est that Milton's Satan, although he is eloquent and beautiful at first, does in fact undergo a slow transformation through the epic until he does end as the sort of grotesque monster that Stutz thinks is not really present in Milton. In the poem, Satan takes on the forms of different animals, and he feels degraded. By the end of the epic, Satan returns to Pandemonium to tell the demons about his victory, and instead of cheers, he hears a collective "hiss." All the demons, including Satan, have turned into snakes. While Stutz writes that Milton does not emply grotesque images of the diabolical, Milton chooses for Satan to end as a grotesque monster. If you look carefully for the slow transformation, you will see that the Satan of Paradise Lost is not so heroic after all.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Satan in Milton and Lewis
In the article we read by Dr. Stutz, he argues that Milton's Satan is not a grotesque, diabolical Satan, something that C.S. Lewis corrected in his retelling of Paradise Lost. A long-standing critique of Milton's Satan is that he is too heroic, too easy to sympathize with--he is to some an admirable rebel. Lewis found fault with this portrayal of the devil and fashioned his "Unman" accordingly. However, I would sugg
est that Milton's Satan, although he is eloquent and beautiful at first, does in fact undergo a slow transformation through the epic until he does end as the sort of grotesque monster that Stutz thinks is not really present in Milton. In the poem, Satan takes on the forms of different animals, and he feels degraded. By the end of the epic, Satan returns to Pandemonium to tell the demons about his victory, and instead of cheers, he hears a collective "hiss." All the demons, including Satan, have turned into snakes. While Stutz writes that Milton does not emply grotesque images of the diabolical, Milton chooses for Satan to end as a grotesque monster. If you look carefully for the slow transformation, you will see that the Satan of Paradise Lost is not so heroic after all.
est that Milton's Satan, although he is eloquent and beautiful at first, does in fact undergo a slow transformation through the epic until he does end as the sort of grotesque monster that Stutz thinks is not really present in Milton. In the poem, Satan takes on the forms of different animals, and he feels degraded. By the end of the epic, Satan returns to Pandemonium to tell the demons about his victory, and instead of cheers, he hears a collective "hiss." All the demons, including Satan, have turned into snakes. While Stutz writes that Milton does not emply grotesque images of the diabolical, Milton chooses for Satan to end as a grotesque monster. If you look carefully for the slow transformation, you will see that the Satan of Paradise Lost is not so heroic after all.
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In Perelandra by Lewis (2nd book in his Space Trilogy), he depicts Satan again when Satan possesses the body of the scientist who follows Ransom to Perelandra. This depiction of Satan has always burned itself into my mind and has haunted me. Lewis captures Satan's terrifyingly child-like glee over doing evil things - whether big or small things. He focuses on how Satan is desperately in love with the experience of causing others pain. It might be interesting to also study this portrayal of Satan in comparison to Milton.
ReplyDeleteKevin Ott
www.kevinott.net