The Differences of Satan in Paradise Lost and The Bible
Since the Old Testament, Satan has been personified as the embodiment of all evil, incapable of any human emotion other than those which we find negative or evil. Since the invention of Satan as a foil for God, he has taken on many forms throughout literature and in popular culture. However, John Milton seems to have captured the true essence of Satan in his work Paradise Lost and comes the closest to the true image of Satan. But as Satan moves from his more emotional self in the beginnings of the novel, he no longer physically reflects the Satan from the Bible but begins to emotionally reflect it.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, Satan is firstly portrayed as a fallen angel, one of God’s favorites. The first mention we see of Satan is in the Book of Job, Chapter one, when God and Satan first take notice of Job, a hard-working and God-fearing man who shuns all evil. There is no mention of Satan’s physical description, but it is understood that he is one of the angels, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them” (KJV Job 1:6). In the Book of Daniel, Daniel himself witnesses first hand an angel’s appearance, claiming,
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude (Daniel 10:5-6).
Until the fall of Satan, he is one of these angel creatures of insurmountable beauty and it can be assumed that after the fall of Satan, he remains physically the same, with Corinthians stating, “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). It isn’t until later, after Christian churches manipulated the image of Satan to coerce followers to fear Hell and Satan, that his image becomes corrupted and hideous. In Miguel A. De La Torre and Albert Hernandez’s book The Quest for the Historical Satan, they explain how the modern image of a red skinned, hooved image of Satan came to pass, “In most European literature of works of art, Satan appeared hideous - a creature that had difference animal body parts. For example, he would be portrayed as a person with goat legs, or pig teeth in his mouth, or duck feet, thus symbolizing an unnatural creature, an abomination of creation (De La Torre and Hernandez 14).” This modern invention of Satan is divided from the original imagery from the Bible, meant to instill fear into Christian followers to live a life according to Jesus Christ.
But it is Satan’s actions that truly define him. Though his physical appearance differs between different cultures, literature, and popular culture, his actions rarely differ. He is always one to point out flaws in an argument, playing devil’s advocate, and looking to gain where others falter. His fall first comes after he refuses to bow to humans, wishing instead to rule more powerful than God himself. Satan, in his angel form known as Lucifer, was the most intelligent of all the angels, bestowed with knowledge and beauty. But his greed is his downfall, as Isaiah states,
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God" (Isaiah 14:11-13).
Milton also describes the fall of Satan in Book 6 of Paradise Lost when Lucifer leads his army of rebel angels against the opposing army, led by Gabriel and Michael. In a similar situation as in the quote from Isaiah, the army of God’s angels bury the rebels on the second day of war under mountains, "When coming towards them so dread they saw/ The bottom of the Mountains upward turn'd,/ Till on those cursed Engins triple-row/ They saw them whelm'd, and all thir confidence/ Under the weight of Mountains buried deep" (Milton Book 6 lines 648-652). From under these mountains they must dig their way out of, much like how Isaiah claims that from where Satan reigns is beneath worms. As Lucifer tries to overthrow God and seek a place of reign in Heaven, he and his army are thrown down from Heaven and fall through Chaos, what can be assumed is Earth in its most primitive state, and land in Hell nine days later. But this fall does not alter Satan’s appearance to make him more hideous, though he has the power to change his image at will. His true form is that of a beautiful angel that fell from grace. Even Milton himself states that Lucifer was one of the most beautiful of angels, “But O how fall'n! how chang'd/ From him, who in the happy Realms of Light/ Cloth'd with transcendent brightness didst out-shine/ Myriads though bright” (Milton Book 1 lines 84-87).
Satan’s actions are what really separate the Biblical version of Satan from Milton’s version. Though there are some overlapping similarities, especially in the Old Testament, the accounts from the writers of the Bible paint Satan in a more vile light and blame him for all the wrongdoing of the world. In Book 1 of Paradise Lost, Satan is described as "...extended long and large/ Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge/ As whom the Fables name of monstrous size... Leviathan, which God of all his works/ Created hugest that swim th' Ocean stream...So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend lay/ Chain'd on the burning Lake" (Milton Book 1 lines 195-210). Despite his fall, Satan is still considered a gigantic beast, larger than anything else created by God. He is a fearsome sight, one that can tear man asunder and cause their own downfall. This leads to Satan being seen as a truly terrible being, capable of evil just by his sheer size. But Milton provides the first proof of a physical change in Satan, "His mighty Stature; on each hand the flames/ Drivn backward slope thir pointing spires...Then with expanded wings he stears his flight/ Aloft, incumbent on the dusky air...Sublim'd with Minera fury, aid the Winds,/ And leave a singed bottom all involv'd/ With stench and smoak" (Milton Book 1 lines 222-237). Though angels also have wings, they do not leave a trail of burning, stinking ground when they fly. This is the first time that Satan’s physical appearance can be linked to carnage and desolation, with fire being his main tool after God sent him to a burning lake to rule as Hell. Fire is commonly seen as evil because of its destructive powers, so what better element to give Satan than one that has the power to destroy the world with his flight? But by the end of Book 1, though Satan and his first in command, Beelzebub, are described as humongous beasts of fire and stench, the demons under Satan’s command are described as small insects, “Thick swarm'd, both on the ground and in the air,/ Brusht with the hiss of russling wings. As Bees...Behold a wonder! they but now who seemd/ In bigness to surpass Earths Giant Sons/ Now less than smallest Dwarfs, in narror room/ Throng numberless, like that Pigmean Race/ Beyond the Indian Mount, or Faerie Elves” (Milton Book 1 lines 767-781). It is interesting to note that the demons have been likened to dwarves and faeries, creatures associated with goodness and kindness, as well as their small stature. This is in complete opposition to the Satan of the Bible, who is never physically described after his fall. Rather, "Satan is eerily similar to the Greek god Pan (whose Roman counterpart was Fauna), who possesses the hindquarters, cloven hooves, goatee, wrinkled skin, and horns of a goat..." (De La Torre and Hernandez 13-14). These physical similarities come from the Christians attempt at converting pagans by taking their gods and transforming them into their own religion, at times putting them in the seat of an evil power to help sway the pagans to the conversion.
In the Book of Job, Satan’s personality is that of an indignant follower, one who is no longer appeased by their master’s accomplishments. When God gloats about his follower, Job, who is what God considers “...a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil” (Job 1:8). However, Satan notices a flaw in God’s argument, noting that Job has never known true hardships and challenges God to test Job to see if his faith will truly stand the test. God agrees and takes away Job’s crops and children. Job does not budge in his faith. Satan again tests God’s belief in Job who yet again ultimately ruins Job’s life. This is the true nature of Satan, not to go out of his way to ruin lives but rather to test what God has created as an act of hostility against God rather than at man. Even when Satan tempts Eve in the Garden of Eden, his actions speak more to his rebellion against God rather than sheer hatred of mankind. In fact, Satan has more human emotions than is given credit for. In the Bible, Satan is seen as nothing but hatred and the cause of evil. As evidenced in Matthew, “Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw” (Matthew 12:22). Here, Matthew is saying that because Satan has possessed the body of man, they cannot see or speak. That he is the reason for all mute and blind people on the planet. Satan is accredited for having caused all evil in the world, including those that afflict or limit humans. In Book 1 of Paradise Lost, this seems to be his goal, as he makes a heroic speech to his following demons, "If then his Provdence/ Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,/ Our labour must be to pervert that end,/ And out of good still to find means of evil;/ Which oft times may succeed, so as perhaps/ Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb/ His inmost counsels from thir destind aim" (Milton Book 1 lines 162-168). He does indeed wish to disrupt the will of God by turning all that he has created into evil to serve Satan’s own purposes, but his actions are not just for the sake of being evil but to lash out at God himself. Despite this, Satan is viewed as a hero, or perhaps even an anti-hero in Milton’s work.
In Book 2 of Paradise Lost, Satan hosts a sort of open forum amongst the demons, trying to figure a best plan to reclaim Heaven as their own. This sort of democratic leadership is one most readers would have a hard time grasping for the supposed King of Hell. Satan despises Hell, and "...condemns to greatest share/ Of endless pain? where there is then no good/ For which to strive, no strife can grow up there/ From Faction; for none sure will claim in Hell/ Precedence, none, whose portion is so small/ Of present pain, that with ambitious mind/ Will covet more" (Milton Book 2 lines 29-35). Satan knows that there is no lower place for God to send them, that they have fallen as far as is possible, and so risk nothing when planning another attack against Heaven. It is here in Book 2 that the plan to corrupt the new race of Man comes from Beelzebub at the request of Satan. When choosing someone to go above to this new world and scout it out, Satan volunteers to show off his leadership and heroism. Satan is the epitome of a leader who knows how to choose the right words to rally his troops and uses their low status to try and secure his army to overthrow God by corrupting the inhabitants of this new world, knowing that the only true way to overthrow God is through his own works for it is God’s power that is also his undoing. "The punie habitants, or if not drive,/ Seduce them to our Party, that thir God/ May prove thir foe, and with repenting hand/ Abolish his own works" (Milton Book 2 lines 367-370). If Satan succeeds in turning the new found Man against his creator, God will have no choice but to destroy it, making Satan successful in his quest. Jacob Burnett states that “Satan fashions himself and his image of the cosmos in terms of power. When he and the other members of the infernal crew speak of God, they invariably speak of his omnipotence. For Satan, the reason for his failure to unseat God is a result only of God’s superior power” (Burnett 25). This speaks true to Satan’s quest, but he cannot do it with demons alone, as that has been proven to fail. However, on his way out Satan meets two of his offspring, Sin and her son Death who guard the gates of Hell. These two characters can be used as fodder for those claiming that Satan is the opposite of a hero because his own offspring are what are unleashed upon the world of man and serve more a purpose for Satan’s own greed than his lust for revenge. But these two are the main weapon that Satan uses to corrupt and claim Mankind for his own purpose. As he goes into the black abyss that is outside the gates, he meets Chaos, Confusion, Night, and Discord. Through smooth speech, Satan ropes Chaos into aiding him as well. As Satan continues to the new Earth, the trail made by Death and Sin creates a bridge from Hell to Earth, connecting the two realms, "From Hell continu'd reaching th' utmost Orbe/ Of this frail World; by which the Spirits perverse/ With easie intercourse pass to nd fro/ To tempt or punish mortals, except whom/ God and good Angels guard by special grace" (Milton Book 2 lines 1029-1033). This bridge between the two realms gives ease to Satan’s and his army’s coming-and-going, which aids their quest in corrupting man to seek revenge on God.
In Leontien Kouwenhoven's work, Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost, he claims that “By giving Satan the opportunity to express himself in this fashion in his speeches in the first two books, Satan becomes a comprehensible and acceptable character which is understandable. Satan volunteers to leave Hell on a quest and, as a true hero, he sacrifices himself for his fellow angels” (Kouwenhoven 16). Milton purposefully made Satan the main character through which Paradise Lost is written and understood, giving the reader a deeper look into the mind and actions of Satan. Perhaps it was Milton’s goal to create a more humanized character out of Satan, a character which has come to be despised without being understood. Kouwenhoven continues to say,
When looking at book I and book II of Paradise Lost, Satan may indeed be labelled an epic hero on account of his actions and the actions described in his speeches. He delivers heroic speeches to the other Fallen Angels, in which he bravely suggests to stand up and do something about the unjust way God has treated him and the other fallen angels. (Kouwenhoven 16).
Through words and actions as well as description, Satan in books 1 and 2 of Paradise Lost can be viewed as a hero. However, there are those who would argue the opposite. Kouwenhoven calls this camp the Anti-Satanists, those who claim that Satan is the complete opposite of a hero and his actions and words show “…his selfishness and folly” (Kouwenhoven 16). Kouwenhoven explains the nature of Anti-Satanist’s school of thought, “Anti-Satanists generally find Satan’s speeches pompous and ridiculous and his behaviour despicable. Furthermore, they also take into consideration what happens to Satan after the first two books, which clearly show Satan’s ethical and moral digression” (Kouwenhoven 15). While this can be debated in Books 1 and 2, it most certainly can be argued even further in Book 9, one of the most iconic books of Paradise Lost.
Book 9 is the story of the Fall of Man from the Garden of Eden. Satan sneaks into the Garden and takes on the form of a serpent, an inconspicuous form to spy and lurk around in. At his first look inside, we see a regression back to the almost innocently heroic side of Satan as he observes the beauty of Paradise and laments at how he has lost so much in his pride and arrogance, a loss which he will never reclaim. "...and the more I see/ Pleasures about me, so much more I feel/ Torment within me, as from the hateful siege/ Of contraries; all good to me becomes/ Bane, and in Heav'n much worse would be my state. But neither here seek I, no more in Heav'n/ To dwell, unless by maistring Heav'ns Supreame" (Milton Book 9 lines 120-125). Though he is jealous of the beauty he sees, it is a false beauty that would include servitude and prostration to God, something that he is not apt to do. This soliloquy of his is reminiscent of his most famous line made in Book 1, “Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n” (Milton Book 1 line 263). Though he is upset by the loss of Paradise, the cost does not make him falter in his desires and his anger fuels him. Meanwhile, inside Paradise, Adam and Eve decide to separate for the day to work and Satan snags his chance to tempt Eve to eat fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet again, Satan’s words are his weapons as he smooth talks Eve by flattering her and telling her how beautiful she is, “Thy looks, the Heav'n of mildness... Fairest resemblance of thy Maker faire,/ Thee all things living gaze on, all things thine/ By gift, and thy Celestial Beautie adore/ With ravishment beheld, there best beheld/ Where universally admir'd" (Milton Book 9 lines 534-542), while also convincing her of its harmlessness, enticing her, "...look on mee,/ Mee who have touch'd and tasted, yet both live,/ And life more perfet have attaind then Fate/ Meant mee, by ventring higher than my Lot" (Milton Book 9 lines 687-689). But with the later introduction of Adam and his selfless sacrifice to stay with Eve, Satan’s guiles no longer strike the audience as heroics as he acts much like the Book of Revelations describes the physical appearance of Satan as having devolved into
And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born....the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan..." (Revelation 20:3-9).
Satan goes from being a relatable being in Books 1 and 2, though slowly devolving from his heroic antics to an evil being, and his actions in Book 9 then leave him in his basest form, a serpent who has deceived mankind to commit the original sin, and in that form he stays until the final battle against God where he is described in his reptilian form.
Satan’s emotions still hold the audience captive, and, as Kouwenhoven states, “Milton stresses the humanity in his Satan, giving him a humanlike appearance and a complex and emotional character” (Kouwenhoven 21). But there is a great divide over whether or not Satan can be classified as a hero in Jon Milton’s Paradise Lost, as there is a great disturbance between Milton’s work and the Bible, a text used as factual proof in defiance with worldly sources. His physical self is the biggest divide, with Milton’s version being one more human-like, though he can take form of a serpent at will, while the Bible claims that he is commonly seen as a large and fearsome dragon. Both can agree, however, that Satan is a large and terrible being who should be feared, and possibly even pitied.
Works Cited
Burnett, Jacob Cameron. The Satanic Self in Chaucer, Milton and Beckett. MA Thesis. North
Carolina State University, 2007. Print.
Hernandez, Miguel De La Torre. The Quest for the Historical Satan. Minneapolis: Fortress
Press, 2011. Print.
Kouwenhoven, Leontien. Satan as the Hero of “Paradise Lost.” MA Thesis. Groningen
University, 2009. Print
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Barbara K. Lewalski. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2007.
Print.
The King James Bible. Ed. Robert Carroll. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
