7/28/2019 BHKS
1/1
The character of Satan is one of the greatest creation in
English literature. The portrayal of
Satan has led to much critical discussion and controversy. We
have, however, to confine our
attention to Book I .Book one is dominated entirely by Satan,
and his character is revealed to us
in considerable details. There can be no doubt whatsoever that
Milton has endowed Satan with
certain attributes worthy of epic heros.But he has also
highlighted the fact that satan is a
personification of evil. As we read through Book I, we
experience mingled feelings of admirationand repulsion vis--vis the
character of Satan. We find that Satanis a blend of the noble and
the
ignoble, the exalted and the mean, the great and the low. It us
for this reason inevitable that our
reaction to Satan should be marked by a dualism. It is not
possible for us to declare in
categorical terms that Satan is an epic hero in Book I, or to
assert that Satan has been
portrayed wholly as a villain here.
Let us trace the stage by which Milton Builds up Satans
character (in Book I). the very first
reference to Satan is highly derogatory. In fact Miltons true
attitude towards Satan comes out
clearly in this reference.
After posing the question:Who first seduced them(our
grand-parents:Adam andEve) to that foulrevolt ?,
Paradise Lost is the product of a Puritans prolonged meditation
on the Bible. It paints the
visions which the bible has given him.he lets nothing intervene
between the Bible and himself.
He allows himself complete liberty In interpreting it. But he
puts his entire faith in it. He accepts
the whole of biblical history as genuine and sacred. But he
retells it as one who bears all the
burden of contermporary knowledge, whose personalit is intense
and self-centred, and who has
little dramatic sense. He projecta himself, his feelings,
knowledge, and aspirations into the
characters of his epic, both the primitive human creatures and
the super- human beings,
whether belonging to heaven or hell.
The strange result is ceaseless conflict between his faith and
his temperament which deflects
the poem from its purpose and divides his sympathy in spite of
poets intention.the moral thesis
of the account of the creation in the Bible is complete
submission to God. But Milton, who
wished to emphasis this oral, had an independent spirit anf had
lived independently. He had
welcomed and advocated the rebellion against theprelates and
even the King, and celebrated
the glories of regicide. Inj spite of himself , he was in deep
sympathy with Satan, the great rebel
of Heaven and the enemy of God. The pride and indomitable
courage of the rebellious angel
stirred in him the emotion of interest hours of his life, and he
coulf not help seeing god as the
king of England, surrounded by submissive and meek angels, as by
creatures
