Satan and Eve
Satan and Eve
Published in 1674 John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost is an ambitious retelling of Satan and Mankind’s fall from grace. While today it is generally thought of as a straightforward recount of the book of Genesis as interpreted by a devout Christian, the poem itself contains far more moral ambiguity then one would expect. Milton may have been unwaveringly devoted to Christianity and Puritanism, but he was also deeply distrustful of the church. He attended college with the intention to become a clergymen, but became disenchanted with the career. Years later he wrote several pamphlets advocating looser divorce laws with arguments based on a non-literal reading of the gospel, all of which directly contradicted church teachings. Milton, therefore, is far from the fervent church goer he is often remembered as. His belief in God was as solid as his cynicism towards the church, and this contradictory nature reveals itself throughout the poem. Two of the poems main characters, Satan and Eve are both portrayed in a more nuanced and sympathetic manner then they are in the book of Genesis. They are also much more central to the plot. Satan especially, dominates the first part of the poem while Eve, and Adam, are introduced in the middle of the poem, and take on a greater role towards the end of it. Yet for all their similarities there are several key differences between Satan and Eve that lead the characters to two different endings. As is befitting the prince of darkness Milton’s Satan is one of the most contradictory characters in all of English literature. He is both the poem’s antagonist, and its first empathetic character. He is introduced in Book 1 shortly after his defeat at the hands of heaven when he has been damned “To bottomless perdition, there to dwell/ In adamantine chains and penal fire” (47-48), here already Milton is cultivating sympathy for him. The image of an immortal bound in chains by God alludes to the myth of Prometheus, the Greek god
Published in 1674 John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost is an ambitious retelling of Satan and Mankind’s fall from grace. While today it is generally thought of as a straightforward recount of the book of Genesis as interpreted by a devout Christian, the poem itself contains far more moral ambiguity then one would expect. Milton may have been unwaveringly devoted to Christianity and Puritanism, but he was also deeply distrustful of the church. He attended college with the intention to become a clergymen, but became disenchanted with the career. Years later he wrote several pamphlets advocating looser divorce laws with arguments based on a non-literal reading of the gospel, all of which directly contradicted church teachings. Milton, therefore, is far from the fervent church goer he is often remembered as. His belief in God was as solid as his cynicism towards the church, and this contradictory nature reveals itself throughout the poem. Two of the poems main characters, Satan and Eve are both portrayed in a more nuanced and sympathetic manner then they are in the book of Genesis. They are also much more central to the plot. Satan especially, dominates the first part of the poem while Eve, and Adam, are introduced in the middle of the poem, and take on a greater role towards the end of it. Yet for all their similarities there are several key differences between Satan and Eve that lead the characters to two different endings. As is befitting the prince of darkness Milton’s Satan is one of the most contradictory characters in all of English literature. He is both the poem’s antagonist, and its first empathetic character. He is introduced in Book 1 shortly after his defeat at the hands of heaven when he has been damned “To bottomless perdition, there to dwell/ In adamantine chains and penal fire” (47-48), here already Milton is cultivating sympathy for him. The image of an immortal bound in chains by God alludes to the myth of Prometheus, the Greek god
Cited: Milton, John. Paradise Lost The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 1385. Print.