Paradise Lost or Found... Also what's up with Satan?

I figured that I would start my post with this lovely picture.

I'm not sure if I sympathize with Satan or not. Yes, I feel bad that he was banned from Heaven but it was his fault. He turned against God and even though banishment is a pretty extreme punishment, I can understand why it was necessary given what had happened. I found it interesting that Milton felt the need to specify that the fall from Heaven into Hell took 9 days and nights.  To me that alone shows how much thought Milton put into this piece of literature.

I do sympathize with the angels that fell with Lucifer. Lucifer lost the battle against God and his followers.So the angels such as Mephistopheles picked the wrong side. I guess in some ways they deserve the same punishment for the same crime only they did not lead. 

As a history major, I really enjoyed talking about Puritanism during class last Thursday. Religion was a big part of life for society at that time.England was going through a time of religious change. A few years ago I memorized the order of the British rulers after the Tudor Dynasty ended, (James I, Charles I, Olive Cromwell (when Milton was writing Paradise Lost), Charles II, James II, and William and Mary) in case anyone was wondering.

 I find it interesting that predestination  misconstrued in public memory. Milton believed that God could predict people's actions from the time they were born. But people have free-will, which I've noticed is a reoccurring theme in this course. I am really curious to see where Milton goes with this theme throughout book II and how big a role free-will plays. 

Even Satan Gets the Blues Sometimes

If Milton wrote this book without the unending sentences and copious amounts of allusions, I would enjoy reading it more. Alas, this is not true and so I battle my way through the text, trying to understanding what is happening. I've enjoyed reading about Satan in Book One because he’s not a divine figurehead authors try to pick apart anymore. There seems to be a stigma attached to Satan/ Lucifer stamping him a forever-evil being, scaring away some writers.

Do I think Satan is a completely diabolical fallen angel turned ruler of hell? Sure. Do I think he has his reasons for being that way? Of course. I am always one to root for the bad guy of a film or book and Satan from Paradise Lost is no exception. He presents an interesting divine figure for humans to judge based on his story. Everyone knows he fell from heaven after disobeying Gods orders and raising an army against him. Yet, do people understand why Satan acted that way?

In previous blog post, I mentioned how Satan was a kid with parental issues. I still believe this is true, but I won’t say the blame solely lies on Satan. I feel God is also guilty in regards to how he handled Satan’s rebellion. Once Satan fell, he had no more qualms against being bad because he was his own keeper. When he fell, Satan gained freedom to do whatever he wanted within his power range.

He essentially was a kid set free inside a candy store. Satan said it best in Paradise Lost with its, “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” (ll.261-263). While Hell may be miserably hot, torturous and filled with unending misery, Satan is free. The angels who fell with him are also free. They live in this grand palace named Pandemonium without rules. There is no more following orders from God or always having to be virtuous.

This being said, I find I still wonder if Satan is truly pleased on the inside with what he has done. While he was unable to dethrone God, he led a massive uprising that ended with him a ruler of his own domain. Satan owns the sentencing fist and leads whatever crafty mischief he desires. Yet, does he tire of these repetitious activities and wish for something more? I’m not saying he would return to heaven, but maybe just stop being for a while.

Humans have been obsessed recently with the idea of vampires and immortality, but I wonder how long we could endure that. I would think after a couple thousand years, life would become monotonous and boring. It’s why I wonder if Satan wishes he could go on vacation from everything for a long time. Then again, I might be very wrong and Satan is just a sadistic bastard who loves to watch people stub their toes on a doorjamb. I mean, seriously, how many times is enough dude?