Satan and Paradise Lost - 撒旦与失乐园

Satan and Paradise Lost

A discussion of Milton's Paradise Lost and Satan'srole in it.Investigates the mixture of sympathy and horror evoked by Milton's portrayl of Satan in this work

Ambivalence toward Satan in Paradise Lost is a difficult element to define.On the one hand Satan is our socio-religious inheritance as the embodiment of all the ills of mankind.Thus the name"Satan,"even if merely uttered,connotes horror and repulsion,even to the staunchest atheist.In Paradise Lost,however, at least in the first several books,a characterization of Satan is portrayed in which the audience feels sympathy and fraternity with Satan's character.In addition to an analysis of God's and Satan's characters,there are two perspectives on the content of Paradise Lost which show where the conflict in the reader's perception evolves.

On the more superficial level,meaning the level determined by preconceived notions of the epic's characters,there is a conflict between Satan,pure evil, and God,pure good.Pure evil then continues to lay waste to anything God cherishes in a feeble attempt to exact revenge for his punishment.Our first father and mother,Adam and Eve,are seduced by Satan and made to suffer therefrom.The punishment,determined by God,seems just and merciful in light of mankind's transgression of his sole command,not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.This much is in the mind of any Judeo-Christian or informed reader before the epic is even begun.Thus the details of Satan's transgression,the war in heaven,God's commands and actions,and the characterization of all characters within the epic are subordinate to our foreknowledge.Without a careful analysis everything seems to be in place and to conform,at least generally,to our preconceptions.One cannot help,however, but to feel some ambivalence in the accepted religious convictions.Why?

To answer this question one should wipe all foreknowledge and preconceptions out of the analysis.This of course leads to an inaccurate conclusion since Satan's character in Paradise Lost cannot be separated in the audiences mind nor in its reality from the socio-religious convictions about Satan.Nevertheless, this analysis will reveal the ultimate cause of the ambivalence toward Satan.To illustrate the point better by separating preconception from story,Satan's character will be referred to as Robert and God simply as the king.

Robert lives in a kingdom,but it is a kingdom of general equality and mutual honesty and trust.One day the king,out of the blue,announces that he has decided that his son shall be his successor.Robert feels uneasy about this and calls a third of the kingdom to a conference.In this conference Robert argues that if this kingdom truly rests on equality,honesty,and trust,shouldn't all the