弥尔顿失乐园中撒旦的形象分析

Though feebler in force, he remains superior in nobility, since he prefers independence to happy servility, and welcomes his defeat and his torments as a glory, a liberty, and a joy:
Though wounded, he triumphs, for the thunder which hit upon his head left his heart invincible : “Yet not for those nor what the potent victor in his rage can else inflict do I repent or change, though changed in outward luster; that fixed mind and high disdain, from sense of injured merit, that with the mightiest raised me to contend.”(line 95) What though the field be lost? All is not; the unconquerable will. And study of revenge, immortal hate, And courage never to submit or yield; And what is else not to be overcome? That glory never shall his wrath or might extort from me. (line 105)
Th’ inferal serpent; he it was whose guile, Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived The mother of mankind, what time his pride Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host Of rebel Angels, by whose aid, aspiring To set himself in glory above his peers, He trusted to have equal’d the Most High, If he opposed, and with ambitious aim Against the throne and monarchy of God, Raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud With vain attempt.
Hero :
Satan is brave and wisdom. He is tired of flattering God and takes arms to fight for freedom. When being faced with God’s mighty power, Satan doesn’t act as a coward(懦夫). On the contrary, he appears even braver. He is not afraid of losing everything. Failure will only strengthen his will and his confidence. When he fall into the Hell, his speech asserts equality, freedom, and nobility of soul. He appears to demand a kind of heavenly democracy; hence, he wants to get freedom. In this sense, Satan, under Milton’s description, is no longer the symbol of evil but stands for the justness, liberty and equality. Also, he is wisdom and capable.
synቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱpsis
Paradise lost is written by John Milton, an outstanding Britain poet in the 17th century. It is a long epic in 12 books, written in blank verse. The stories were taken from the Old Testament: God created the world . Under the guidance of Satan, the rebel angels rise against God, but they defeat and expulsion from Heaven, then the hardships provoked their strong wrath. After God created Adam and Eve, Satan became a snake tempted Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, finally Satan was punished by God. Adam and Eve was kicked out of heaven.
“Farewell happy fields Where joy for ever dwells: hail horrors, hail infernal world, and thou profoundest Hell Receive thy possessor; one who brings A mind not to be changed by place or time. Better to reign in Hell; than serve in Heav’n”
The image of Satan
As the main character of Paradise Lost, Satan is obviously impressive and powerful, whose ambivalence catches all critics’ eyes and leads to centuries’ disputes. Satan is the combination of hero and evil. On the one hand, he is a hero that strong desire for freedom. On the other hand, he is a selfish devil. Satan is an archangelic being with perfect intelligence, but doomed to operate imperfectly. His ambivalence is obviously throughout the whole poem.
Devil
Pride leads Satan to envy, envy to revolt, and revolt to expulsion from heaven. Satan is the embodiment of evil. What’s more, he tempt Adam and Eve to eat fruit. He desires to tear them away from the influence of god and make them tools in his struggle against god’s authority. In the end he becomes a snake.
Paradise lost
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background
In the late 16th century, British bourgeois thought religious reform is still not completed, so they created the Puritan to fight aristocratic class. At the beginning of the 17th century, the British parliament passed the petition of a monarchy, the following year, Stuart dynasty Charles I dissolved the parliament. By the late 1630 s, the Scottish people's revolt, Charles I convened a parliament to raise military expenditure, but parliament rejected of Charles I, so parliament was dissolved by Charles I again. Charles I’s behavior caused outrage, and the Scottish army offensive momentum began to strengthen, then Charles I had to convene again in November 1640, at that time the parliament became a core to against Charles I. It has became a symbol of British bourgeois revolution began.
The difference
The most different between Paradise Lost and Genesis is main character. In Genesis it is Adam and Eve, but in Paradise lost Satan is in a prominent position. Milton uses long length specifically describe how Satan and his followers plot a rebellion, how Satan tempt human eat forbidden fruit. Also, in the Bible, Satan doesn't have much subjective consciousness, whereas Milton make Satan more wisdom and independence.