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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter deals with Satan and his leadership capability in detail in order to

give a comprehensive background and complete understanding of the topic under

investigation. I will first give a historical background on the devil in the Bible, Anglo-

Saxon literature, English medieval drama and English Renaissance texts . In addition,

Paradise Lost is widely regarded as being masterpieces in the history of literature,

and as we observed in the previous chapter, many have seen Satan as embodiment of

leadership qualities in Paradise Lost. This chapter will analyse whether or not this

claim might be true: can Satan be the epic leader/hero of Miltons work? This

question is the oldest and most persistent of controversies over Paradise Lost.*1st

In this chapter several views of the critics are discussed and evaluated. To give a

comprehensive and vivid literature review of this study, the awareness and knowledge ofthe origin of Satans Myth and Satanism, is very much necessary.

To begin with, this chapter will first pay attention to the views about origin

of Satans Myth then views of the Pro-Satanists and the Anti-Satanists: critics

supporting the notion that Satan is having leadership qualities in the poem and

critics who assert he cannot be the leader. Then we will turn to Devil in literature.

In establishing the heroic leadership status of Satan, three elements will be

analysed in this chapter. The first one is Satans actions: what actions does he

undertake which can be considered as his leadership? Are there also actions which

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are the opposite of his leadership? The second element to be analysed is appearance:

Satan is described as still having his angelic features and bearing mighty weapons.

Thirdly, Milton gives his Satan a complex character and I am going to compare

Miltons Satan with other Devils in throughout the literature.

These three elements are used as core models of the devil figure. Here, I show

that the devil figure is quite an interesting character in literature and is used in

literature as a symbol of evil representing the opposite of good. Also, I explore his

characterization. Furthermore, the devil seems to appear in literature in certain times of

history; critical periods, periods of despair, revolution and radical changes in time.

My perspective on this is that the devil represents a character projecting thoughts and

ideas in periods of despair and revolution; he is a character that hides a critique toward

the church.

After the Fall, Satan immediately establishes himself as the leader of the

fallen angels and volunteers to travel out of Hell on a quest.

Origins of satan mayth:

The word Satan has been in existence for centuries. Semantically, Satan has

typically been synonymous with Devil; however through the course of this thesis, it will

be shown how the Devil was known as Satan and Lucifer before he became the enemy of

God and man. Although the Devils story has been altered and changed overtime, the

word has always stirred strong connotations from individuals. To this day, for the

majority of society, the Devil represents the pinnacle of evil due to the negative

association that religious groups have associated with the term.

Examining the origin of the word Satan and investigating the religious faith of

the Western European tradition reveals how the term came to represent the Prince of

Darkness.

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Caldwell explains in The doctrine of Satan that the figure of Satan is vague in

the Old Testament: in the Apocalyptic literature it is manifold and confused and

in the New Testament the outline of Satan is clear and definite.

William Caldwell, The Doctrine of Satan: III. In the New Testament, The Biblical World 41.3

(March 1913), p. 167.

This remark, I suggest, shows that the devil is quite a fascinating character as he

fulfills different kind of roles; for example he is an accuser, a tempter, a punisher,

a liar, and a murderer. *

* Ibid, p. 168-169.

And also his names are many to express the malevolence of his nature.

He is called adversary (1 Peter 5. 8); Angel of light (II Corinthians 11. 14);

Angel of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:11); Deceiver (Revelation 12. 9);

Devil (1 John 3. 8); Dragon (Revelation 12. 9); Enemy (Matthew 13. 39);

Evil one (John 17. 15); Man of sin (II Thessalonians 2. 3-4); Satan (Mark 1.

13); Serpent of old (Revelation 12. 9); Wicked one (Ephesians 6. 16) and

more.

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As you might expect the devil, or Satan, is always depicted as Gods opponent

and antagonist. He is called adversary and enemy of God; he is evil and God is good.

However, Satan, according to Christian theology, is never equal to God and therefore

Christians reject the thought of some sort of duality between good and evil. For, as

Caldwell notes:

the God of Israel is supreme and beside him there is no other

William Caldwell, The Doctrine of Satan: I. In the Old Testament, The Biblical World 41.1

(January 1913), p. 29.

He, however, explains that there is a dualism in experience. There exists an evil

side to Nature and to human life. In the Bible this evil side of nature is

expressed in the character of the devil. Satan is not only evil, but also a rebel and his

rebelliousness was quickly seen in the early Church as a cosmic projection or

explanation for the many different choices believers, not following any orthodoxy, kept

making about what to believe.

Satan was created by God thousands of years ago as a perfect angel. Satan was called

Lucifer and he lived in heaven.

Lucifer was above every other angel in heaven. His appearance was beautiful and

dazzling. He radiated light and glory. He was covered with gold and shimmering jewels.

Lucifer was the Chief Covering angel and he worked in the throne room of God.

"You were the seal of perfection, 12

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the garden of God; 13

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

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Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes

Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

You were the anointed cherub who covers; 14

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones

Ezekiel

28:12-14

The origins of Satan come from a variety of religions stories. Jeffrey Burton

Russell notes in his book Satan: The Early Christian Tradition that the Devil is not just

another demon, but

a personification of the force of evil itself (23).

Burton Russel, Jeffrey. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. 1984. New York: Cornell

University Press, 1988.

The tale of the Devil typically involves his rebellion against God and or

corrupting mankind. For example, Elaine Pagels notes that, in Hebrew Satan takes on the

role of

the opponent (106).

Pagels, Elaine. The Social History of Satan, the Intimate Enemy: a Preliminary Sketch.

Harvard Theological Review. 84 (1991):

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He continuously questions Gods authority and actions, which leads him to fall

out of favor with God and to be sent from Heaven. Although Satan is mentioned in these

texts as a tester of faith and opponent of God, he has not yet developed the evil stature

that is commonly associated with him today.

In fact, other interpretations present Satan working under God. Certain accounts

call Satan a close enemy of God since he was the highest angel in Gods command.

Jeffrey Burton Russell cites in his book that St. Augustine believed

the higher an angel stood in the ranks of heaven,

the lower it plunged into Hell (213).

Burton Russel, Jeffrey. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. 1984. New York: Cornell University Press,

1988.

Satan, he then deduces, would be at the lowest depths of Hell since he at one point

served at the side of God. This type of description of Satan is overlooked frequently

because of the common focus on Satans evil and habitation in Hell. Nonetheless, Satan

at one time was Gods most loyal archangel. Elaine Pagels describes that in the Bible,

Job envisions Satan as a member of Gods council who

tests the limit of his loyalty to God (106).

Pagels, Elaine. The Social History of Satan, the Intimate Enemy: a Preliminary

Sketch. Harvard Theological Review. 84 (1991): 106-128.

This depiction shows Satans character not representing evil but someone who

questions authority and tests mans faith as Gods servant. Society did not view Satan in

these textual citations as the pinnacle of evil; however, as history progressed, religious

interpretations changed and the Satans character did likewise.

Approximately six hundred BCE, the Jewish community changed their view of

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Satan due to events that took place in their society. Different sects of Judaism began to

form their own various opinions about God, which caused minorities to parallel their

situation with Satans. Members of each community began to compare those who held

opinions different from their own to Satans refuting of Gods authority. In turn, Elaine

Pagels claims, the Jewish community as a whole came to view Satan as an arrogant angel

who defied his commander in Heaven (116).

Questioning authority became one of the worst sins, and since Satans story

describes such actions, he became associated with the ultimate sin: questioning God.

Along with the Judaisms interpretation of the Devils story, multiple other religious sects

developed similar conclusions about his story.

Tertullian, the first Latin theologian, who lived approximately 200 AD, believed

that the Devil was created good, but succumbed to evil on his own and uses

fury, lust, delusion, and madness to oppose God .

(Russell, 98).

Tertullians religious philosophies seem analogous with his predecessors beliefs,

which also viewed the Devil as absolute evil. Like Tertullian, Saint Ignatius, bishop of

Antioch approximately 107 A.D., believed that:

the Devils purpose is to corrupt and divert people from serving God

(Russell, 35).

Russell also cites how Saint Ignatius claimed that those who opposed the

churchs rule must be agents of the Devil and should be punished accordingly (35). What

is evident from these historical events is the evil associated with the Devil. Once the

Devils malevolent reputation increased through the first centuries A.D., society began to

associate evil acts or individuals with him and their distaste for Satan grew accordingly.

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With individuals increased revulsion for Satan, this rebellious leader gained

much infamy. In popular opinion, people believed Satan rebelled against God and tried

to ruin mankind because of envying Gods power. In the second and first centuries BCE,

Jewish storytellers passed on legends that presented Satan not only rebelling against

Gods power, but also, according to Elaine Pagels, mating with human women (114).

Satan had now completely become a despicable character who loved the flesh and

wanted to ruin mankind in order to spite God. The popular notion of Satan had changed

from the image of one who tested mans faith in God into a diabolical, fearful character.

In the fourth and fifth century A.D., Satans image became severely altered by the

Roman Society also contributing to individuals fear of the Devil. Russell notes in his

Book Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages

the image of the Devil grew more sinister perhaps in response to the growing

dislocation of Roman Society (190).

Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. Ithaca: Cornell

University Press. 1984.

Russell notes how the Western Church associated the Devil with fire because ofits representation of torment, and the Devil was typically shown in black to symbolize his

lack of goodness (190).

What surfaces from this alteration is that Satans appearance did not happen from

spontaneous chance, but rather in response to historical influence from the Church. This

shows that Satans association with evil led to his connection with misfortunes in history.

People thus began to fear coming under Satans will and living by an order of sin.

Elaine Pagels notes, for example, that during BCE times, the Israelites blamed

misfortunes on the Devil (108). However, as his infamy grew leading into the A.D.

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centuries so did his association with misfortunes. During the Middle Ages, witch hunts,

the Inquisition, and the Crusades can be attributed to peoples fear of Satans evil.

Russell notes in a second book Satan: The Early Christian Tradition . Lucifer:

The Devil of the Middle Ages, that during the Inquisition, enemies of the church were thought to

be tortured souls under the devils possession engaging in sexual orgies, cannibalism, and making sacrifices

to the Devil . (190).

Russell, Jeffrey Burton. Satan: The Early Christian Tradition. Ithaca: Cornell

University Press. 1981.

Since people explained actions through their religious beliefs, Satan became

associated with evil that took place in the world. Although religious beliefs changed over

the centuries, up through the Middle Ages, one belief stood firm: Satan is having some

good leadership qualities and most feared character in history.

Examining Satans history, it is evident that he did not always have negative

connotation with his name. In fact, at one point in time, Satan was known as the highest

angel that served by the right-side of God. Although this image was lost through the

Middle Ages, Satan would be given a chance to plead his case again once societys times

and needs summoned his assistance.

It is sometimes supposed that the critical support for Satan began with the

Romantics, but the notion that Satan is the hero of Paradise Lost goes as far back

as John Dryden. Romantic critics, such as William Blake, Lord Byron and Percy

Shelley argue that Satan was the hero of the story.*2 Of course, they essentially

do have a point, when only taking into consideration books I and II of Paradise

Lost. These contain many references to Satans fight for liberty and the bravery of hisactions. Critics who have an ethical sympathy for Satan have been labelled Satanists.*3

Then there are also the critics who oppose this favourable view of

Satan: they are called the Anti-Satanists. Anti-Satanists generally find Satans

speeches pompous and ridiculous and his behaviour despicable. Furthermore, they

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also take into consideration what happens to Satan after the first two books, which

clearly show Satans ethical and moral digression. And the view of Satan indeed

changes and becomes less favourable. By the time the plot advances to book IV,

the idea of Satan as the leader hero of other fallen angels, if he ever was one, seems

to be finished when Satan himself mentions:

Which way I fly is Hell; myself am Hell (IV.75).

Now that he is away from the other fallen angels, Satan realises the sorry

state he is in. While in the eighteenth century the Romantic view of the work was

quite strong, in the nineteenth century critics such as C.S Lewis, S. Musgrove and

Charles Williams very much supported the Anti-Satanist view. Especially Lewis is very

strong in his claim, stating for example that Milton could not foresee that his work would

one day meet the simplicity of critics who take for granted things said by the father of

lies and falsehood in public speeches to his troops.*4

However, the discussion between Anti-Satanists and Pro-Satanists still

continues today; Pro-Satanists generally emphasise Satans courage, Anti-Satanists

his selfishness and folly. Since disputability is generally advantageous to a work of

literature, it certainly has done no harm to the popularity of the work throughout the

centuries.*5

The Roman churchs Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 determined that: The

devil and the demons were also created by God; at the moment of their creation,they were

not evil:

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Satan is alive and real. He got the name Satan after he was thrown out of heaven.

Satan and his angels are demons. They live in the spirit world.

Satan has many names. He is also called the devil, Dragon, Serpent, Beelzebub,

Abaddon, Apollyon and many other names. The names of Satan lists many of his names

from the Bible.

Names of Satan:

The Bible calls Satan by many different names. Each name has a slightly different

meaning. The many other names for Satan give a fuller picture of who Satan is and whathe does. There are more names for Satan in the Bible than for anyone else except Jesus

Christ.

Abaddon:

Hebrew name for Satan meaning Destruction. And they had as king over them the angel of the

bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. Revelation

9:11

Accuser:

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of

our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before

our God day and night, has been cast down. Revelation 12:10

Adversary:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking

whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Angel of light:

And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians

11:14

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Angel of the bottomless pit:

And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is

Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. Revelation 9:11

Anointed covering cherub:

"You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of

God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones." Ezekiel 28:14

Antichrist:

And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And

this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 1John 4:3

Apollyon:

Greek name for Satan meaning Destroyer. And they had as king over them the angel of the

bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. Revelation

9:11

Beast:

9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and

his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine

of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be

tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

Revelation 14:9,10

Beelzebub:

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, This fellow does not cast out demons except by

Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Matthew 12:24

Belial:

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And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 2

Corinthians 6:15

Deceiver:

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the

whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:9

Devil:

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son

of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

Dragon:



Enemy

The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the

angels. Matthew 13:39

Evil one

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from

the evil one. John 17:15

Father of lies

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a

murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he

speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. John 8:44

God of this age

Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of

the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 2 Corinthians 4:4

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King of Babylon

That you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: How the oppressor has

ceased, The golden city ceased! Isaiah 14:4

King of the bottomless pit:

And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is

Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. Revelation 9:11

King of Tyre

"Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord

GOD: "You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Ezekiel 28:12

Lawless one:

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His

mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the

working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among

those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2

Thessalonians 2:8-10

Leviathan:

In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong,

Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent,

Leviathan that twisted serpent;

And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea. Isaiah 27:1

Liar:

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a



Little horn:

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9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south,

toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down

some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. 11 He even exalted himself as

high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His

sanctuary was cast down. Daniel 8:9-11

Lucifer:

"12 How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart:

'I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.' Isaiah 14:12-14

Man of sin:

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away

comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all

that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he

is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4

Murderer:

44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a



Power of darkness:

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son

of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13,

14

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Prince of the power of the air:

1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked

according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now

works in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1,2

Roaring lion:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking

whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Rulers of the darkness:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against

the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12

Ruler of demons:

But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. Luke

11:15

Ruler of this world:

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I

am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. John 12:31,32

Satan:

And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts;

and the angels ministered to Him. Mark 1:13

Serpent of old:



Son of perdition:

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3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away

comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all

that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he

is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4

Star:

Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given

the key to the bottomless pit. Revelation 9:1

Tempter:

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these

stones become bread. Matthew 4:3

Thief:

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may

have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Wicked one:

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of

the wicked one. Ephesians 6:16

This list of names for Satan has been taken from the New King James Version of the

Bible.

In Paradise Lost, Milton tells the story of the war in heaven and the Fall

of Man, mainly from the devils point of view. This causes Satan to be the focus ofattention when it comes to describing his heroic actions: he certainly plays a very

important role in the work. Contrastingly, the devils role in La Divina Commedia is

quite limited. We only encounter him when Dante and Virgil have to climb over

him in the Ninth Circle of Hell in order to continue their journey. When we look

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upon Miltons Satan as an active evil, Dantes Lucifer might be considered to be a

passive evil. Satans true being is his lack of being, his futility and nothingness.

Burton Russel, Jeffrey. Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages. 1984. New York: Cornell

University Press, 1988: p. 225

Dante intended his Satan to be empty and passive, almost reduced to

nothing, as opposed to Gods energy. He limits the role of the devil on purpose:

Satan is almost the symbol of nothingness and can therefore have no substantial

character in La Divina Commedia, quite contrary to Miltons Satan.

Satan is often called rebellion but no one knows that those who are called

rebellions they prove excellent leaders.Near the end of the eighteenth century, however,William Blake put forth a new interpretation. Blake believed that Milton portrayed Satan

more richly and magnificently than he portrayed God, and he took this as evidence that

Milton (perhaps unwittingly) sided with Satan:

The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at

liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the

Devils party without knowing it. (Plate 6)

Blake, William. Het Huwelijk van Hemel en Aarde. Trans. Sylvia Koetsier. Utrecht: Erven J.

Bijleveld, 2001.

Blake took the meaning of the poem to be consistent with what I am calling the

humanistic theme:

Devil in Anglo-Saxon literature, medieval drama and Renaissance texts :

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In Anglo-Saxon literature, medieval drama and Renaissance texts the devil appears

frequently as a character of evil misdeeds who brings about the fall of humankind

and is usually a bad character and the antagonist to God.

However in each period the devil character seems to have different characteristics.

In his study Satan Unbound: The Devil in Old English Narrative Literature Peter

Dendle focuses specifically on the devil in the Anglo-Saxon period. He

states that Anglo-Saxon authors devote little attention to the devils physical

description. The devil figure is specifically portrayed as a character set in

mythological narratives and as a moral metaphor. The emphasis in this period is

on his function rather than his personal character or activities. And in Old English

literature the devil usually appears in the role of a tempter.

William Caldwell, The Doctrine of Satan: I. In the Old Testament, The Biblical World 41.1 (January

1913), p. 29.

For example in two poems, Juliana and Genesis B, the devil disguises himself as

an angel of light in order to make his temptation more convincing. Innocent Eve in

Genesis B surrenders, whereas Julianas faith is so strong that it is impossible for the

devil to seduce her. Woolf observes, in these poems and other, that the devil is depicted

as a constant giver of bad advice, something of which we get notice in the Old

Testament where the devil gives Eve his catastrophic advice. In other words, the devils

causal agency, whether convincingly or unconvincingly, is the inducement to human

sin. He works at a psychological level. And Dendles statement is acceptable, as

Woolf nowhere in her essay describes the devil figure. All her observations give

knowledge about his characteristics; she observes that the devil in old English poetry is

always miserable, skulking wretchedly round the outskirts of the world.

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Another observation is about the wanderer in Old English poetry; Woolf

considers that the wanderers monologues are alike the devils because of the same

weariness and abandonment of hope, the same yearning for what has been lost for ever.

Thus according to Dendle, and explored in Woolfs essay, the portrayals of the devil

in Anglo-Saxon literature know little of the dramatic flourishes that would

characterize the later devil of medieval drama and renaissance witch trials the horns and

spines, multiple faces, bestial proportions and features, etc

The devil, hereis a more abstract concept. During the Middle Ages faith in God

and the church had a strong influence on people. Everything that was regarded as

good was seen in relation to God and everything that was regarded as bad and

unorthodox with the devil. Under those circumstances, the men and women dedicated

to special holiness suffered more severe temptations than their secular-minded brothers

and sisters. People thought the earthly life was a test to resist temptation of the devil, so

that after death if you succeeded you would receive eternal life in paradise. The devil

is denied the entrance of the paradise for ever. He now wants to tempt the faithful

man and woman to divert them of their path toward God. People thought that the devil

was only interested in believers, as the secular-minded men and women were already

considered to be damned into hell. The devil tempts the religious to obstruct God; when

man thinks he cant be saved anymore and when despair overrules hope, then the

devil has accomplished his task.

In medieval literature the use of allegory is significant. One of the most

important themes is, of course, despair. Despair usually appears in the form of a

personification. An example can be found in De anima liber quartus, where the sequence

of fear and joy is expressed in an allegoria. Snyder points out that a character

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called Timor, or Memmoria Mortis, tries to frighten Prudentia and the other cardinal

virtues with his grim warnings of death, judgment, and hell. She also observes that the

devil uses the trap of despair to discourage those whom he could not keep secure in sin.

In addition, she argues that he uses despair as one of his weapons. And according to

medieval writers, it is logical that the devil in first cause uses despair, because he

needs a weak spot to attack his victim. Although despair was a theme that was

highly prominent in literature, luckily stories of forgiven sinners were the most

popular.

As in the Middle Ages, the struggle between England and the Catholic Church

continued in the sixteenth century. continued in the sixteenth century.

Literature in the Renaissance stayed more the less in the same tradition, thus

despair remained an important theme; the loss of hope of salvation. The representation of

ugliness, sinister figures, the turning point of the heros downward movement and

devilish figures who want to convince hopeless lovers that their love is hopeless and

that life only continues with more pain are recognizable storylines of this period. But in

the Renaissance, the despair topos, like others originally theological in nature, passed

over into secular literature.

So, in literature the devil has quite a lot of different roles and the most important

characterizations are his opposition to God and his role as tempter. His main

purpose is to divert believers from their faith in God. Throughout time his

characterization develops; from character qualities in Anglo-Saxon literature to

fuller descriptions of character qualities and physical illustrations in Renaissance texts. In

other words, from an abstract concept to a more humanized figure.

The devil throughout time is related to despair, which was a significant theme in

literature. In Renaissance texts the devil passed over in secular-minded literature instead

of theological texts. Also the devil seems to appear in times where there is a struggle

between England and the Catholic Church.

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Doctor Faustus (1604) is written in the Renaissance. The Renaissance is

described to us as the Middle Ages minus God, and the tragedy is that in losing

God the Renaissance was losing man himself. When Faustus summons some spirits,

the first one to appear is Mephostophilis, a devil and servant to Lucifer. Mephostophilis

admits to Faustus that when he and the other devils hear a blasphemer they fly in hope to

get his glorious soul. They appear only when a man is already in danger to be

damned.

This sense of loss is visible throughout the play, and starts in the opening

chorus as it tells that Faustus sets black magic above his hope and salvation. Faustus then

sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge, magic and necromancy, but it

seems that the fruition of Faustuss pact is immediately shown to be much less than hehoped to be.

Faustus was considered already a potential sinner. Obviously, Lucifer has deceived him

as his knowledge and power are restricted.

When asked to consider whether or not the Satan of Miltons Paradise Lost is

Faustian, the problem of chronology immediately rears its devilish head. In the order of the

universe, and the worlds created in the works of both Milton and Marlowe, Satan exists

before Marlowes Dr. Faustus. But of course, whether the text of 1604 or 1616, Dr. Faustus

predates the pinnacle work of Milton by at least fifty years. For the sake of the argument, I

am going to compare Miltons Satan and Luciferas a result of, and with the understanding

that Milton would have read, Marlowes play.

The analysis of Satan and Faustus will focus on the speech that Satan gives in the

fourth book ofParadise Lost, lines 32 thru 133, and while incorporating all of Marlowes Dr.Faustus, will pay special attention to lines 35 thru 114 of the plays third scene. By using this

portion of Marlowes play, Mephistophilis must also be considered, which will provide an

interesting point of analysis when Miltons Satan begins to lament and despair his separation

from Heaven. Upon conclusion, we will find that Satan is made sympathetic, yet at the same

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time more deplorable than Faustus, by the authors borrowing of Marlowes techniques for

constructing both Faustus and Mephistophilis.

Once Milton establishes Satans initial mood, the character then reveals the cause of his

situation when he states,

Pride and worse Ambition threw me down (4.40).

In fact, Satan mentions twice more in his speech the word, Ambition. And this is where the

major comparison to the character of Faustus occurs. It can be said that all evil figures rely on

ambition as their cause, yet most heroic figures do so as well. The real cause of ambition

being a quality leading to down fall occurs when it is mixed with selfish pride. After

contemplating and then refusing repentance, Satan admits that his pride is the reason for

refusal when he remarks:

my dread of shame / Among the Spirits beneath, whom I seducd (4.82-83).

Prior to Milton, Marlowe also used pride as an excuse for Satans state when he has

Mephistophilis answer Faustus question as to the cause of Satans downfall with,

by aspiring pride and insolence (3.67).

The lack of control that Miltons Satan exhibits concerning his pride and ambition is both a

cause and effect with regards to the lack of contentment he felt in heaven. These are the same

feelings of distress and irritation that Faustus demonstrates in his first soliloquy. For Faustus,

being a philosopher is not enough when after evoking Aristotles works he states,

A greater subject fitteth Faustus wit (1.11).

Nor are the miracles of medicine fit to satisfy Faustus when he bemoans that his prescriptions

should serve as monuments (1.20) and that he would not be satisfied by being eternized

for some wondrous cure (1.15). These statements also serve to demonstrate the pride and

ego that will eventually consume Faustus. In his own words, the pinnacle of what Faustus

wishes to achieve can be found: When all is done, divinity is best (1.37). The

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understanding then is that only by being a god, and therefore the commander of All things

(1.56) will Faustus find contentment.

Miltons Satan also describes his lack of contentment at being merely the lord of hell. Just as

Faustus finds no satisfaction in being a master of philosophy, medicine, law, and religion,

Satan states,

While they adore me on the Throne of Hell,

With Diadem and Sceptre high advancd

The lower still I fall, onely Supream / In misrie (4.89-92).

For both Satan and Faustus, dominance over the world is not enough. The lack of value each

feels, with only a hint of insecurity, leads to a need to dominate everything, and anything less

provides only misery and despair. Yet here is where the characters diverge for a moment.

Faustus, having not yet tasted divinity, wants to use his

brains to gain a deity (1.63)

while Satan continues, for a brief moment, to mull over the option of repentance.As for

Satan, although sympathetic, in the end he gives up all hope and declares,

all Good to me is lost (4.109).

His final hope is that he might snare the majority of man and therefore hold a

position superior to that of Heavns King (4.111) because his pride and vanity will not let

him repent lest he looks a fool in the face of the demons who sided with him against God.

In truth, there is no difference between Miltons Satan and Marlowes Faustus. Both

are consumed by ambition and pride, both will spend the rest of their existence in hell, and

both will continue to serve as the model for future villains to come.

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But what is hell in the mind of Marlowe and Milton? Both Miltons prose and

Marlowes play construct hell in a similar fashion. In arguably the most meaningful lines of

Miltons work, Satan states,

Which way I flie is Hell; my self am Hell (4.75).

This statement echoes the idea expressed when Mephistophilis replies to Faustus,

Why this is hell, nor am I out of it.

Thinkst thou that I who saw the face of God,

And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,

Am not tormented with ten thousand hells (3.76-79).

For each character, hell appears to be an internal construction, a lack based on previous

possession, and something that both Faustus and Satan want to escape, but never do.

Satan in Romantic age:

Romantic England was a time of wars and rumours of war. The impact of the war

against revolutionary and Napoleonic France was especially great.

Stephen Prickett, The Romantics (London: Methuen & Co, 1981) p. 15-76.

The Romantic period was a dark one and a common emotion was fear.

Under those circumstances, as Paulson doesnt doubt, the Gothic novel was so

popular; the widespread anxieties and fears in Europe were aroused by the turmoil of

France.

And the negative, dark side of the revolution tended to fall into this genre through

tales of darkness, confusion, blood and horror. For example, Paulson observes that

The Monk is a novel that exploits the dramatic resonances of the Revolution and

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its anti-clericalism, but simultaneously portrays the rioting mob as blood-thirsty,

completely out of control, animal-like in its ferocity :

Ronald Paulson, Gothic Fiction and the French Revolution, EHL 48.3 (Autumn, 1981), p. 532-536.

Lamb notes that the Gothic novel is best suited to the exploration of ontological

crisis and ontological insecurity :

John B. Lamb, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein and Miltons Monstrous Myth, Nineteenth-Century

Literature 47.3 (December, 1992), p. 306

Of course we find this in Frankenstein where the monster has no identity. Hehas no name and his purpose is to acquire recognition from his creator and to belong to a

family, however he is ignored by humanity and thus his wishes and desires are

impossible to fulfill. As a consequence, the monster becomes violent and causes the

destruction of others.

In this we discover a larger philosophical issue, as Mellor notes; what,

finally, is being and how is it constituted?:

Mellor deals with the ontological crisis in Frankenstein. See Anne K. Mellor, Mary Shelley: Her

Life, Her Fiction, Her monsters (New York: Routledge, 1989) p. 128 - 136.

And Lamb observes, with particular reference to Frankenstein, that the thematic

focus of Gothic fiction is the nature of identity.

Lamb, p. 307.

Apart from this, Lamb points out that Mary Shelley explores

the contradictions inherent in the bourgeois ideal of the individual.

Lamb shows that Mary Shelley uses Miltons myth of identity and its disastrous consequences

to explore these contradictions; see p. 318.

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One of the most fascinating subjects to express these paradoxes and

contradictions are the devil and hell. And as explored in the previous chapter,

there is much written about this antagonist to God and heaven.

In fact, not only in Frankenstein, but also in other literature we can find these

contradictions as the Romantic period was an age of paradoxes and contradictions.

For Romantic writers, Miltons Satan was a significant and heroic figure and

they further reshaped him into a vehicle of artistic and ideological freight.

Peter A. Schock, Romantic Satanism: Myth and the Historical Moment in Blake, Shelley and Byron

(Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) p. 2.

In particular, writers like Blake, Shelley, and Byron turned Miltons fallen angel,

as Schock suggests, into a different kind of mythic anchor for ideological

identification. He explains that the devil was a figure who projected the

oppositional values of their social groups as well as the ambivalence generated by

these commitments, Satan served as a rhetorical instrument in controversial or

speculative writing.: Schock, p. 3.

In English Romantic writing, there were diverse forms of Satanism that arose out

of a set of cultural acts and forces converging in the historical moment.

Schock gives the following forms;

Anti-Christian or infidel polemics and histories or religious myth,

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political and propagandistic uses of the figure of Satan, and the

widespread fascination with Miltons sublime archangel, propelled

by the revisionist criticism and illustration of Paradise Lost.

Schock, Peter A., Romantic Satanism: Myth and the Historical Moment in Blake, Shelley and Byron

(Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003)

According to Schock, these forms constitute the cultural matrix out of which

Romantic Satanism emerged.

The Cultural Matrix of Romantic Satanism. p. 11-40.

Thus, especially to criticize religion the devil was a useful character for expressing

free thought and ideologies. For example, the devil and hell are often described as an

awful place, a place of punishment. However, this is not always the case as William

Blake was quite astonishing and different than others of his contemporaries.

Other examples, where the devil figure is used as a projection of ideology and free thought are Shelleys

Prometheus Unbound (1820), Byrons Cain: A Mystery (1821). For more examples, see Schock, p. 6-10.

French Revolution :

The period after the French Revolution was a time of radical turmoil and

political conflict. And it was during this period, between 1790 and 1793, that

Blake composed a remarkable piece of work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; a book

that is similar to Dantes Inferno, as the book describes the poets visit to hell and

gives reference to Miltons Paradise Lost. Just like Paradise Lost, it questions

authority and is contradictive.

Blake portrays hell not as a place of punishment, but as some kind of energy

that is opposed to the repressive place called heaven. As Blake writes:

Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion,

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Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human

existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call

Good & Evil. Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the

active springing from Energy.

Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell.

William Blake, The complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake ed. David V. Erdman (Berkeley:

University of California Press, 1982), p. 34, hereafter CPPWB.

Thus in Blakes view, humans need contradictions. However, he also says that the

religious people have made these contradictions and in their eyes evil is active,

desire and energy. But how is one person able to long for desire as it is regarded

as evil? It seems that Blake is trying to confuse us in The Voice of the Devil, as

he explains that The history of this written in Paradise Lost, & the Governor of

Reason is call'd Messiah. And the original Archangel or possessor of the

command of the heavenly host, is call'd the Devil or Satan. However as Blake

continues in the Book of Job Miltons Messiah is call'd Satan (CPPWB, 5, p.36).

If the Messiah is, in Paradise Lost, Jesus Christ, and in the Book of Job, Satan,

how can it be that they both act in the same way? Shouldnt there be one good and

one evil? It seems that Blake blurs good and evil in this phrase in order to show

that there is no absolute good or absolute evil. In this way, he criticises the

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religious as they say there is good and evil and nothing in between. And in his

Proverbs of Hell, Blake further describes more paradoxes, wherein he reveals the

repressive nature of the conventional ideas of religion. For example, the sentence He

who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence and

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom (CPPWB, 7, p.38).

It is clear that if one has a desire, but doesnt do anything with this it will bring a

plague, to put in other words nothing good will happen if one doesnt act from desire.

And if we follow the way of unrestrained behavior it will lead to wisdom, as Blake

argues Expect poison from the standing water (CPPWB, 9, p. 40). So could this also

mean that Blake criticises that religion is something evil, as he seeks to explain

that the religious try to repress desire and want to use reason and restraint to do

so. I suggest that he questions their authority and finds that one has to follow

ones own purpose and ideas and that one doesnt have to follow the orders of

the religious as one will only loose ones desire.

So, the French revolution had a major influence on Romantic England. In

particular, the fears and anxieties were reflected in the Gothic novel and the devil

figure was a character that symbolically represented those fears, paradoxes and

contradictions. The devil was a logical choice for writers to use his character for

political and propagandistic reasons, free thought and ideologies. What is more,

Romantic England was an age of self-consciousness and searching for its spirit. And most

noteworthy, it was ironically aware of what it was doing with language. Eighteenth-

century writers admired Satans defiance and compared his attempt to overcome God

with the Romantic confrontation with organized institutions. Satan became the model for

various actions in the late 1700s and early 1800s as writers related to his rebellion with

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God. Satan began to be associated less with evil and more with being virtuous and

heroic. Steadman notes, English writers in the Romantic Period develop Satan into a

symbol with a broad range of functions including rebellion, unconventional politics, and

religious values Writers, who wanted a courageous hero to oppose high authority, now

had it in the Devil.

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