Paradise Lost Q&A

Books 1 and 2 depict Satan as a martial leader, evident in how the other fallen angels react to him, their response to him serves as a strong indicator of his role as their commander. They quickly rouse themselves out of the confused state upon hearing his voice and organize themselves into neat companies, ready for his command. Milton's Satan is a talented orator as well, he is at his most compelling when he declares his intention to travel through the void all alone in order to rescue them from the prison of Hell. At another time, he manages to convince Death and Sin to let him out of hell, with a promise of free reign in the new world. However, an argument can be made that Satan's leadership qualities are few and far between. In the first two Books, Satan manipulates the gathering of his followers through Beelzebub so as to bring to fruition his own plan. He chooses to go forth for the task himself because he can't trust anyone else with such an important mission, and by putting himself in such a position he prevents the rise of any challengers for his position. In Raphael's retelling of the events in Heaven, we see in Satan a poor martial commander who has vastly underestimated the force of his adversary. As such, it could be argued that Satan doesn't truly depict any true qualities of leadership in Paradise Lost.

Satan is written as an extremely compelling character, in the initial Books, and it is easy for the reader to sympathize with Satan as his reasons for rebellion seem so familiar, jealousy, greed, and envy are all familiar human emotions. As Satan enters Earth, he looks at the creation of God, and the beauty of it all disarms his convictions. We see him go through a familiar process of self-doubt wherein he re-examines his conviction and his plans, but ultimately decides to follow through with his plan. After Satan is humbled in the presence of Gabriel, we begin to see a more despicable character that we have trouble associating ourselves with, Satan increasingly becomes more depraved and malicious. This may be Milton's deliberate way of displaying to the reader how the path of disobedience completely alters the once angelic mind as he becomes determined not to express repentance and refuses to submit to the judgment of God.