I was not expecting this view of Satan. He is said
to be able to “seduce” man in line 219, and appeals to us as a somewhat relatable
character. Satan’s separation from God reminds me of the American Revolution,
since God demands full loyalty. I almost want to join him—almost. Satan
explains that God does not show off the extent of his power, so Satan and his
buddies rebelled, unaware of what they were up against (starting at line 637).
Now that Satan is has been banished into Chaos and Hell, Milton’s word choice
is suggestive of Satan’s ability to lure in new followers. Satan is compared to
Etna, a volcanic mountain, meaning that Satan erupts with uncontrollable passion
(and as we said in our group today, volcanoes can be phallic!) So it makes sense
that he has such a large army, and life down there doesn't seem so bad…
So why should Satan repent? He has power now! Around
line 260, Satan clarifies his priorities—being able to be the ruler in Hell is
way better than God’s servant in Heaven. Even if this means he is further
damning himself, and actually bringing forth salvation for humanity… I think he
still doesn’t know about that part yet... Anyway, if being damned means being
far away from God (who seems to practice humbleness, mercy, fairness, etc.), and
Satan now has control of his own life, then I don’t know why he would ever give
that up just to do the right thing.
Satan is definitely large, still pretty AWEful… and
sexy! So here is a picture of what I was imagining all day. So for my fellow Adventure Time fans, enjoy.
I like the way that Milton displays satan. It's hard to see how someone can sympathize with the devil when he's pure evil and fire, but the fact that he can seduce people is interesting. I've always been intrigued by movies and tv shows that show the devil in human form like the creepy guy who sits alone on the train or someone you could sit down to lunch with. I think even if people didn't see the devil as that it's very fitting because most people don't turn to sin voluntarily. People who make pacts with the devil and fall to sin usually do it trying to accomplish something right. The devil may be disguised in their plan or they may give up their plan and ask the devil for help in irder to complete it. Maybe the devil himself doesn't seduce but the idea of sinning and taking the easier, more evil way out is definitely a temptation. It's still relevant today. Yes, maybe netflix looks more tempting than your math homework, but which benefits you more? Little choices and decisions can land you in the lap of the "devil" or "hell". We've all been seduced by the chance to lie, cheat, steal or sin, but the important issue is whether or not we gave in to temptation.
ReplyDeleteSo I’m going to comment on your post, considering one of my peeps didn’t post this week. I mostly chose yours simply because I love your picture of Satan, and I’m going to have that picture in my head for the rest of my life, possibly. Kudos to you.
ReplyDeleteI think your comment about his lack of need to repent really interesting, because I related it back to Doctor Faustus. Isn’t it funny how we wanted him to repent SO bad, yet here we want to see Satan prevail?
I’m not sure about the doing greater good for humanity thing—considering Milton was such a devout Christian. Actually, something just hit me. Is Milton writing this to warn about the power of freewill? Obviously, this would’ve been very radical in its day. I wonder what the overall reaction was, considering he’s painting Satan in a good light. Interesting, no?
I think Becca was totally right in her comparison to Faustus, as were you saying Satan has no real reason to repent. He's totally "free," so screw God, right? Well I guess God still has a lil more power than Satan...
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