2. Milton’s villain hero VS God
As was mentioned above the story of Milton’s epic poem turns around a sacred heroic adventure that, for the Christian world, once took place in reality. “like Dryden, he believed that ‘heroic poetry…has ever been esteemed…the greatest work of human nature.” In fact, many scholars said that the question of Milton’s ‘hero’ in this poem has always been a subject of debate, from its publication till the present day, wondering who is the hero in this poem, since there is not just one character with heroic presence. “In the strictest sense, Adam alone is the ‘principal hero’ or ‘epic person’ of Paradise Lost”. Nevertheless, though neither Christ nor Satan is the ‘principal hero’ of the poem, both …show more content…
Rebellious, brave, against the tyranny of god he refuses to admit defeat and above this he was the most beautiful and praised angel in heaven who lost his position just because of Adam. “To be the hero of a narrative is not simply a question of what one does: it is also to bring about a response in the reader, who would be expected to admire and sympathize with a hero. And this of course, if the hero is the devil, raises a problem” . “ Many readers have admired Satan’s splendid recklessness, if not heroism, in confronting the Godhead. Satan’s defiance, anger, willfulness, and resourcefulness define a character who strives never to yield. In many ways Satan is heroic when compared to such Classical prototype”. He is heroic when compared to such Classical prototypes as Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneas and to similar protagonists in medieval and Renaissance epics. In sum, his traits reflect theirs. “Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote in A Defence of Poetry that ‘nothing can exceed the energy and magnificence of the character of Satan as expressed in Paradise Lost’. “Milton’s Devil as a moral being is as far superior to his God, as one who perseveres in some purpose which he has conceived to be excellent in spite of adversity and torture, is to one who in the cold security of undoubted triumph inflicts the most …show more content…
“God, in Paradise Lost, is less a developed character than a personification of abstract ideas. He is unknowable to humankind and to some extent lacks emotion and depth”. Some critics said that he is not given larger space than that of Satan. Though Milton used some verses of the Christian Holy Book but his presence was shown as a follower of the events happening in heaven, without intervention, permitting evil things to happen. Especially Christian critics who harshly criticized this split from Milton since he depicted the presence of God so dim in the whole poem. So many writers and thinkers from the publication of the work till the present time were fascinated by Milton’s celebration of Satan in the poem. The most influential ones “The Romantics, especially Blake, Byron, and Percy Shelley, interpreted Milton's account of the biblical story of Genesis as a celebration of Satan — the rebellious hero who defies the power of God. They regarded Satan not as the embodiment of evil, but as a victim of the tyrannical power of the
As was mentioned above the story of Milton’s epic poem turns around a sacred heroic adventure that, for the Christian world, once took place in reality. “like Dryden, he believed that ‘heroic poetry…has ever been esteemed…the greatest work of human nature.” In fact, many scholars said that the question of Milton’s ‘hero’ in this poem has always been a subject of debate, from its publication till the present day, wondering who is the hero in this poem, since there is not just one character with heroic presence. “In the strictest sense, Adam alone is the ‘principal hero’ or ‘epic person’ of Paradise Lost”. Nevertheless, though neither Christ nor Satan is the ‘principal hero’ of the poem, both …show more content…
Rebellious, brave, against the tyranny of god he refuses to admit defeat and above this he was the most beautiful and praised angel in heaven who lost his position just because of Adam. “To be the hero of a narrative is not simply a question of what one does: it is also to bring about a response in the reader, who would be expected to admire and sympathize with a hero. And this of course, if the hero is the devil, raises a problem” . “ Many readers have admired Satan’s splendid recklessness, if not heroism, in confronting the Godhead. Satan’s defiance, anger, willfulness, and resourcefulness define a character who strives never to yield. In many ways Satan is heroic when compared to such Classical prototype”. He is heroic when compared to such Classical prototypes as Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneas and to similar protagonists in medieval and Renaissance epics. In sum, his traits reflect theirs. “Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote in A Defence of Poetry that ‘nothing can exceed the energy and magnificence of the character of Satan as expressed in Paradise Lost’. “Milton’s Devil as a moral being is as far superior to his God, as one who perseveres in some purpose which he has conceived to be excellent in spite of adversity and torture, is to one who in the cold security of undoubted triumph inflicts the most …show more content…
“God, in Paradise Lost, is less a developed character than a personification of abstract ideas. He is unknowable to humankind and to some extent lacks emotion and depth”. Some critics said that he is not given larger space than that of Satan. Though Milton used some verses of the Christian Holy Book but his presence was shown as a follower of the events happening in heaven, without intervention, permitting evil things to happen. Especially Christian critics who harshly criticized this split from Milton since he depicted the presence of God so dim in the whole poem. So many writers and thinkers from the publication of the work till the present time were fascinated by Milton’s celebration of Satan in the poem. The most influential ones “The Romantics, especially Blake, Byron, and Percy Shelley, interpreted Milton's account of the biblical story of Genesis as a celebration of Satan — the rebellious hero who defies the power of God. They regarded Satan not as the embodiment of evil, but as a victim of the tyrannical power of the