-JOHN MILTON-

Milton was one of the most important literary men in England. His most famous poem, “Paradise Lost”, is an epic poem about Hell, Heaven, creation and Adam and Eve’s fall.

Milton’s poetry combined Classicism and Puritanism. He was a convinced Puritan and supporter of the republican cause playing an active part in Cromwell’s government.

-PARADISE LOST-

It is an epic poem in blank verse divided into twelve books. The stories are about situation taken from the Bible: temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden. It is about men’s disobedience to God (considered true love). Adam and Eve followed temptation, they had the apple, symbol for knowledge. The snake tempt Eva, symbol of sex. Satan is the symbol of weaknesses man. They have lost paradise in order to get their temptation.

Adam and Eve were created to be in Paradise, they had no needs, no desire. They lost Paradise because they wanted knowledge, they choose to eat the apple so they disobey to rules of Paradise and they were sent out of Paradise. Satan wanted to became God.

Farewell, happy fields,
Where joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail,
Infernal World! and thou, profoundest Hell,
Receive thy new possessor—one who brings
A mind not to be changed by place or time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less than he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
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 Heaven

Right from the start the intelligent reader can understand that there is a contrast pervading the all extract, darkness and light are juxtaposed to better put into focus the different state of the soul in Hell and in Paradise.

The extract is organized into the opposition of such two semantic fields mainly expressed with the Latinate words that magnify god’s power, sanctity and perfection. Satan himself is aware of this as the rhetorical question in the opening line very clearly illustrate.

The two settings are symbolical of the different condition of the soul as one can immediately understand from the nostalgic tone of the expression “Farewell, happy fields. Where joy for ever dwells”. The frequent use of an exclamative syntax brings emotions to surface, at the same time introducing the great dilemma of a proud and ambitious mind like the one of the epic hero. The opposition “to reign” against “to serve” brings the inner conflict of the hero to the forefront . Satan is fighting with himself because he is a looser he has fought to be what he really is- in the narrator’s words- “ the Lost Archangel”.

Epic poetry celebrate the deeds of an hero, which in the present text has become an anti-hero, a looser, one who is not an archangel anymore. Therefore he must keep “furthest from him” (God). Indeed God’s presence would underline the distance between perfection and sin but at the same time the reader is made share Satan’s emotions, he is desperate pride and therefore he seems to embody all human weaknesses, the mind is the only weapon he can make use of. He sounds obstinate, he is not ready to change his mind. He cannot bear to be “less than he”. Satan is completely conscious that he will never succeed in feeling free he finds himself close to God “ here at list we shall be free”.

Next to God he will not feel secure “here we may reign secure” therefore the intelligent reader can now perfectly understand that the heroes characterization is expressed clearly and straight forward by his thoughts, ambitions, as well as his frustrations that have got nothing heavenly but they are totally mortal. Thus underlining Satan’s humanity. Probably John Milton had not considered how fascinating is devilish figure might result. As well as the human being when he/she feels alone- as Satan himself might feel-he needs to be reassured by the group.

Satan is the fighter, but differently from Beowulf he was unable to conquer the Paradise.

Definitely he lost the match this explains why he is perfectly in a line with the tragic figure of an epic hero and what makes him an epic figure is justly and only language he speaks.