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... n in which Satan emerges in a less favorable light. Stanley Fish in his essay 'The harassed reader in Paradise Lost''s tates that Satan possesses a form of heroism which is easy to admire because it is visible and flamboyant and that, on that basis, Satan's attractiveness is only initial (Fish 189 - 90). B Rajan, on the other hand, writes: 'the heroic qualities which Satan brings to his mission, the fortitude, the steadfast hate, the implacable resolution which is founded on despair are qualities not to be imitated or admired.
They are defiled by the evil to which they are consecrated' (Rajan 190). Nonetheless, it is often Satan's despair, which comes through more potently than his evil intentions. Satan's bravado is most clearly evident in Books I and II when he is able to flaunt before his followers; by Book IV, his feeling of confidence and resolution shows signs of cracking, with Satan talking to himself he is revealing much about his inner torment and self-doubts. As his steadfastness wavers, some of his initial charisma also diminishes, as we become more aware of his ability to fall.
This argument is reinforced by Milton's physical description of Satan. In Books I and II, when just skimmed over, Satan appears an impressive figure, 'in bulk as huge/As whom the fables name of monstrous size' (I. 196 - 7), conspicuous amongst his followers because of his size and his lustre which, although faded, outshines that of his peers (I. 589 - 604). On closer examination, however, it emerges that, even in Book I, Milton has been careful to downgrade Satan. Milton states that Satan 'stood like a tow'r' and that his lustre was like the sun's through mist. The first simile is bare and unqualified and, in essence, tells us nothing about Satan's dimensions nor his stance: a tower may be any size and of too wide a variety of constructions for the simile to be of any significance. The reference to Satan's reduced brightness is a symbol of his fall from glory and failing strength and is mentioned by Ithuriel and Zephon in Book IV when while making fun of they suggest to Satan that his lack of lustre has made him almost unrecognisable.
Our fear and pity for Satan can be considered together since they stem from the same cause. On one level, Satan can be regarded as pitiful as much as pitiable. Although it is undoubtedly not Milton's intention, it is almost possible to view Satan throughout in the light of sympathetic pity, especially if we accept that Satan cannot be something other than what he is no matter how much he wrestles with himself, and is therefore a victim of himself (IV. 18, IX. 473). The temporary illusion in the opening Books that Satan's revolt may not be entirely vain is soon dispelled when we encounter God in Book III and hear Raphael's narrative to Adam in Books V and VI. It is important to remember that although Satan seems the active antagonist and believes that he is acting on his own authority, he is only able to do what God permits him to do. His battle is therefore doomed to failure before it begins and his attempts cannot but inspire fear that he will again be subjected to the wrath of God: 'Of worse deeds worse sufferings must ensue' (IV. 26), and pity for his circumstances.
In the context of God's omnipotence, Satan is dwarfed and his exploits futile, but his nature will not let him relent, even when he acknowledges that God is 'matchless'. Due to the structure of Paradise Lost and the fact that Satan is responsible for luring man into disobedience, we find ourselves following Satan's movements. Our fear for him is pronounced as we accompany him on his lengthy voyage through Chaos and, while we share the torment of his talks given to himself on Earth, we already have the knowledge before hand that he will persevere with his purpose because God has foretold the fall of Adam and Eve in Book III and has already decreed that man may be redeemed by his Son, but that the fallen angels can't be retrieved (III. 129 - 32). Milton employs a variety of animal images throughout Paradise Lost to depict facets of Satan's character: most obviously, the serpent is a symbol of his evilness; as a predator, he is compared to a wolf or vulture; he is a 'proud steed'; and an ironic symbol of death as he alights 'like a cormorant' on the Tree of Life in Paradise, and the image of him sitting 'squat like a toad' by the sleeping Eve, instilling corrupt thoughts into her dreams reveals the ugliness of his evil designs.
Parallels with the insect world are used to describe Satan's followers: as agents of destruction, they are likened to 'a pitchy cloud/Of locusts' as they amass at Satan's command in Book I and, as Satan embarks on his journey to Earth, they are ironically compared with bees variously occupying themselves until their leader's return. Despite the enormity of his flaws of character and Milton's attempts to belittle him, I would argue that our admiration for Satan's strength of resolve and powers of leadership, our fear for his inevitable fate, and our pity for his torment and the very nature of his circumstances are sufficient to render him deserving of tragic status. The fact that critics have often compared him with great tragic figures such as Prometheus, Faustus, Macbeth and Tamburlaine would seem to lend weight to this contention. Concerning Adam and Satan, I would suggest that our fear for Adam is not as great as our fear for Satan. Satan's doom is eternal and the more he perseveres with his plan of corruption, the more we worry about the nature of the retribution which will befall him.
A reason why Adam is not so convincing as a tragic figure is Milton's portrayal of the flaw in his character which leads to his fall, that is, that he ultimately places human love above his obedience to God. He takes the apple Eve offers him because, even though it's against God's command, he cannot bear to lose her. While Adam expressed concern about his love for Eve to Raphael, Milton does not give Adam's flaw sufficient emphasis for it to attain tragic importance and it pales into insignificance against the pride and passion of Satan. We may never know the true reasons for the way Milton portrayed God and Satan, why Satan seems the main hero above all other characters, but maybe William Blake has hit the nail on the head. He suggests that Milton's style reveals his underlying allegiance with Satan, stating: "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels and God, and at liberty when of Devils and Hell, is because he was a true poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it. " Bibliography: Damrosch, David. "The Longman Anthology. " British Literature. Volume One.
Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. , 1999. 1755 - 1904. Fish, Stanley. "Interpreting the Variorum" in Is There a Text in This Class? Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1980. Hughes, Merritt Y. "Satan and the 'Myth' of the Tyrant. " Essays in English Literature from the Renaissance to the Victorian Age Presented to A. S.
P. Woodhouse 1964. Ed. Millar Mac Lure and F. W. Watt.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1964. 125 - 48. Steadman, John M. "The Idea of Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost. " Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 120, 1976. 253 - 94.
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