Analyse the speeches of Satan in Book I of Paradise Lost to show that Milton does not intend us to sympathise with Satan.
Examine Satan's speeches in Book I of Paradise Lost to find out whether or not Satan is a "sympathetic" character.
Many of the critics and readers feel greatly impressed by Satan's speeches and begin to think that Satan has been depicted as the epic hero. These speeches (in Book I) create on their minds the impression of Satan's greatness and nobility. It is even thought that Milton was unconsciously projecting his own personality in the portrayal of Satan and that he was thus, unconsciously again, exalting Satan to the high status of a hero. This view, however, results from a misreading and a misinterpretation of those speeches. If Satan's speeches in Book I are analysed and examined dispassionately, it will be found that the predominant impression that is produced on us is one of Satan as the very personification of evil. Milton clearly did not intend us to sympathise with Satan. And this intention is considerably reinforced by the comments that Milton, as the author, makes on Satan's character in the course of Book I. But these comments are a separate issue altogether, and we here are concerned only with Satan's speeches.
Satan makes his first speech to Beelzebub, his closest comrade. Here Satan admits that God proved stronger than his opponents because of his thunder and that God's true strength became known only in the course of the battle which Satan and his followers fought against God: "and till then who knew the force of those dire arms ?" He asserts that he is not repentant of his rebellion against Heaven's ruler, that his mind is "fixed" (steadfast), that he feels a great contempt for the heavenly ruler because of his "sense of injured merit". He claims that a battle only, not the war, has been lost, and that there remains in him an integrated personality still by virtue of the unifying power of the unconquerable will, the pursuit of revenge, and undying hate, to which he adds the courage never to submit or yield. He will never beg for reconciliation with his victor. He proposes endless war with that power. Satan's supreme self confidence, his determination to continue the war against God and his declaration not "to bow and sue for grace with suppliant knee" are generally regarded as heroic qualities worthy of admiration. But this speech also makes Satan's evil intentions quite clear. He is prompted by undying hatred for God and a desire for revenge: "And study of revenge, immortal hate". He is prepared to wage the war "by force or guile". These are certainly not heroic aspects of his character. These do but lower him in our estimation by neutralising, to a great extent, his heroic characteristics. Besides, his assertion that nobody knew beforehand the precise strength of God's "dire arms" is sheer hypocrisy because, dwelling in Heaven, he could not have been unaware of the extent of God's power. His claim to superiority over God in respect of what he calls "foresight", is sheer arrogance. How, then, can we admire, or sympathise with, Satan?
Satan's second speech is also addressed to Beelzebub. He begins in the heroic vein by saying that "to be weak is miserable, doing or suffering". But the evil in him emerges immediately when he says that "to do aught good never will be our task, but ever to do ill our sole delight". If God seeks "to bring forth good" out of the evil of his enemies (Satan and his followers), they must strive to pervert that end and "out of good still to find means of evil". Only a perverse reader or critic can sympathise with Satan when Satan talks thus. Satan then goes on to speak of the opportunity that offers itself for the mobilisation of the fallen angels. Here is an implicit admission by Satan of God's superior strength because the opportunity lies in God's having "recalled his ministers of vengeance and pursuit back to the gates of Heaven". He now proposes the reassembling of the rebellious angels in order to decide how to overcome this "dire calamity" and what support to get from hope or what strength from despair. It cannot be denied that, in respect of the intensity of determination and courage, quite apart from any moral considerations, Satan does attain a heroic stature even by this speech, as he did by his first. But moral considerations can never be ignored.
Satan's third speech is also made with Beelzebub as his sole audience. This is one of his most celebrated speeches, and some lines from here have become so famous as to be promptly quoted, when the opportunity presents itself, by anyone who knows anything of English poetry. Most readers find this speech to be highly inspiring and are therefore quickly won over to Satan's side. To the heroic qualities that he has previously revealed, Satan now adds a love of freedom and a hatred of slavery. He calls himself the "new possessor" of Hell and claims to be "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." These are certainly noble lines "Here at least we shall be free", he goes on. "To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell/It is better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven." Such statements are bound to stir a certain degree of response in every reader. But the contradictions and absurdities of this speech leave no doubt in out minds about Milton's intentions. On one hand, Satan is shocked to see the region, the soil, the clime which he has got in exchange for Heaven. On the other, he speaks as if he had come into the possession of a grand treasure: "Here at least we shall be free........Here we may reign secure." He finds himself in a place of "mournful gloom" and total misery, and yet he declares that the mind is its own place and so on. He talks of being "still the same", implying that he is in everything equal to God, except that God has a store of thunder at his disposal. If Hell is a place of total misery, how is it better to reign there than to serve in Heaven? In short, it is only the surface glitter of Satan's speech, and its high-sounding phrases that impress the reader. It is the rhetoric and the grandiloquence which hold the reader spell-bound. The true substance of this speech and its true reality amount to very little.
Satan's next speech is addressed to the fallen angels as they lie stunned on the fiery lake. This speech certainly shows the qualities of leadership in Satan, as is clear from its effect on the listeners. The speech is a combination of sarcasm and threat. But we should not forget the fact that he hypocritically addresses the fallen angels as "Princes, Potentates, and Warriors", speaking as if they were still in possession of their thrones and dignities in Heaven. He warns them that, if they remain apathetic, God's swift pursuers will transfix them to the bottom of Hell. This threat, at least. is quite realistic. By means of it, Satan is able to make his listeners feel ashamed of themselves for their inaction. On the whole, this is the speech of a great and effective leader who wins our respect and, to some extent, our sympathy.
Satan's next and last speech in Book I is also a stirring address to the fallen angels. He beings this speech with a bit of flattery by describing the fallen angels as "Powers matchless, but with the Almighty". The battle they have fought against God was "not inglorious", though the result proved disastrous. But how could anyone, on the basis of knowledge, past or present, have anticipated that such a united force of angels could ever be defeated? Having thus restored their confidence in themselves, Satan holds out to them the hope of their being able to regain Heaven. These "puissant legions", whose exile has "emptied" Heaven, he boastfully says, cannot fail to repossess their heavenly abode. He tries to explain away the defeat by saying that God's true strength had always been kept concealed by him, and that it was this fact which tempted them to revolt against God. Here, by implication, Satan admits his folly in underestimating God's power. Now that God's real strength has become known to them, they will not provoke war but, if a war is thrust on them, they will not shirk it. They must strive to get "by fraud or guile" what they could not attain by force. He then refers to a new race of beings created, or to be created, by God, and his plan to find out the truth. Meantime they must not to think of peace because peace will involve submission for which they are not prepared. "War, then, war, open or understood", must be decided upon. Here, again, Satan no doubt speaks like a great and true leader. His oratory is undeniable. His appeal to the minds of his listeners is irresistible. His determination, his courage, his daring find further confirmation here. He does not wish to live in bondage in Heaven. And he is not afraid of resuming his war against God. He would even like to teach God the lesson that a victory by force is only a partial victory. And yet there is much that is absurd and illogical in this speech which makes it impossible for us to give him all our sympathy. In the first place, Satan implies that God sat secure on his throne, upheld by empty tradition, until the angels revolted. This means that, according to him, God's power and authority were bogus. Then he accuses God of deceptiveness in not letting the angels become aware of how strong he really was. Within the same sentence God is here attacked for falsely displaying strength and falsely concealing strength. Having known God's power, Satan will not provoke more war. In that case, what is this speech all about? Here again the discerning reader will see through the mask of authenticity which Satan wears over the falsity and emptiness of his claims, promises, and assertions. The question of any sympathy for him does not, therefore, arise. If we feel sorry, it is at the thought that an angel endowed with such a powerful intellect and the gift of rhetoric should have adopted an evil and destructive course of action.
Important Questions with Answers
- Analyse and comment on the opening of Paradise Lost (Book I).
- What picture of Satan do you get from Book I of Paradise Lost?
- Discuss those traditional prescriptions of the epic from which are illustrated in Book I Paradise Lost.
- What purpose is served by the epic similes in Book I of Paradise Lost?
- On the basis of your reading of Book I of Paradise Lost, brig out Satan's qualities of leadership.
- What picture does Milton present of the angels in revolt?
- Analyse the speeches of Satan in Book I of Paradise Lost to show that Milton does not intend us to sympathies with Satan.
- "To admire Satan, then is to give one's vote not only for a world of misery, but also for a world of lies and propaganda of wishful thinking of incessant autobiography". Discuss in the light of this remark some of speeches by Satan or statements made by the poet about him in Paradise Lost Book I.
- How is Milton's personality reflected in Paradise Lost, Book I?
- Write an essay on Milton's style as revealed Book I Paradise Lost.
- Explain how Milton's poetry weds the puritan spirit with that of the Renaissance.
- What is blank verse? Discuss Milton's handling of it in Book I of Paradise Lost.
