An essay written for Epic: From Homer to Star Wars on Milton’s Paradise Lost where I examine the character of Satan and his portrayal as an antihero. As part of the epic tradition, Paradise Lost draws from and acknowledges its relationship to the Aeneid and previous works and those relationships are examined in the essay.
From the first words of Paradise Lost, Milton makes clear his debt to and engagement with the earlier epic tradition. Write an essay in which you analyze Milton’s revisionary treatment of an episode, image, story, passage, or narrative strategy from the Iliad, Odyssey, or Aenied. How does Milton appropriate and transform the material of his epic predecessors? How does Paradise Lost view the epics of the classical past?
A work that aspires to tell of the introduction of death into the world and justify the ways of God to man, Paradise Lost sets for itself lofty ambitions. Consciously written as an epic, Paradise Lost seeks to surpass its epic predecessors in both scope and narrative. To accomplish this, Milton creates a hero unlike any found in a previous epic. Instead of a hero more superhuman than Achilles, with grander accomplishments than Aeneas’s founding of Rome, Milton begins by reexamining the epic hero. Upon finding the classic notions of heroism lacking, Milton redefines the very term and writes the first example of his new hero. Substantiating his argument against classic heroism, Satan’s portrayal as a character no less heroic than Achilles or Odysseus ridicules the characteristics of classic heroism. Satan is not a hero despite possessing all the qualities necessary to be one; rather, Satan corrupts the notion of the classic hero and ushers in the opportunity for Milton to assert a new definition of heroism. Milton’s reutilization of the narrative strategies utilized by his predecessors in his portrayal of Satan allows him to undermine the very notions of heroism that they set forth.
Though Milton, from the first page of Paradise Lost, works to redefine heroism and undermine the heroes of the past, it is only deep into his epic that this goal is explicitly revealed to the reader. In the invocation of his muse in Book 9, Milton compares the heroics he aims to describe against the heroics of previous epics. Milton writes,
… sad task, yet argument
Not less but more heroic than the wrath
Of stern Achilles on his foe pursued
Trice fugitive about Troy wall; or rage
Of Turnus for Lavinia disespoused… (Paradise Lost 9.13).
Additionally, Milton claims that
… hitherto the only argument
Heroic deemed, chief mast’ry to dissect
With long and tedious havoc fabled knights
In battles feigned; the better fortitude
Of patience and heroic martyrdom
Unsung… (Paradise Lost 9.28).
Here, Milton criticizes the epics that focus their energy describing feigned battles and “tilting furniture.” According to Milton, it is the unsung patience and martyrdom that truly qualifies a hero. This bold claim is a decisive departure from classical heroism. Indeed, to claim that the first human acts of sin that help usher in death to the world are more heroic than the acts of Achilles and others is not a trivial undertaking. To substantiate these sweeping arguments, Milton must demonstrate the fallacy of associating classical heroic qualities with heroism, articulate a new set of heroic standards, and defend their validity. And despite the late articulation of his argument, Milton strives to support his declarations from the beginning of Paradise Lost, starting with Satan’s introduction in Book 1.
Milton’s convolutes classic heroic qualities by attributing them to Satan. Unsurprisingly, to help associate Satan with previous heroes, Milton utilizes the same narrative and introductory strategies as previous authors. Paradise Lost begins in media res, with Satan and company having been cast out of Heaven and plotting their next actions. This introduction is not unlike that of the Iliad, which begins with an argument between Agamemnon and Achilles or that of the Aeneid, which starts with Juno’s rage against Aeneas. This narrative device immediately centers on the main character, who the audience presumes is the hero. Additionally, in each of these circumstances, the main character has just been treated unfairly, at least from the character’s perspective. This type of introduction garners the sympathy of the reader for the hero. From the onset, the reader is unable to fault Satan nor is the reader able to sympathize with another character as none have been presented. Indeed, beginning in media res with Satan offers a number of benefits to Milton, but critically, it allows Satan to explain his philosophy and justify his rebellion. This, inevitably biased, recollection of events achieves the same effect that Odysseus’s telling of his journey achieves with the Phaeacians—it casts the speaker in the warmest light possible.
In Satan’s speech describing his rebellion, he uses language that very well could have been uttered by Aeneas or Achilles. Satan says, “Here we may reign secure, and in my choice / To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: / Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav’n” (Paradise Lost 1.261). This expression of wounded honor and thirst for freedom is not unlike Achilles’s statements about laboring for Agamemnon. Indeed, this comparison is enhanced during Raphael’s explanation of Satan’s revolt. Satan questions God’s decision to appoint his Son to power, “Who can in reason then or right assume / Monarchy over such as live by right / His equals, if in power and splendor less, / In freedom equal?” (Paradise Lost 5.794). Achilles asserts an unfairness in power dominance as well, “And from all I dragged off piles of splendid plunder, / hauled it away and always gave the lot to Agamemnon, / that son of Atreus—always skulking behind the lines, / safe in his fast ships—and he would take it all” (The Iliad 9.400). Such comparisons are invited by the text, which makes a number of references to previous works when describing Satan. Indeed, Satan’s internal turmoil harkens to that of Aeneas’s. Milton writes, “So spake th’ apostate angel, though in pain, / Vaunting aloud, but racked with deep despair: / And him thus answered soon his bold compeer” (Paradise Lost 1.125). This hiding of pain closely resembles that of Aeneas who is described as, “Brave words. / Sick with mounting cares he assumes a look of hope / and keep his anguish buried in his heart” (The Aeneid 1.245). Not only does Satan speak like a classic hero, display heroic qualities, but Satan is also armored like a classic hero, wearing a full set of armor and carrying a powerful shield. The shield, of which Milton provides a lengthy description, pays homage to the shields of Achilles and Aeneas, further characterizes Satan among them. Eloquent, handsome, and powerful, Satan’s portrayal is comparably heroic to Achilles and others. It is difficult to find a basis on which to preclude Satan from the heroic definition.
Having built Satan up as a hero, Milton must take drastic steps in order to both cast Satan as an antihero as well as undermine the heroic deeds of the characters Satan is characterized with. Indeed, by failing to give Satan all the qualities of a classic hero Milton would have been unable to characterize Achilles or others as lesser heroes. Ultimately, Milton relies on the contemporary notion that Satan is a villain, responsible for the fall of humanity and thus cannot be a hero. The narrator of Paradise Lost echoes this sentiment, casting all of Satan’s actions as foul and evil. Satan is described as “the enemy of mankind” and his actions are deemed “perverted.” The narrator’s expression of Satan’s criminality is unlike any epic before it. In fact, the narrator in the Iliad fails to make a judgment of Achilles’s rage or brutal slaughter of the Trojans. Instead, Achilles is described with fiery imagery and redeemed at the end of the epic. Similarly, Odysseus has the narrator’s approval to kill the suitors he finds in his home and the resulting cycle of violence is arbitrarily solved by Athena. Aeneas is so clearly beloved by the narrator that his unforgiving slaughter of Turnus is not judged by the narrator. It is the criminal judgment of the narrator and God’s condemnation of Satan that ultimately prevents Satan from being a classic hero. As a result, the dissonance between Satan’s epic qualities and the evil outcomes of his actions works in the reader’s mind to complicate the classical qualities of heroism. Indeed, if a hero is not defined by their eloquent speeches, superhuman strength, good looks, or even “just” causes as Satan demonstrates, then the definition of a hero is thrown into a state of uncertainty.
Finally, Milton’s argument closes with his presentation of true heroism, setting the standards for epic heroes to come. Patience and martyrdom are the key traits cited by Milton in the invocation in Book 9. These particular qualities should not be a surprise to anyone, as they are perhaps the most defining qualities of Jesus in the Christian religion. Indeed, in the argument to Book 3, Milton summarizes, “… unless someone can be found sufficient to answer for his offense, and undergo his punishment. The Son of God freely offers himself a ransom for man” (Paradise Lost 3). In order to preclude Satan from the same sacrificial qualities, Jesus’s actions in Book 3 are a foil of the supposed self-sacrifice Satan offers in Book 2. The contrast is found as Satan’s self sacrifice is marred by classical heroic qualities—Satan’s undertaking of the dangerous voyage is motivated by greed, honor, and other classically heroic desires. Indeed, the mutual exclusion between sacrifice and classic heroism can be witnessed in Aeneas, who is compelled to found Rome and make many sacrifices. However, Aeneas is not presented as a martyr, but as a hero who leaves others to suffer in his wake. Indeed from our cast of heroes, only Adam, in full knowledge of the consequences of eating from the Tree of Knowledge, can be argued to imitate the heroic qualities found in Jesus. As such, the contrast between Adam and classical heroes is invited by the contrast between Adam and Satan. Both Satan and Adam are fallen creatures. The key difference between Adam and Satan, martyrdom, is truly the indication of heroism. It is the patience and martyrdom that Adam displays that makes him heroic and it is patience and martyrdom that Milton argues defines all heroes.
As seen, Milton begins his assault on the classic hero by characterizing Satan as one. The dissonance between his heroic qualities and his criminal behavior casts negative light upon all such heroes—it would be incredibly difficult to distinguish Satan from Achilles in appearance, motivation, or perspective. This chaos sets the stage for a new hero to be defined and introduced. When Milton finally articulates his argument for patience and martyrdom to be the defining characteristics of heroism, the reader is immediately presented with Adam who can be compared against the character of Jesus, the ultimate role model of the epic. This presents a sharp contrast between the characters of Adam and Satan, effectively demonstrating Milton’s intention of redefining heroism. Whether Milton’s analysis of classic heroes effectively demonstrates their lack of true heroism is certainly debatable, but in complicating the qualities necessary to be a hero, Milton has had a lasting effect on the heroes that have come after Paradise Lost. In addition to his role in the fall of humanity, Satan helped bring an end to the classic hero.
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