Satan and Satan's portrayal

       John Milton's Paradise Lost is legendary for good reason. Ideas and concepts pitched in the poem are still being caught, analyzed, and dissected four hundred years after his lifetime. Since its publication, Paradise Lost has stemmed multitudes of debate over the epic's most poised and articulate character, Satan. Satan is often depicted as a gruesome, fallen angel; white, feathery wings mutated into dark, leathery bat-like ones, halo transfigured into horns, and a wicked color scheme of bright and fresh blood-red and shadowless black. Satan is often thought of as a being without remorse or rational thought, evil and rotten to his core with nothing but an agenda of destruction.
       Compared to the social stereotype of such a Satan, Milton's version is especially innovative considering his life. Milton was born and raised in the midst of a socio-religious revolutionary sprouting directly from the Renaissance period known as the Protestant Reformation. During this change in mindset, practices of the Catholic Church were questioned and heavily criticized by supporters of the Reformation. The scriptures, which had previously only been directly accessible to clergy, began to spread via the printing press and became available to the widespread public. Milton, clearly, disagreed with some Catholic interpretations of the Bible.
       Previously, it had been emphasized that God was merciful and the reason for denying Satan re-entry into heaven was another act of mercy, because God did not want to put Satan in a place where he might fall again. Milton challenges this reasoning directly, by demanding "must change for Heaven?" (Milton I, 244). Milton's Satan is not possessed by a fuel to appease God and regain entry to Heaven such as so many believed he would, but instead claimed that "The mind is its own place, and in itself/ Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven" (Milton I, 254-5). Milton's Satan proves to care not for the seemingly conventional goals of Satan by questioning "What matter where, if I be still the same?" in an act of independence from God that was truly progressive for Milton's time (Milton I, 256). Satan then supports his beliefs by reassuring his followers that "Here at least/ We shall be free...Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" (Milton I, 259-263). These lines all indicate a Satan that is extremely contrary to traditional beliefs of Satan. He is independent, self-confident, well-spoken, and thinks rationally in a way fit to lead his people well, characteristics that any reformer at the time wished his king or the Pope would act. He almost seems fit to play the role of the hero in an equally eloquent Shakespeare play.
        The irony that this noble character is the antagonist of the act is even more convincing that Milton may have meant to support the Reformers (Satan) against the Church (God). Considering the vastly different literary landscape of his time, Milton's depiction of "good" biblical characters such as Adam and God may have been much more well-received and his portrayal of Satan may have evoked those feelings of animosity and evil as the Catholic Church first emphasized. However, it could be just as our postmodern minds see it. The debate continues on whose side Milton was on.
        As a result of Milton's Paradise Lost, the balance between "good" and "evil" and other contrasting sides of light and dark has been further examined and new dominating character classes have developed. Antiheros, a protagonist suitable to be an antagonist, grew in popularity after with clear references to Milton's Paradise Lost. Famous works such as Mary Shelley's 1818 publication of Frankenstein and Emily Bronte's 1847 publication of Wuthering Heights are examples of Milton's snowballing influence in literature.


Works Cited
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. New York: Norton, 1975. Print.