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Satan As A Tragic Hero In Paradise Lost

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In John Milton’s Paradise Lost he writes a story of the downfall of Satan followed by humanity. Satan becomes the ultimate antagonist and truly faces a downfall due to his hubris and ambitious personality. Satan’s fall from a very prestigious position clarifies him enough to be considered as a tragic hero; however, the reasons behind his fall truly prove him to be the text book version of a tragic hero. Whether it be his relentless desire to be at the same position as God, or his desire to ruin the minds of all humanity, Satan makes an error in judgment that will inevitably lead to his ruin. Satan’s downfall, fatal flaw, and recognition of this mistake characterize him as the perfect candidate of a tragic hero. Satan begins the story in a well-respected position alongside God and many other admirable angels; however, he quickly is faced with a downfall. Satan goes from the highest form of regard to the lowest in such a short amount of time truly proving he is a tragic hero. Not …show more content…

When on his journey to corrupt Adam and Eve, Satan begins to question his reasoning behind following this way of life. He realizes his tragic flaw of vengeance when “he falls into many doubts with himself, and many passions, fear, envy, and despair” (Milton IV. 3-4). He has a moment of weakness when he is on the way to the Garden which allows him to realize he has choose to negatively follow his ambition, vengeance, and pride over his obedience to God. He has another moment of realization when he arrives at the Garden and see’s Adam and Eve for the first time, and “his wonder at their excellent form and happy state” proves he shows signs of remorse (Milton IV. 9-10). Although these small moments of remorse are show by Satan due to him recognizing his tragic flaw and downfall, he nevertheless chooses vengeance over repentance every

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