The Character Of Satan In John Milton's Paradise Lost
Milton’s Satan
Paradise Lost is an epic poem written in the 17th century by John Milton. It consists of two books and is written in blank verse. In the poem, Milton describes man’s first act of disobedience to God which led to his fall from Paradise. Milton emerges as a highly ambitious poet in Paradise Lost. He says that it is no ordinary poem but one which will soar great heights. In his own words, Milton tries to ‘justify the ways of God to men’ through the poem.
The narrative of Paradise Lost starts ‘in media res’ i.e. in the middle of things. The beginnings are traced down later as the poem proceeds. There are several characters in this epic poem including God, the Son of God, Satan and the rebel angels- Beelzebub, Mammon, Belial, Moloch etc., Adam, Eve, Uriel, Raphael, Michael and several other angels. But Satan is the most recurring character in the poem and is often considered as the protagonist of Paradise Lost. Through this paper, I shall try to analyze the character of Satan in Paradise Lost as described by John Milton.
Satan is the central character of the epic Paradise Lost by John Milton. He is the first character that we come across in Paradise Lost. Milton however does not show the entire period when Satan was in heaven as an Archangel before his fall but briefly describes it in the beginning of the poem. Satan was thrown down from heaven along with his rebel angels when they rebelled against God. The war lasted three days at the end of which, Satan and the
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