“Satan” Paradise Lost (John Milton)
Despite the religious overtures that is Paradise Lost. The brilliance of John Milton’s epic poem is also reflective of the tumultuous period it was published (1667) both politically and socially, for when science was beginning to instill the fact that the Earth is not the center of the Universe and the unlikeliness that an all powerful god had created and sanctioned life on Earth. The story of Hell, with Chaos in between Heaven above as Earth dangles in the middle – was a fusion of both the antiquated old testament belief of the Geocentric, which was being debated at the time with the new (Milton met Galileo Galilei 1638) theory that we reside within the Heliocentric (Earth, Solar System planets revolve around the Sun). Still, the rebellious nature and attributes which were of the main character of the story, that being Satan, holds to this day a poignant perspective of rebellion. That not only does Satan rebel again a god and ‘heaven’, he also rebels against what at the time would be thought of as a Universe, which is Milton’s “Chaos” as Satan must pass through a bitter and desolate place on his way to corrupt and seduce Adam and Eve. His, Satan’s, dedication and resilience through the arduous path has a heroic quest, while representing a paradox of human ‘flaws’ as the flawed anti-hero (Satan) against a so called perfect entity (god). John Milton’s Satan maintains itself as a significant rebellious fixture against the cosmos or what we would deem as the natural construct.
Comments
Post a Comment