In writing Paradise Lost, Milton was of the Devil'sparty without knowing it.
IT was William Blake who observed
that Milton belonged to the Devil's party without knowing it. The remark
implies that Milton unconsciously glorified Satan, especially in Book-I of
Paradise Lost. This point of view is typical of the Romantic spirit, and it
makes Satan the real hero of Paradise Lost. The Romantics admired indomitable
courage and love of freedom, both of which Satan shows in plenty of Book-I of
Paradise Lost. However, one cannot admire these qualities as good in themselves,
ignoring the moral values connected with them in the context of the poem.
Satan certainly possesses heroic
qualities in paradise Lost, but, if Milton glorified him, it is done
consciously. But knowingly or unknowingly, Milton is never on the side of the
Devil. Satan was required to be made of heroic dimensions to make him a fitting
adversary' of God and to impress on the reader the dangerous potential of evil.
Furthermore, if Satan had been of less than ordinary stature, the deception of
the Mother of Mankind would lose its effectiveness. Above all, Milton was
writing a special kind of epic - an epic of cosmic proportions which required
its characters to be impressive. .
Satan cannot, however, be regarded as
the "hero" of the poem mere because he is cast in the heroic mould.
The courage, the determination, the philosophical statements, the love of
freedom, all these qualities lose their value when the intention behind them
becomes clear - and it is clear not merely in Milton's commentaries but in
Satan's very speeches. One should not be deceived by the dazzling flourishes'
of Satan's rhetoric. Milton's presentation of Satan is in no way at variance
with his commentary. Satan comes out in all his vain egotism, falsehood and
evil. His courage and indomitable will are directed towards evil - "our
labour must be to pervert' that end and out of good still to find means of
evil." Satan is the negation of good. He is the perversion of an
angelic nature. While this perversion is increasingly evident in the later
Books of Paradise Lost, it is also very much there in Book-I. He intends
the war against God to be conducted by guile, anticipating the sly and sneaky
manner in which he enters the Garden of Eden to harm two beings who have done
him no harm.
The grandeur that Milton bestows on
Satan is the fulfillment of an artistic requirement. But a villain is a villain
however powerful he is portrayed. Even from Book-I of Paradise Lost Satan
appears as the father of lies, an arch-fiend, an apostate angel, an archangel
ruined. He would have been a tragic hero if he had opposed forces of evil, but
ironically he is himself the author of evil. The great qualities of Satan are
made futile' because of his inner corruption. As B.A.Wright points out, Satan
is the enemy of God and man. He must be seen as a towering genius, but we cannot
forget that his genius is Satanic. "All his virtue are in fact corrupted
by his situation and by the uses to which he puts his power." When we read
Satan's speeches and understand their implication, we cannot endorse the
opinion that Milton belonged to the Devil's party, knowingly or unknowingly. We
do not feel that the poet's commentaries are at variance' with the presentation
of Satan. We realize that if Milton has "glorified" Satan it is to
make all the more poignant the idea that mere appearance is not enough and that
one should not be deceived by the dazzle in which evil clothes itself.
No comments