'It is possible to defend the idea that Satan is the true hero of Paradise Lost'. How far do you agree with this view in relation to Books IX and X?

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‘It is possible to defend the idea that Satan is the true hero of Paradise Lost’. How far do you agree with this view in relation to Books IX and X?

‘Milton began by making Satan more glorious than he intended and then, too late, attempted to rectify the error.’ – C.S. Lewis.

In his Christian Doctrine, Milton forms a cohesive picture of Satan, the conclusion being that Satan is viewed as the root of all evil. He is a Freudian expression of man’s super-ego – the subordinate part of the psyche – for example, when he uses the word ‘spite’, thereby attributing emotions to God. From Book IX, Satan starts to degenerate as a character; he is unable to make his thoughts logical in his speech, i.e. referring to Earth as ‘how like to heaven’. He presents himself as unlike a hero: his ability to think appears weak and confused (‘so much more I feel torment within me’), rather like a delusional psychopath [‘What we see in Satan is the horrible co-existence of a subtle and incessant intellectual activity with an incapacity to understand anything’ – C.S. Lewis]. As a result, it could be suggested that although he may have been heroic to begin with, he becomes less ‘glorious’ as events unfold.

Satan’s essential nature is described in his soliloquy; it comprises of destruction, in contrast to God’s creation (‘For only in destroying I find ease’). Satan gives the impression that he would have liked Earth (so ‘productive’), but cannot, therefore feels a sense of envy and loss; in this respect, it is as though he is constrained by the limitations of Milton’s fiction [‘we see how much more interesting, as a character, Satan is than God’ – Philip Pullman]. The reference to ‘bestial slime’ is metaphorical, and hints at the feeling of entrapment. Another important metaphor is within the high and low references relating to Heaven and Hell (‘height’, ‘descend’, ‘low’, ‘high he soared’.) With this in mind, it cannot be determined that Satan is the true hero of Paradise Lost; it can simply be inferred that God is spiritually high, whilst conversely, Satan is spiritually low.

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It is unusual that Milton helps the reader to understand Satan’s feelings when he is on his diabolic quest and how he doesn’t fit in with the scenery (‘houses thick and sewers’). The words Milton chooses are familiar to the reader, and present an incongruous situation in comparison to the poem’s general setting. When Satan comes across Eve, he describes her as ‘divinely fair’ with ‘graceful innocence’, showing admiration for her. The effect of Eve’s feminine innocence on Satan is stunning; his first impulse is to love Eve, enraptured by her beauty. For a moment, seeing Eve inspires a ...

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