A Brief Introduction
This is my critical analysis of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from using the words here as your own, or messaging me with your own opinion of my analysis. I was assigned this topic as my final assignment for my twelfth grade English course. I'm only human and acknowledge the fact that I may have made some mistakes, or overlooked some crucial information. This essay basically entails my analysis of the characters and which aspect of "evil" they portray. I covered Satan as the most obvious representation of evil. I touched on how his pride resulted not only in his own personal fall but in the fall of man as well. I discussed Adam and Eve's flaws which ultimately caused their fall through Satan's manipulation. Not only does this essay include my analysis, but I have also touched on Milton's life and what were his inspirations as an author. Just a fact about Milton's life that I found interesting; not only did Milton write poetry, he also wrote political essays. These essays challenged the people in power at the time. Milton ended up going into hiding to escape execution. In my opinion the fact that Milton opposed his political leaders paints him in the same light as his character, Satan. Satan also rebelled against the people or entities in "political power". He was forced from Heaven and sent into hell. He carried out his plans in secrecy. Similar to how Milton was forced to go into hiding for his political views. The demons portrayed in Paradise Lost posess several human like qualities. These qualities are amplified to the point of being evil. In my opinion we all have the potential to give into evil. - WallFlower
The Personification of Sin and Evil in Paradise Lost
Sin is said to have the head and torso of a woman; and the lower half of a snake. John Milton’s Paradise Lost is filled with grotesque characters. These characters embody characteristics that each and every one of us exhibit. However, these characters and characteristics seem to be amplified within Paradise Lost.
To me, Paradise Lost is far more complex than good versus evil. It can almost be perceived as a study of human nature. Why do we as people do the things we do? This is a question that I am constantly plagued by. From closely analyzing John Milton’s Satan, and his fallen ones, we can move one step closer to understanding what drives us. Paradise Lost is still seen as a major aspect of English literature in modern times. It is still relevant to society and studied today. It raises questions about creation, good versus evil, and war (Ottenhoff 1).
One of the main literary devices used through Paradise Lost is personification. John Milton uses his characters as tools to personify certain aspects of human nature, such as pride. These little flaws in our character are amplified to the point of being horribly evil. I am going to be discussing Milton’s personification of sin and evil.
John Milton was born in the city of London on December 9, 1608 (Labriola 1). His father was a composer of church music. Milton lived in a wealthy neighborhood and had a reasonably happy childhood. Due to his father’s work as a composer, Milton was constantly being exposed to pieces of literature. Milton’s father had him instructed in grammar school. He also paid several private tutors to instruct John at home. By the age of seven he had become a student at ST. Paul’s school. In the year of 1625 Milton attended Christ’s College in Cambridge. His ultimate goal being to become a minister (Linn 2).
Milton became increasingly disappointed with Christ’s college. Milton received his BA and later his MA. After receiving these degrees he moved into his father’s country home. He stayed there for six years (Linn 3). Having spent six years focusing on his writing, Milton decided to go on a tour of Europe. During this tour he met several well known people of this time period. Many scholars agree that these people were major influences on Milton’s own writing. In 1638 Milton met Hugo Gratius, a Dutch legal scholar, and Galileo (Linn 4/Mcgoodwin 1). Milton mentions the telescope and planetary motion in Paradise Lost (Linn 4). Civil war had broken out in England, and Milton was forced to return home. Milton became a school master for children of wealthy families (Linn 4).
In the year of 1642, Milton married Mary Powell of Oxford England (Skerpan-Wheeley 1). A month after the ceremony Mary returned home to Oxford (Linn 5). Several years later she returned to Milton and soon after, her entire family had moved in with them. In 1646 Milton’s first daughter was born, and both his father and father in law had passed away. The Powell family returned to Oxford (Linn 5).
While attending college, Milton published several essays and poems (Sparknotes 1). Milton’s writing centered around his religious and political views. His writing was his way of expressing these views in a widespread manner. Milton believed that poetry should be a method through which we celebrate God. Not only that, but poetry should bring its reader closer to God. His poems were dripping with his Puritan ideals (Sparknotes 2).
Not only was Milton a well known poet, he also wrote essays and pamphlets. These essays and pamphlets pertained to his political views. His views were not the same as most of England’s. His political writing was not as successful as his poems. Milton was even subjected to threats from the people in power (Sparknotes 2).
Milton advocated the absolute freedom of people. He believed that people were easily corrupted and that power easily corrupted them. His writing preached against the institution. Milton also believed that in order to gain a position of power you should prove your worthiness. Even though he was an activist against England’s leaders, he believed in a strict political hierarchy. Despite his own beliefs, Milton considered the hierarchy in existence to be extremely corrupt. The majority of Milton’s work in the area of politics preached against the rule of Charles the first (Sparknotes 2). After the death of Oliver Cromwell, Milton retreated into hiding in order to escape execution (Linn 6).
As early as the age of sixteen, Milton tossed around the idea of writing an epic. At first he considered writing an edition to the stories of King Arthur. After the execution of King Charles, his idea for an epic changed. Milton considered writing about Cromwell’s reign over England. Judging from these topics it is obvious Milton wanted his writing to bring forth the feeling of pride in his readers. Milton, once again, abandoned his ideas. Soon he had given up the idea of writing an epic altogether (Sparknotes 3). Later on Milton returned to an idea originally for a play, the story of Adam and Eve (Sparknotes 3).
There are many possible reasons for the subject of his epic to change. The changes in his life brought about new ideas. Milton had seen a King’s execution and another’s rise and fall. He had been forced to live in hiding and at one point the had even been imprisoned. His hopes for the purification of the church had fallen apart. He had lost his eyesight, two wives, and two children. Milton had nothing left but his obedience to God. Milton’s final idea for an epic poem, Paradise Lost, mocked other epics and supported obedience to God (Linn 10).
Scholars suggest that Milton began working on Paradise Lost as early as 1642. Speeches and poems of his earlier works, no doubt, became a part of his epic(Linn 10). Despite all of this, strong evidence suggests that the poem was not started until some time in the late 1600’s. The blind Milton recited his poem aloud to his daughters, who in turn wrote it down. These dictation’s continued on for quite a few years until Paradise Lost’s publication in 1667 (Sparknotes 3). The first publication was a group of ten books. Later Milton revised these books and had them published again in 1671. This new addition was published in a series of twelve books (Sparknotes 3).
Personification is a literary device that any reader of Paradise Lost will see throughout its pages. Personification is the act of giving human characteristics to nonhuman things (Kinchella R16). John Milton’s Satan is the personification of all evil. Paradise Lost is a tool through which John Milton has successfully humanized the Devil. Seeing the inner workings of Satan’s mind, all of his doubts, has the reader sympathizing with his plight.
Satan starts off as one of God’s angels. Obviously he is inherently good considering he was created by God. He becomes a creature of evil by his own accord. The son of God becomes God’s “right hand man” (Shelley 1). He is above Satan in the hierarchy. Satan refuses to serve the Son of God, instead he becomes envious of his relationship with God. Early on in the poem Satan exhibits pride and jealousy. Even in Heaven he thinks only of himself.
His envy creates Sin. Sin is the daughter of Satan. Through an incestuous relationship with Sin, Satan fathers Death(Bookrags 1). This unholy union almost seems to be a perversion of the Trinity. Milton’s Son of God is a manifestation of God, almost as if he is a part of God (SparkNotes 7). The fact that Sin sprang forth from Satan’s head can be perceived as a mockery of their relationship.
Satan and his followers wage war with God in an attempt to overthrow a hierarchy Satan sees as being corrupt (Paradise Lost 1). The Son of God casts them out of Heaven and imprisons them in a lake of fire (Linn 21). This fire gives off no light. Despite the fact that Hell completely lacks light, the fallen angels are still able to see. The lack of light suggests that Hell as a place in its self may in fact be evil. The lack of light symbolizes a lack of God’s love.
Beelzebub is Satan’s second in command (Linn 16). Like Satan, Beelzebub is the embodiment of all that is corrupt. He has an eloquent way about him, and can persuade anyone to his side of any situation. He is a completely rational being. He uses his talents of persuasion in corrupt ways (SparkNotes 10). Basically Beelzebub is the equivalent to a smooth talking conman.
Satan appears to have a hierarchy of demons that mirrors God’s hierarchy of angels. In this hierarchy the reader can expect to find the most vile and evil creatures that Hell has to offer. Moloch may be the most vile of them all. He is a blood thirsty demon that is in favor of total war with Heaven (Linn 17). Moloch is irrational and lacks skills of persuasion. It seems as if he does not need a reason to murder. Unlike God’s angels Moloch completely lacks compassion, he is the personification of war and violence.
Not only is this Hierarchy composed of blood thirsty fiends, it also contains Hell’s best and brightest. Belial argues against further war with God. Unlike Moloch who craves bloodshed, Belial uses his cunning intelligence to persuade against the war (SparkNotes 10). His reasoning is flawed but he manages to convince many of the devils to side with him. His arguments are against war simply because he is the embodiment of laziness, and sloth. Instead of fighting for a cause that he sees as being just, he would rather lay around.
No matter if they are arguing for or against the war, their arguments are still flawed. Mammon’s greed gets the better of him and he too decides against the war (SparkNotes 10). He suggests that hell is an amazing financial opportunity. He argues that instead of war they should mine the minerals found in hell (SparkNotes 10). Greed is a quality that most, if not all human beings portray. Money makes the world spin, and we will do what it takes to get paid. Some times even resulting to drastic measures. Mammon is John Milton’s tool to mock the greed in the world. Mammon is said to walk stooped over peering at the ground as if in search of coins (Linn 16). This suggests that in our search for riches we miss the world and what happens around us.
Not all of Satan’s devils appear to be interested in lazing around or looking for riches. One of his demon’s has a practical skill. Satan resides in the palace of Pandemonium, the capital of Hell (SparkNotes 10). Mulciber built this palace, and is said to posses amazing architectural skills. He sided with Satan in the battle against God. He uses his skills as an architect to house the demons. This is yet another example of using a great skill for all the wrong reasons.
Satan is far more complex than any demon mentioned so far. The demons mentioned have been the personification of individual sins. Satan is a creature of all evils. He is driven by one goal and that goal in its self is a sin. Revenge against God is what drives him. Satan feels that God has wronged him by demoting him in the hierarchy. This feeling has brought Satan to the bring of insanity. He has long since lost his ability to reason morally. He is a creature of contorted reason (SparkNotes 9). He has the ability to use his words in such a way that he can convince anyone to agree with him on any subject. He convinces one third of all God’s angels to join him in his rebellion (Miller 2). He appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent and led her to the forbidden tree. She could find absolutely not flaws in his logic and so she ate from the tree (Miller 6). These are prime examples of Satan’s flawed, but successful, reasoning skills.
Satan’s greatest undoing is his pride. His pride can be seen as his tragic flaw. If not for his pride, he and his band of rebel angels may in fact still be a part of Heaven. His pride is the root of the fall. The fall of the angels as well as man’s own fall was caused by Satan’s pride. He envied the Son of God, and because of his pride, he flat out refused to be subservient under his rule. He waged war and was cast into Hell. He, along with his devils, plotted their revenge against God. Some advocated war and others suggested they wait out their punishment until forgiveness was offered. Satan’s need for revenge brought mankind on to his radar. He decided that if he could not attack God, then in a round-about-way causing the fall of man would be his revenge. He tempted man and of their own free will they fell victim to the false promises that fell from Satan’s lips. This was perhaps the most sinful attempt at revenge of all. He, Satan, had tainted God’s creation, this sealing his fate. His speech, the one that won over a great number of angels, is blasphemous. He speaks against the judgment of God when he refuses to serve the Son. The birth of his daughter sin, and son Death is a mockery of the Trinity. Through sin, his envy of the Son of God, he creates Sin. Sin and Death are a part of Satan’s being. Even though Sin has never seen Hell, she as a quality reigns supreme (Miller 21).
Satan makes promise after promises in an effort to ultimately obtain what he wants. He promises to help Chaos gain back the territory he lost to creation (Miller 4). This promise in its making was undone. It could not be kept due to the fact that Hell just as much as Heaven is a part of creation. In exchange for this promise Chaos gives Satan directions to the home of man. This too can be perceived as an example of Satan’s power of persuasion.
While some may consider Satan the hero of Paradise Lost, that is not the case. Satan and his rebels are given the chance to atone for their sins over and over again. Instead of admitting that God is the only truth, they choose to go on resisting. God is the only God and Satan’s resistance is futile. Even Satan’s resistance is futile. Even in Hell he is forced to answer to God. Satan’s stubbornness and ultimately his pride are the very reasons he is to remain in Hell, and why he is not the hero of the poem.
Paradise Lost actually has two epic heroes. From the point of their creation, Adam and Eve have an adult consciousness (Miller, Timothy 2). They are aware of what is perceived as being right, and wrong in the eyes of God. The angels that fell along with Satan were capable of making their own decisions and they chose to side with Satan. The fact that the angels were given the power to make their own choices, and still fell should serve as a warning for Adam and Eve (Miller, Timothy 3). Adam and Eve are lesser creatures that the angels even though they were created in God’s image. The fact that they lived on earth and the angels in Heaven supports that fact. If creatures that lived so close to God could still fall prey to the seductive tongue of the Devil then surely so could they.
Eve’s sin manifests its self in the form of curiosity and vanity (Miller, Timothy 3). She listens to the promises that Satan, in the form of a serpent, makes. Satan says that he gained the ability of speech after eating from the tree. He also goes on to say that the knowledge he gained from the tree made him seek out Eve in order to worship her God like nature and beauty (SparkNotes 12). Once mentioning her beauty Satan knows he has found her weakness. He tells her of the knowledge she will gain after eating from the tree. He says that he cannot be wrong considering the fruit made him worship her beauty. Torn between her curiosity and obedience to God she informs Satan, the serpent, that she, as well as Adam, is forbidden to eat from the tree. Satan says that this is one of God’s tests. That God is testing Adam and Eve’s independent will (SparkNotes 12). That line is probably the most truthful of all the things Satan says in John Milton’s poem. The tree is forbidden to Adam and Eve as a test of their will. God creates them with the ability to make their own choices. This tree is to test whether they will make the right decision in choosing between good and evil (SparkNotes 12).
Eve, completely convinced by Satan’s lies, eats the fruit from the tree. She feels an almost instantaneous change. Her first bite from that tree symbolizes the fall of man. Her first thought after the fall is to bring Adam down with her. Obviously this thought is fueled by Eve’s selfish and vain nature. She cannot bear to think of Adam living happily in Paradise with another woman while she is cast out. Immediately Adam knows what Eve has done. He decides that he can not live without her and eats the fruit from the tree (SparkNotes 12). Not only has Adam defied the very law of God, but he has chosen Eve and her beauty over the love of God. After partaking of the fruit Adam is consumed by lust. He lusts for Eve and they act on this lust. Having acted on pure lust instead of love they have committed yet another sin. After waking they see what they have done. The only knowledge they have gained is the knowledge of what once was good, and what is now corrupted by sin. They are filled with shame and regret for the first time (SparkNotes 12).
The act of willingly defying the rule of God is obviously one sinful quality of this pair. Satan plays on minor flaws of their’s in order to succeed in bringing about the fall of man. Adam and Eve were far from being perfect, some small seed of evil had to exist in them in order for Satan’s words to nurture it and cause it to grow. Had Adam and Even truly been perfect beings without sin we would probably still be a part of God’s Paradise.
John Milton’s characters are, in essence, the embodiments of human nature amplified into evil. Paradise Lost is a great tool for understanding the fall of man and God’s reasoning behind letting the fall happen. Milton does an amazing job of brining Satan into a more human light. After reading Paradise Lost, the reader may feel as if he or she know the devil, and understand what motivates his evil. The poem is laced with John Milton’s religious views and seems to be based on how things happened in the Bible. Of course some things were altered in order to give it that special quality that makes it unique, that thing that truly makes it his. Maybe its the fact that Paradise Lost not only serves its purpose of informing us of the fall, but it also shows the reader just how easy it is to be seduced by evil.
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- This essay was written by WallFlower
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