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Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

Is Satan properly described as a tragic hero?

Over the years, our idea of what constitutes a hero has changed dramatically, and
with it our interpretation of Milton’s Satan
...
According to
Aristotle’s Poetics, the first concrete definition of a tragic hero, Satan certainly fits
the criterion, and this is only emphasised by the many parallels between him and
Sophocles’ Oedipus
...
Unfortunately, the subject of Satan’s heroism is
hard to discuss in an unbiased way, since it is so difficult to separate the religious
from the literary where characterisation is concerned
...
As ‘one of the first, /If not the first archangel, great in power,
/In favour and pre-eminence’ (V, 659-661), Satan is certainly high in station
...
Initially, his tragic flaw
appears to be ‘pride and worse ambition’ (IV, 40), however upon closer inspection,
it becomes clear that pride is merely a consequence of his true tragic flaw, which is
instead his desire for self
...
Instead, it is the far more sinister prospect of
being ‘united as one individual soul’ (V, 610) under the Son’s reign that Satan

                                                                                                               
1

Aristotle, Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol
...
H
...
J
...
Waldock, Paradise Lost And Its Critics (Cambridge: University Press, 1947)
p
...
It is extremely telling that the great fear in hell is not death, but
‘utter loss of being’ (II, 440)
...
Whilst this could simply be an expression of the hopeless
nature of his campaign, it also suggests Satan’s own vanity, his pride in himself,
which is so extraordinary to the heavenly characters because they have no sense of
self in which to take pride
...
This is made
clear when the personalities, or lack thereof, of the other angels are compared with
Satan
...
Kenneth Gross rightly states that he is ‘the
only character with a voice, mind or attitude of his own’3; as the only thinking
character, he is almost an exploration of what it is to think
...
This is perfectly
demonstrated in the mirroring between heaven and hell when both God and Satan
ask for a volunteer to sacrifice themselves for the greater good
...
It has been
argued that this is a blasphemous perversion of the Son’s far greater sacrifice and a
further attempt on Satan’s behalf to equal God
...
His own strength of character is so superior to the rest

                                                                                                               
3

Kenneth Gross, ‘Satan and the Romantic Satan: a notebook’ in Re-Membering
Milton: Essays on the Texts and Traditions, ed
...

Ferguson (New York: Methuen, 1987) p
...
Their lack of individuality and even
imagination is similarly shown through the account of Satan’s fall in Book V
...
The inherent bias in this account is easily overlooked due to the
fact that it falls in line with the Christian teachings on which Milton based his epic
...
This refusal to be ordinary can only be seen as a
heroic quality
...

Adam even equates Eve with Satan as he renounces her after their exile:

Out of my sight, thou serpent, that name best
Befits thee with him leagued, thyself as false
And hateful; nothing wants, but that thy shape,
Like his, and colour serpentine may show
Thy inward fraud
...
She even goes so
far as to justify her fall by stating that if he had not allowed her to live her own life,
‘as good have grown there still a lifeless rib’ (IX, 1154)
...

13

 

3  

Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

your dauntless virtue’ (IX, 693-694), promising that it will not ‘incense his ire /For
such petty trespass’ (IX, 692-693)
...
This expectation reveals that Satan’s disobedience was not
motivated by any malicious feeling, but instead his own heroic ‘dauntless virtue’ (IX,
694) in independence
...
Likewise, when confronted by Sin and Death, he is
undeterred by their fearsome appearance
...

Rather than pride, his unwillingness to repent then ‘unsay /What feigned submission
swore’ (IV, 95-96) demonstrates the kind of honour usually associated with Hellenic
heroes
...
g
...

Although in this respect they differ, there are many parallels between Satan and
Sophocles’ Oedipus (arguably the archetypal tragic hero), who similarly struggles
against a supreme force, in his case fate itself
...
In both
texts, their initial presentation as strong statesmen and charismatic leaders is
immediately unsettling due to the level of devotion they inspire in others
...
He seems to have almost taken on the role of a deity to his vapid
followers as he is described as ‘their great commander, godlike shapes and forms
excelling human’
...

Similarly, as we are introduced to Oedipus his people have come to pray ‘before
[his] altars’5 addressing him as ‘lord and master’6
...
In classical mythology, good and evil are equally balanced, whereas
Christian theology states that good is ultimately more powerful
...
Yet the dramatic irony in his situation only serves to increase
the heroism of Satan’s refusal to withdraw
...
Yet despite this, Milton purposefully attempts to
make us see Satan as a heroic figure and sympathise with his cause
...

Essentially his most important attribute in Christian theology has been transferred
to the Son, leaving God as ‘immutable, immortal, infinite’ (III, 373), but completely
devoid of warmth
...
Furthermore, God’s ability to define
what is good and what is evil is based on the assumption that he is the creator of
everything, yet Milton has created figures such as Chaos, which somehow stand
apart from, and perhaps even predate God’s creation
...
By taking this fundamental principle
away, Milton allows us to look at Satan’s actions subjectively and decide for

                                                                                                               
5

Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, translated by David Mulroy (Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press, 2011), Ebook, University of Nottingham, I
...
I
...
The problem with this is that in a religious
context, good and evil are not subjective ideas and by presenting them as anything
other than rigidly objective, Milton is forcing humanist ideas into a context where
they do not belong and do not make sense
...
Our
ideas of heroism are further questioned in Book IX when Milton mocks medieval
Romances and chivalry as ‘long and tedious havoc’ (IX, 30) and states that they are
‘not that which justly gives heroic name /To person or poem’ (IX, 40-41)
...
By examining what qualities we deem heroic, Milton questions the
morality of his audience, since a true Christian hero, such as Moses or Abraham, is
defined by complete submission to God, not the warlike qualities we admire in
Satan
...

Stanley Fish7 argues that Satan begins the narrative in a heroic fashion in
Books I and II, but gradually becomes less so, eventually slinking back to hell in the
form of a serpent, he and all his kind ‘the dire form /Catched by contagion, like in
punishment’ (X, 543-544)
...
Similarly, the
horrifying sight of Oedipus being led back on stage, blinded, bent and beggarly is
one of the least heroic images in Sophocles’ work
...
Like
Oedipus’ decision to slink off into the wilderness, Satan’s inglorious return to hell is
an important part of his reversal
...
J
...
Waldock, ‘Satan and the Technique of Degradation’ in Milton, ed
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Martz (Eaglewood Cliffs, N
...
:Prentice Hall, 1966)  

 

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Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

and Satan gains greater knowledge of himself through the very act of falling
...

In conclusion Satan is undoubtedly a tragic hero, as he suffers a reversal of
fortune due to a tragic flaw, in his case a desire for individuality
...
12:9)
...
Furthermore, these two differing ideas
of heroism could be seen as a metaphor for the war in heaven between good and
evil, something which is played out in every soul and hence in every reader of
Paradise Lost
...
23, translated by W
...
Fyfe (London:
Harvard University Press,1932) Ebook, The Annenberg CPB
Gross, Kenneth, ‘Satan and the Romantic Satan: a notebook’ in Re-Membering
Milton: Essays on the Texts and Traditions, ed
...

Ferguson (New York: Methuen, 1987)
Herman, William R
...
, 1959)
...
org/stable/372433> [accessed 3 December 2013]
Milton, John, Paradise Lost, ed
...
, Milton’s Epic Characters (Chapel Hill: The University of North
Carolina Press, 1986)
Sophocles, Oedipus Rex, translated by David Mulroy (Madison: University of
Wisconsin Press, 2011), Ebook, University of Nottingham
Waldock, A
...
A
...
J
...
‘Satan and the Technique of Degradation’ in Milton:A Collection of
Critical Essays, ed
...
Martz (Eaglewood Cliffs, N
...
:Prentice Hall, 1966)

 

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Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

Utopia
For a society that apparently prizes virtue above all else, Utopia is a deeply immoral
society, depending almost entirely upon the unhappiness and imperfection its
neighbours
...
The
patronising elitist attitude towards other countries shown in these defence policies is
appallingly selfish
...

We are told that ‘the Utopians don’t care how many Venalians they send to their
deaths’8 in their own defence
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The narrator’s statement that ‘the utopians are just as
anxious to find wicked men to exploit as good men to employ’9 clearly shows that
their society could not exist if not for the debauchery of others
...
Most
horrifying of all however is that there is no economic need for a slave trade, it is
simply used as a way of subjugating those who refuse to conform to their
nonsensical standards
...
The practice of permanently
marking the ears of their prisoner-slaves shows the unforgiving nature of Utopia,
since they will still bear the mark long after they are released, demoting them to an
almost subhuman class
...


                                                                                                               
8

Thomas More, Utopia, ed
...
113
9
Thomas More, Utopia, ed
...
113  

 

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Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

A fundamental problem with Utopian society is that it does not admit to the
existence of the stable individual self
...
There is some truth
in this, since if its inhabitants were allowed to reflect on themselves or their society,
they would immediately see how flawed Utopia is
...
Likewise Utopia’s rules on
apprenticeships assume that a family is no more than a life support system
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Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

Oroonoko
Paul Hunter defines a novel as a contemporary, believable story about people of a
similar social rank as its readership
...
10 It is difficult to define what is
believable, since this varies from person to person
...
Whilst it is contemporary in its exploration of slavery and
colonization, its themes of betrayal and honour are too exaggerated to be
convincing
...
Furthermore their personalities are too underdeveloped and
emotions too flat to elicit sympathy
...

As a man of tragic stature, Oroonoko embodies the “noble savage” idea at its
most exaggerated
...
His highly unrealistic language is
composed almost entirely of superlatives and heroic hyperbole
...
Similarly Oroonoko
places a great deal of emphasis on chivalric values and honour, something
traditionally associated with romances
...

Oroonoko’s assertion that loosing his honour would be to lose himself is a highly
romantic notion
...
Yet in a romance, chivalry usually triumphs,
whereas Oroonoko’s chivalry leads to a grotesque end
...
Paul Hunter, Before Novels (London: W
...
Norton and Company Ltd, 1992),
p
...

Behn goes a long way to convince her readers that Oroonoko is a ‘true
history’, and the stylistic descriptions of Surinam certainly suggest this is a form of
travel writing, particularly since she was known to have visited
...
By
including real people and places, Behn blurs the boundaries of fact and fiction
enough to persuade her readers that at least part of the story is true, however this
is counterproductive
...
For example Oroonoko’s treatment at
the hands of the colonists may be a reflection of her own sense of betrayal over the
‘deplorable death’11 of King Charles I, something only emphasized by the narrator’s
constant assertion that true nobility is being abused and degraded by modern
forces
...

Real life rarely has a moral or a message, and read within the travel-writing genre
Oroonoko is just a depressing exercise in depravity, yet as a novel it is almost
saved from itself
...
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Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

Persuasion
Austen satirises the landed gentry throughout Persuasion, mainly through the
characterisation of Sir Walter
...
His
obsession with his own lineage shows him to be simultaneously arrogant and
desperately insecure
...
This effeminacy acts as
a foil to military characters such as Captain Wentworth and Admiral Croft,
representatives of a more masculine military
...
This change in attitude is
demonstrated through the difference of response towards the navy from each
generation
...

This divide is particularly apparent in the Musgrove household, where Captain
Wentworth delights the young daughters Louisa and Henrietta, whilst their parents
are more concerned with his social rank
...
As the wife of a knight, she is outranked
by the majority of the aristocracy and as such is not so concerned with the vanities
that define Austen’s depiction of the upper classes
...

Yet despite the emphasis on the foolishness of pretention over marriage,
breaking convention and marrying too far below one’s station is also shown to be
unfavorable
...
Similarly Mrs Clay is
portrayed as a foolish, ridiculous woman for attempting to marry above her rank
...
, 1993) p
...

Through her depictions of male characters, Austen also challenges
conventional gender roles
...

The Crofts challenge this system through their equality in marriage and are shown
to be much happier for it
...
Tradition dictates that the public sphere
belongs to man and the private sphere to woman
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14  

Student  ID:  4202626  
 

 

Studying  Literature:  Q31314  UK  

The Tempest
Caliban’s appearance is ambiguous and indeterminate as the island itself throughout
The Tempest, as there are so many contrasting descriptions of him, to believe them
all would create an impossible creature
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II
...
II
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It is unclear whether we are being shown an
animal capable of speech, or a man so degraded by his masters he seems to be an
animal
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II
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We are told that ‘save for the
son that she did litter here /A freckled whelp, hag-born’ (I
...
282-283) the island
was ‘not honoured with /A human shape’ (I
...
283-284)
...

Caliban is repeatedly referred to as a monster, yet this is only used to
indicate his deformity, not monstrousness as we know it
...
Alden T
...
Since ‘savage’ simply means he is
‘uncivilised by upper-class European standards’, Caliban can only be deemed savage
because there are apparently civilised people around him to judge him by their
standards and impose their ideas of savagery upon him
...
The
contrasts between him and other characters tell us a great deal about his place on
the island
...
He is introduced
to us directly after Ariel and immediately before Ferdinand
...
Vaughan & Virginia Mason Vaugh, Shakespeare’s Caliban: A Cultural
History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996) p
...
The contrast between Ferdinand and Caliban as
Miranda’s suitors is clearly shown through their differing attitudes towards chopping
wood for Prospero
...
Finally, the difference in the
temperament and education of Caliban and Miranda reveals Prospero’s failings
...
Caliban’s lustful, violent nature clearly shows that Prospero has failed one of
his wards in his attention to the other
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Title: University 1st grade Paradise Lost essay
Description: Is Milton's Satan described as a tragic hero? 2500 words. This essay got me a 71 in the UK grade system, which works out as very high 90s in the American system. It covers his tragic flaw, how far he could be considered to be a hellenic, Aristotelean or Christian hero and the parallels created between him and Eve.

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