Paradise Lost Book 1

Poetry | John Milton

Discuss Satan as a Renaissance Hero

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What impression of Satan do you form from your reading Book- of Paradise Lost Or How does Milton portray Satan's character in Book of Paradise Lost Or Do you consider Satan the hero of Paradise Lost Book Show arguments in favour of your answer Or Discuss Satan as a hero possessing Renaissance qualities Or Discuss Satan as a Renaissance hero John Milton - is famous for his most popular epic Paradise Lost In the epic poem he describes the fall of Satan and the exclusion of Adam and Eve In the Book of Paradise Lost Milton sketches Satan as a hero of the Renaissance Milton defines Satan as the most powerful figure of the Renaissance Let s go far and find out the features that can prove Satan to be a Renaissance hero Adventurous Attitude To present the character of Satan in front of the readers Milton displays the chivalric

and adventurous outlook of Satan He is such a character who cannot bear to be a servant He is a character who likes to lead As he says - Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven The above lines prove that Satan can live in a place like Hell It is impossible for him to live in Heaven as a servant though Heaven is a place of eternal peace Heroic Leadership One of the features of the Renaissance is heroic leadership It is developed through Satan so finely by Milton Satan as a leader and true protagonist chooses to accept the harsh situation of Hell He acts as a hero to the other fallen angels Hell is now Heaven for him because at least no one is here to rule over him He will reign here He is the only king of this place Meanwhile Satan says - Farewel happy Fields Where Joy for ever dwells Hail horrours hail Classical Model There was a trend in using the classical model of the character in English poetry So Milton also uses Satan as the classical model of his epic poem To prove him as a classical model Milton describes the objects Satan bears For example the shield and the spear that Satan carries have been compared with the moon Milton says Hung on his shoulders like the moon Milton also compared Satan with the largest sea-monster Leviathan to imply his power Morality and intellectuality From this point Satan stands as a great political figure He possessed with unbeatable courage stubbornness and lust for revenge His indomitable wish and undying lust for revenge can be clearly traced in the following lines that he tells Beelzebub - To be weak is miserable Doing or suffering Satan s determination to reign is proved in the above lines He does not know anything except do or die It reveals that either you stand against your opponent or you accept your slavery Riot against the authority There was also a trend in the Renaissance that is to revolt against the authority of the church To create the character of Satan Milton also forged the exact flavour in him Likewise he also stands against God He works as a rebel alongside the monarchy of God In his declaration of the assembly of the fallen angels it is clear that he has a strong hatred for God Like the fallen Angels he wants a war whether it would be open or secret against the Almighty To sum up the character of Satan in Paradise Lost- Book I is of course evil but also a dominating Renaissance character at a time It can be said that he stands as a representative of the eternal evil He has indomitable will power stubbornness courageous mind as the leader of the fallen angels nbsp

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