SATAN in John Milton's "PARADISE LOST": Renaissance Hero, Paradoxical feature , Satan-Macbeth or Iago?

 The Renaissance is the rebirth of the human consciousness, the consciousness of being an individual aspiring for the infinite. The Renaissance was a breaking free from the restrained imposed by the feudal-ecclesiastical combine of the Middle Age THAT reduced human-beings to cogs in the social machinery, enforcing a struck hierarchically and  preventing upward mobility for the imaginative JOURNEY. 

The Renaissance was therefore the rebellion of the free mind which would seek to realize its infinite potentiality and man of  universalism. ‘Nothing less than the infinite can satisfy man’ declared Blake, the romantic imbued with the spirit of the Renaissance. Satan imbued with the same Renaissance ambition would rebel against God and thereby achieve infinite power as Troeltsch has pointed out, ‘the Renaissance spirit would exploit his circumstances, the governmental as well as the religious machinery in order to ascend, socially, intellectually and spiritually."(The Renaissance and The Reformation) Satan too zeal outs the vulnerability and credulousness of the some of the angels to lead the astray, using all-the resources that he can- his elevated stature, his sonorous voice and his magnificent ability to lead angels into war- to regain, rediscover and for liberty.

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The cavalcade of epic heroes though the ages can possibly not evoke a more contrary figure than Satan who is not only contradictory in himself, but also evokes contradictory feeling. His contradictions lie not only in his career, one which proceeds from seeing luminous angle to an ‘infernal serpent’, but also in his embodying the antipodal qualities. 

Endowed with the ambition of a hero personifying Browne’s dictum, “Man’s reach should caked his grasp/or what’s a heaven for? “Andrea Del Sarto"), as well as with the imagination of an angel, an imagination which can transform the world by the phantasmagoria of the mind, he appears less a villain than a protagonist. Yet, Milton designed him as a villain, and indeed, Satan occasionally manifests a disloyalty, treacherousness, selfishness and a hypocrisy which denigrate his heroic stature. His rhetoric is designed only to elevate them, designed only to work at his behest rather than make them prosper. Even if he sometimes appears to be the embodiment of a Promethean figure rebelling against unjust tyranny, he is soon revealed to be a self-servicing demon, a monster of inequity himself, one who would ask him not a Commonwealth but despotism.

                                                        

The contradictory nature of Satan leads to occasional misinterpretations, portraying him as either a villainous character like Iago or a virtuous one like Hamlet. However, he is neither. He is more like Macbeth - a quasi-tragic figure possessing admirable qualities such as fearless courage, unwavering willpower, a vivid imagination, exceptional powers of expression, an immense capacity to endure physical and psychological torture, and genuine human emotions. Despite possessing these exceptional qualities, like Macbeth, he too is ultimately ruined due to his unbridled ambition, leading him to eternal damnation.

The statement 'Thou hast a voice whose sound was like the Sea' is borne out by reading Paradise Lost. Satan's speeches are delivered with a declamatory style, his voice modulated like the rise and fall of the sea, employing a range of rhetorical figures, resulting in a profound impact on the fallen angels. No other epic hero, including those from Iliad, Odyssey, and Divine Comedy, is as renowned for their demagogic power as Satan.

Thus, one of the paradoxical features of Satan is his portrayal as a tragic hero. He is depicted as a noble figure who challenges the authority of God and refuses to submit to him. This quality is reminiscent of the Renaissance ideal of the heroic individual who stands up against oppressive power. Satan's eloquence and persuasive skills are also admired, as he is able to convince a third of the angels to join him in his rebellion.

However, despite his heroic qualities, Satan is also a villain. He is driven by his pride and desire for power, which leads him to commit heinous acts, such as tempting Adam and Eve to sin. His evil nature is reflected in his appearance, which is described as monstrous and terrifying:

"He above the rest

In shape and gesture proudly eminent

Stood like a tower; his form had not yet lost

All her original brightness, nor appeared

Less than archangel ruined, and the excess

Of glory obscured" (Book I, lines 589-594)

Satan's actions and motivations share similarities with Shakespearean villains Macbeth and Iago. Like Macbeth, Satan is ambitious and willing to do anything to achieve his goals. He is willing to commit murder, deception, and other forms of treachery to advance his cause. Similarly, like Iago, Satan is a master of manipulation and deception. He is able to twist the truth to suit his purposes and is skilled at sowing discord and chaos among his enemies.

In conclusion it is fair to say that Satan in "Paradise Lost" is a complex and paradoxical character but no doubt a Renaissance hero with a lot of faults of Baconian Pragmatism. He is both a heroic figure who challenges oppressive power and a villain who commits heinous acts out of pride and a desire for power. His actions and motivations share similarities with Shakespearean villains Macbeth and Iago, making him a complex and fascinating character to analyze.

Ardhendu De

Reference

1. Troeltsch, E. (1913, December 1). Renaissance und Reformation. Historische Zeitschrift, 110(1), 519–556. https://doi.org/10.1524/hzhz.1913.110.jg.519

2. Milton, J. (2004, August 26). Paradise Lost. https://doi.org/10.1604/9781593080952