Milton Midterm

7/24/2019 Milton Midterm

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Milton: Paradise LostProf. Aaron StreiterMidterm EssayAllen GurfelApril 12, 2015

A proud fool digs his grave

Miltons own words capture Satans downward trajectory est!

Satan, "stirred up with envy#, aspires "to set hi$self in glory aove his

peers#, and is "hurled headlong fro$ the ethereal s%y with hideous ruin

&' down to otto$less perdition# ()' *+ -./' Satan, prideful and self

worshiping, falls and continues to fall, heaping "on hi$self da$nation#

()' 215/' e is not a hero ut a prideful liar and a fool, set out to do only

evil'

)n oo% ), Satan, although defeated, is presented as retaining

so$e degree of $ajesty' e lays on the urning la%e "stretched out

huge# ()' 203/, of "$onstrous si4e# and liale to e $ista%en for an

island ()' 205/' "M6oving toward the shore, his ponderous shield &'

hung on his shoulders li%e the $oon# ()' 23- 233/ and his spear,

"e7ual which the tallest pine#, appeared "ut a wand# ()' 282 28-/'


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e is a van7uished general, ut a general nonetheless' A "great

co$$ander# ()' *53/, the "superior 9end# ()' 232/ rallies his fallen

co$rades' "6e aove the rest in shape and gesture proudly e$inent

stood li%e a tower: his for$ had yet not lost all her original rightness#

()' 538 581/' e stood "as when the sun new risen# ()' 58-/' ;ather,

he stood "as when the sun new risen loo%s through the hori4ontal

$isty air shorn of his ea$s, or fro$ ehind the $oon in di$ eclipse#

()' 58- 58+/' Satan, who had een "of the 9rst, if not the 9rst

archangel, great in power, in favor and pree$inence# (


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general to politician, fro$ politician to secret service agent, and thence

to a thing that peers in at edroo$ or athroo$ windows, and thence

to a toad, and 9nally to a sna%e H such is the progress of Satan'#2

=his physical and $oral degradation is the direct result of Satans

arrogance and stupidity' )n eaven he underta%es a reellion against

God' Adiel confronts hi$ and Satan responds! "=hat we were for$ed

then sayst thouI and the wor% ?f secondary hands, y tas%

transferred Bro$ Bather to his sonI strange point and newJ# (


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Lefeated and anished fro$ eaven, in his willful lindness Satan

see$s to have learned nothing' eel4eu, Satans second in

co$$and, $a%es the ovious point! "&leader of those ar$ies right,

which but the omnipotent none could have foiled# ()' 2.2 2.*/' And

again! "ut what if he our con7ueror (who$ I now of force believe

almighty, since no less than such could have oerpowered such force

as ours/ have left us this our spirit and strength entire strongly to

suer ()' 1-2 1-./' =his is echoed y oth elial and Ma$$on in

oo% ))! respectively, "&fate inevitale sudues us, and o$nipotent

decree the victors will# ())' 18. 188/ and "either to disenthrone the

%ing of heaven we war &' or to regain our own right lost &' the for$er

vain & as vain the latter &' unless heavens lord supre$e we

overpower# ())' 228 2*./' Net Satan delusionally insists that God,

"fro$ the terror of this Satans6 ar$ so late douted his e$pire# ()'

11-/, i$agining that "y force or guile# he can wage "eternal war

irreconcilale# ()' 121/' =he narrator i$$ediately under$ines Satan H

Satan is $erely "


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?n $an y hi$ seduced, ut on hi$self=rele confusion, wrath and vengeance poured'

()' 210 220/

)t is clear, then, that Satan falls doulyH9rst fro$ eaven and

then still furtherHand that his own foolish pride is to la$e' )t re$ains

now only to show that he is not heroic ut evil'

=hat Satan is evil should e ovious ecause he tells us so

hi$self' "=o do aught good never will e our tas%, ut ever to do ill our

sole delight &' )f then his providence out of our evil see% to ring forth

good our laor $ust e to pervert that end, and out of good still to 9nd

$eans of evil# ()' 158 1++/' )f that isnt enough theres also the

nontrivial $atter of his plot to seduce >ve, the 9rst wo$an, and

therey introduce Sin and Leath into the world' >ssentially the plan is

to $urder every $e$er of a new race, which has done hi$ no har$,

in order to annoy God' )f thats not evil, nothing is'

)s there anything that justi9es Satan in his $urderous plotI )s

there anything that reco$$ends hi$ as a heroI So$e readers $ight

ad$ire Satans courage and deter$ination' ut violence and reellion

ste$$ing fro$ eKcessive pride and stupidity do not $a%e courage'

Si$ilarly, deter$ination in service of idiotic, futile spite is nothing ut

childish ostinacy' )t would e laughale if it werent so serious a

$atter'


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?ther readers $ight agree with Satan that it is "etter to reign in

hell, than serve in heaven# ()' 2+*/' =his would entail that Satans

reellion is just, that he is correct when he accuses God of tyranny in

heaven, that "unacceptale, though in heaven, the fallen angels6

state of splendid vassalage# ())' 251 252/' Birst, even if that were

true, it would not justify an attac% on Ada$ and >ve' Second, the teKt

eKplicitly rejects the aove position' Adiel points out Satan hypocrisy!

"ingrate in place thyself so high aove thy peers' @anst thou with

i$pious olo7uy conde$n the just decree of God# (


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=he easiest reco$pense, and pay hi$ than%s,ow dueJ Net all his good proved ill in $e,And wrought ut $alice: lifted up so high) sdained sujection, and thought one step higherOould set $e highest, and in a $o$ent 7uit

=he det i$$ense of endless gratitude,So urdenso$e still paying, still to owe:Borgetful what fro$ hi$ ) still received,&'ut other powers as greatBell not, ut stand unsha%en, fro$ within?r fro$ without, to all te$ptations ar$ed'adst thou the sa$e free will and power to standI=hou hadst! who$ hast thou then or what to accuse,ut heavens free love dealt e7ually to allI

()


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aove' ut the crucial function of this run of solilo7ui4ing is to estalish

one thing eyond the shadow of any dout! that Satan falls in full

%nowledge' ?f the respective falls of the devils and the 9rst hu$ans

Milton writes that "the 9rst sort y their own suggestion fell, self

te$pted, selfdepraved! $an falls deceived, y the other 9rst! $an

therefore shall 9nd grace, the other none# ()))' 128 1**/' =he

solilo7ui4ing passage une7uivocally re$oves any eKcuse of ignorance

or deception one $ight oer in Satans defense' )llustrating the depth

of Satans foolishness and the eKplicit and intentional nature of the

choice that conde$ns hi$, Milton has Satan wonder, "&is there no

place, left for repentance, none for pardon leftI# ()ve/ rejects repentence!

ut say ) could repent and could otainy act of grace $y for$er state: how soonOould height recall high thoughts, how soon unsayOhat feigned su$ission swore! ease would recant


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sha$e# ()vil e thou $y good# ()

Milton Midterm

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