible and in his brooding discontent Satan expended his great mental power on low schemes. Satan, the Antichrist, functions in the poem as the direct opposite of Christ in all things. Thus, in comparison with Christ's limitless understanding and benevolence, he is tiny in spirit. Yet, for humanity, the consequences of Satan's smallness of spirit are enormous and Milton's readers were meant to be appalled at the way such evil rose from such humble beginnings.

Since this is a poem meant to "justify the ways of God to men" (I, 26) Milton chose to put his explanation in terms that would make the deepest contact with his readers. To accomplish this he made his Satan the most fascinating characte

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ends with "What though the field be lost?" (I, 105). This could provoke laughter simply because of the tone of a braggart's recovery. But it also provokes a profound sense of Satan's absurdity. The reader knows that Satan lost the Battle and has lost the war even before it began. The deeper irony buried in the line, of course, is that the "field" to which he refers, as if to an individual battle, is Heaven--which truly is lost to Satan. The irony deepens as Satan unwittingly goes on to outline all the absurdities of his position. All is not lost; the unconquerable Will, And study of Revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield: And what is else not to be overcome? (I, 106-9) He boasts that his immortal hate and invincible will can overcome anything. But the reader is perfectly aware of the utter emptiness of his claims and their futility reduces Satan's towering figure to the status of a mere child kicking against an immovable building. But Satan goes on with his plotting, despite its perfectly obvious futility, and it is his wrongheaded persistence that strikes the reader most forcefully because Milton wished Satan to be understood as "a commentary " on "human frustration and fulfillment" and "a strat

Category: Literature - S