I'm glad we don't read the rest of Paradise Lost, because for now Satan is too awesome.

So on a real note, we’re not reading past book 2 of Paradise Lost, so I feel alright in saying that Satan is awesome (in past and present definitions of the word.) It’s cool that he might not be a “nice” or “admirable” character per say, but it’s always the dangerous or manipulative characters that make a story appealing. If we didn't get this perspective of/by Satan, we would essentially just be reading the bible. Which is by no means unnecessary since there are infinite biblical allusions all throughout literature, but it certainly wouldn't be as compelling.

I think what makes him so cool is Milton’s influence of free will on the character. He explains himself as “weak [and] miserable” (Book 1, ll. 157) as a fallen angel who has failed in battle with a ruler who “Put forth and full but still His strength concealed” (Book 1, ll. 641.) This demonstrates Satan as the one who, in his own words, was tempted, thereby making us able to sympathize with him in the same way that we should have been able to sympathize with Faustus. He blames this temptation for his downfall, which addresses why his role is temptation of sin. Circling back to free will, Satan’s fall doesn't stop him from doing what he wants to do. He will make his heaven out of his hell. Even if we know the kind of character Satan will turn out to be, for now, we can actually look up to him for how he lives his life. He fought for what he wanted, ended up eternally damned, and said look let’s make the best of it even though he’s been beaten down (literally, down, for nine days.) And that’s fairly impressive to me.