Satan: Hero Or Anti-hero in Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost is one of John Milton’s greatest works, as well as, one of his most controversial. The epic encapsulates the events that occurred in the Bible, more specifically the Book of Genesis, with a Miltonic twist. Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, which became known as the Original Sin. Their subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden is highlighted over the course of twelve books. According to Milton, the purpose of Paradise Lost is to “justifie the wayes of God to men’. The age-old question “Why does God let bad things happen in this world?” has a relatively simple answer: felix culpa or “fortunate fall.” Adam and Eve’s sin allows God’s purpose to be fulfilled and humanity to have a chance at redemption. Despite the essential story focusing on Adam and Eve, Satan plays a major role in Paradise Lost. Formerly named Lucifer, Satan was a beautiful angel who grew to hate God because of His power and dominion over everything; therefore, he and several other angels decided to rebel and were forcefully removed from Heaven. Throughout the whole of Paradise Lost, Milton sets Satan with more human traits that make him more likeable and relatable, much to the chagrin of the more religious readers. However, these traits slowly transform into more sinister traits as he puts his needs over those he is meant to rule. Readers and scholars alike find him a complex and controversial character. Subsequently, Milton parallels Satan’s Fall with the Fall of Man to, essentially, emphasize how much humanity has fallen from grace. Milton mimics the writers of classical antiquity by characterizing Satan enough for him to obtain the status of hero or anti-hero. Scholars debate this matter as the term “hero” is rather ambiguous, especially in the place and time the word is used. While labelling Satan as the hero is understandable as he is one of the major protagonists, he is more suited for the role of anti-hero as his virtues are driven by his desire to commit evil.

Before delving into Satan’s anti-heroic qualities, Milton himself needs to be addressed. Impoverished and blind, Milton dictated Paradise Lost. Scholars debate whether or not Milton’s personal beliefs are interwoven into the lines of the epic itself; more than likely, that is the case. Other works of Milton, such as The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and Areopagitica, highlight the atrocities those in power enact upon the common people. Paradise Lost parallels Milton’s own struggles against tyrannical monarchs and Parliament, which makes him Satan and those in power God. Jamal Subhi Ismail Nafi,’ author of “Milton’s Portrayal of Satan in Paradise Lost and the Notion of Heroism,” notes:

In the words of Banisalamah (2015), people of the seventeenth century were encouraged to and inspired by the revolutionary writings of Milton, who was a Puritan poet, to seek freedom from the king and the Roman Catholic Church, in order to improve their conditions and live a more pleasant life…..

Consequently, this idea of revolt seems to have stemmed from Romanticism, a philosophy that deplored established authorities and encouraged the creation of one’s own personality. William Blake stated Milton was “of the devil’s party without knowing it,” which is an interesting claim to make. In Milton’s time, such an assumption seemed quite plausible. Aforementioned, Satan rebelled against God and was removed from Heaven. Rebellion is regarded as an act that disrupts the natural order of things. For all intents and purposes, God is the monarch and has an entire hierarchy beneath him. Satan creates a perverse version of that. In political terms, Milton hails revolutionary ideas from Christian Humanism, which is a movement that had renewed zeal for the state of humanity within the Christian faith, as well as, spiritual growth, among other principles. Wayne A. Rebhorn, author of “ The Humanist Tradition and Milton’s Satan: The Conservative as Revolutionary,” evaluates Satan in conservative terms, as far as his “fallen mentality” in book four. He states:

Satan’s fallen mentality conceives the universe in political terms, where Fate is supreme and God, a tyrant who removes the devils in an act of divine nepotism. When Satan rebels, he justifies himself on paradoxically ‘conservative’ grounds: he would restore an order God disturbed. While Satan clearly misconceives the universal order, deriving merit simply from hierarchical position, his conservatism clashes directly with the beliefs of Christian Humanism which lie behind Milton’s revolutionary attitudes. For Christian Humanists, one’s position depended entirely on merit which was identified with moral and spiritual achievement.

Interestingly enough, Satan is quite aware of his predicament; he knows what he must do if he wants to return to Heaven and live as he once did. However, Satan’s epiphany is perverted. Satan views repentance and submission with the same lens. In political terms, Satan has a conservative agenda to make everything return to the status quo. Submission is a pill he refuses to swallow; therefore, his war against Heaven is described in terms of rebellion against tyranny. Milton essentially uses Satan’s rebellion as a parody of “true revolution” within Paradise Lost (Rebhorn 86). In the view of Christian Humanism, Milton places Satan’s conservative, self-serving goals at the end of the spectrum of being able to usurp God and his power. Satan’s heroic status is of his own making.

Most, if not all, epics have a hero. Some scholars believe Satan is the hero of Paradise Lost. In classical antiquity, the hero would have godlike powers or be the offspring of God or gods and is usually the leader of a group. In the first two books, readers gather the sense of Satan being heroic because the readers are seeing how he sees himself. Nafi’ notes the incongruence with Satan’s speeches. He states: “Milton’s brief comments on Satan seem out of tune with the stirring quality of Satan’s speeches. These comments seem harsh and unsympathetic but they serve to remind us of the extent to which we are being carried away by Satan’s glamour and rhetoric”.

Satan is meant to be an excellent orator; it emphasizes his alluringly deceptive behavior. Words hold power and can make-or-break a situation. John M. Steadman, author of “Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost,” notes:

“The spiritual realities underlying these superficial ‘accidents’ of heroism are apparent from the very beginning of the poem in spite of (or indeed through) the devil’s own word”.

Of course, his heroic qualities include bravery, loyalty, generosity, et cetera., but these traits are held in the sense of the Romantics. Nafi’ highlights “Milton has exposed all those false romantic notions of heroism as egotistical magnificence, the idea that heroic energy in a bad cause is admirable”. Over the course of Paradise Lost, Satan’s words coupled with his actions morph his outward appearance from an angel into a devil. Steadman states Satan’s transformation“…..involves a dramatic change from the symbolic form of heroic virtue to the symbolic form of its contrary vice. The degradation of Satan’s morals, essentially, decreates him into a villainous creature, hell-bent on perverting all the good God has created.

To expound on Satan’s status as anti-hero, defining the term in regards as a Miltonic anti-hero is appropriate. In short, a protagonist that is good from a worldly perspective and is evil from a theological perspective; therefore, the combination of good and evil creates moral ambiguity. Satan is the hero in his own story, while he serves God’s purpose of spreading evil across the world. Likewise, the combining of good and evil extends to heroism and villainy. Essentially, Satan acts as a paradox within Paradise Lost. When he rebelled, he aimed to upset the natural order of things. However, Satan fulfilled God’s purpose in spreading the evil that would balance with the good; thus, maintaining it. Satan’s status as a Miltonic anti-hero subverts the age-old belief of an epic hero by resembling what readers should not admire, but regrettably do admire. Milton’s character is ensnared in contradictions; therefore, they raise ant terrify the imagination.

Paradise Lost is an exemplary, yet controversial piece of literature that highlights more than just the Fall of Man and the Original Sin. Milton’s personal beliefs, as well as, the interesting focus on Satan’s character provides adequate information to determine Satan as the anti-hero rather than the hero of Paradise Lost. For readers and scholars, the debate over Satan’s status seems to rage on as new ways of analyzing Milton’s work arise. Perhaps, in time, a neutral agreement can be met.       

Works Cited

1. Milton, J. (2008). Paradise lost. Oxford University Press.
2. Fish, S. (1998). Surprised by sin: The reader in Paradise Lost. Harvard University Press.
3. Fallon, S. M. (2007). Milton's peculiar grace: Self-representation and authority. Cornell University Press.
4. Ismail Nafi, J. S. (2017). Milton's portrayal of Satan in Paradise Lost and the notion of heroism. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 6(1), 1-7.
5. Kastan, D. S. (1995). Paradise Lost: The poem as anti-heroic epic. In C. Kendrick (Ed.), Critical essays on John Milton (pp. 153-164). G.K. Hall & Co.
6. Lewis, C. S. (1942). A preface to Paradise Lost. Oxford University Press.
7. Lyle, E. (2007). The rhetoric of rebellion in Paradise Lost. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, 47(3), 537-556.
8. Morrison, R. (2014). Paradise Lost and the rhetoric of literary forms. In L. Schwartz (Ed.), The Cambridge companion to Paradise Lost (pp. 18-33). Cambridge University Press.
9. Rebhorn, W. A. (1998). The humanist tradition and Milton's Satan: The conservative as revolutionary. Milton Studies, 36, 79-96.
10. Vickers, B. (1990). Satan and the hero in Paradise Lost. English Literary Renaissance, 20(3), 342-362.