Close reading

In Letter II, Walton expresses his desire for a friend in his correspondence to his sister. Walton has come across as a resourceful and almost goofy man, but when he explains, "I have one want which I have never been able to satisfy..." as a reader you find yourself feeling very sympathetic (19). The desire for a compatible friend "to participate in my joy... to sustain me in dejection" is a universal emotion(19). it also feels like foreshadowing in this instance. Since I have some prior knowledge about Frankenstein, it seems the emphasis placed on this statement in this letter is and insight and warning. Walton does find a companion, and perhaps his story will provide a further study into the desire for a compatible friend. I do know that I saw this passage as something that will become important as the novel continues.

Blog #9

Close read any passage from Vol. 1 of Frankenstein.

Blog #8: Satan's Action or Reaction?

In response to Beelzebub's lament that the fallen angels would have to "suffice his [God's] vengeful ire" (I.148), Satan sets a purpose for those who now reign the underworld to create evil as a direct response to the wrongs God continually does unto them. This brings to light Satan's self-characterization as an opponent of God, which, despite his proclaimed cause, seems to be created without precedent. This leaves us to wonder if his evil intent is created by circumstances that are external (God) or internal (himself, by nature).

He resolves to create an eternal task "to do ill our sole delight, / As being the contrary to his high will / Whom we resist" (I.160-162). Satan's choice to "resist" and act as "contrary" to God, who he believes "raised [him] to contend" (I.99) and to prefer "His utmost power with adverse power opposed" (I.103) is a deliberate pitting of himself as the opposite/foe/antithesis of God. This exemplifies the meaning of his self-named "Satan", with the Hebrew meaning "adversary", whose purpose is to create himself as an opponent to the "sense of injured merit" (I.98) he believes God has inflicted upon him. However, he also describes his resolution as a "reassembling [of] our afflicted powers" (I.186), which we we could interpret to mean that Satan is merely afflicted or overcome with a bad case of ego bruised, which implies that his enmity is self-made because he controls his own ego--or, at the very least, can be attributed to a random, impartial power or force.

Angst, Evil, and Daddy Issues... Sound Familiar?

You weren’t mommy and daddy’s little angel. Not all the time anyways. Neither was I, and neither were most people. Therefore, I think we can all relate to how Satan felt.

Milton’s characterization of Satan includes significant elements of basic human emotions, such as rebelliousness, ambition, hate and envy, while simultaneously displaying imperious wisdom and leadership to synthesize the overall effect: awe and respect but, in contrast to “the almighty”, not wonder.

Satan begins his speech with some standard wounded spite, “To do aught good never will be our task,/ But ever to do ill our sole delight,/ as being contrary to his high will/ Whom we resist.” and plays upon the damaged pride of his cohorts. This, on first glance, seems like a petty reaction to the punishment he deserves, but a reaction that tempts us all when we are punished: thwart your oppressor, because he is bad and mean. Yet, Satan laces it with the rhetorical foundation that he will build upon until his final lines. Satan uses the italicized words to put his statement into an eternal context. He knows there is no way back into heaven and he knows that his troops may well hate him for their fall from grace. His depiction of an enteral task of malicious resistance both prevents his angels from wandering onto a new task, such as a new rebellion against Satan, and focuses their anger right back at his foe instead of at him.

Satan culminates his welcome to hell pep talk with lines of camaraderie and wisdom, “How overcome this dire calamity,/ what reinforcement we may gain from hope,/ if not what resolution from despair.” First he refers, for the billionth time, to how “dire” the “calamity” is before presenting the ultimate win-win situation. If there is hope in the situation then great because hope is good and can act to reinforce flagging wills, and if there is nothing but despair then, as highlighted earlier, the despair is eternal and there is no use crying about it; Satan and his angels are all in it together, there is no choice but to take resolve and plough forward.

Satan’s rebellious outburst of teenage angst is shockingly mundane, and all too easy to empathize with and dismiss, until his speech. Too much empathy leaves little room for divine wonder, and in the beginning I felt myself viewing Satan as I might King Lear. But after reading his speech, and the way he phrased his language to such a powerful rhetorical climax, it makes me wonder if I wouldn’t have been right behind him in his rage against the system.

Blog 8 Satan's Speech

Satan is characterized by Milton as a great evil power, but still is not as great as God. Satan’s main goal throughout the book thus far is to not do good. He says, “To do aught good will never be our task/But ever to do ill our sole delight.” (159-160). This passage comes after Satan is defeated in battle, yet he still is determined to only do evil and to “disturb/His inmost counsels from their destined aims” (167-168). He wants to pervert God’s good and make it evil. God’s goal in all of this seems to be that he will take Satan’s evil and turn it into good. Although Satan is determined to do evil, Milton does not portray him in a negative light. He seems like a powerful figure and the reader almost admires his determination. He is described in such a way that makes him seem powerful and great; and the only person who is better than him is God himself. The image of his defeated “army” rising out of the lake shows how they may still be a powerful and joined force. After he is defeated and banished to Hell he says that he has “hope” (190) that will be a “resolution of despair” (191). It is interesting to note that very early on in the epic Hell was described as a place where “hope never comes” (65). But, Satan does in fact have hope that he can defeat God and remains hopeful throughout. This contradiction is interesting and says something about Milton’s view of Satan. If Hell is a place where no one can have hope and Satan does, this means that he is a powerful person who is able to be the exception to this rule.

Madeline Berger - Blog 8

Satan creates an optimistic tone to give his mate the confidence necessary to take flight after having fallen. To remind his mate that flight is still possible although he has fallen, he addresses him as “fallen cherub.” He uses the noun of “cherub” to remind him that his identity is a flier. He uses the past participle of “fall” to remind his mate that falling is action that occurred in the past rather than an inherent part of his identity.

Satan uses words portraying uncertainty to point out the existing slivers of hope to his mate. These words include “oft times,” “may,” “whether,” “perhaps,” “if,” and “if not.” He uses these words frequently and repeatedly to give him the hope necessary to rally him into flight.

He contrasts the current fallen state against the future state of action. He describes the current fallen state using depressing words like “dreary,” “forlorn” “desolat[e],” “pale,” and “dreadful” to show that his mate’s current lack of hope is merely a function of the hopeless location, and thus imply that it will change once they take flight.

He describes contradictions in the current location to show the necessity to leave such a nonsensical, irrational place. He says that the location is “void of light”, but immediately contradicts this with, “save what the glimmering of these livid flames casts.” Second, he next describes “fiery waves”, which is an oxymoron, for waves usually describe water, which destroys fire. Third, he instructs his mate to “there rest” before implying that rest is not possible there by saying, “if any rest can harbor there.” He paints this scene as irrational and follows up such a description with a rational agenda, including action words such as “reassembling,” “consult,” “offend,” “overcome,” “reinforcement,” and “resolution.” Such a concrete set of rational goals is more appealing than an illogical location that does not abide by the rules of science.

He concludes by acknowledging his agenda of trying to give the mate hope so that they can together pursue a resolution by saying, “what reinforcement we may gain from hope.” Thus Milton portrays Satan as aware of the feelings of others and able to use logic to alter those feelings for his own betterment.

Groups of Three

When describing Satan, Milton utilizes both parallel structure and wordplay as he creates a complex depiction of the king of the underworld. Milton says:

Evil to others and, enraged, might see

How all his malice served but to bring forth

Infinite goodness, grace, and mercy shown

On man by him seduced, but on himself

Treble confusion, wrath, and vengeance poured (216-220)

The parallel structure between “goodness, grace, and mercy” and “confusion, wrath, and vengeance” intrinsically links the two groups, but they are amplified by different factors. The goodness is infinite while the confusion has only been trebled, or tripled. However, while one definition of treble means to triple or to have three times as many, another definition is to consist of three parts. This repetition of three is evident in the two groupings, and it is also a cornerstone of Christianity, as the father, son, and Holy Spirit are believed to be three separate, yet somehow unified figures. This is similar to the “goodness, grace, and mercy” as well as “confusion, wrath, and vengeance” because the words are similar, yet not exactly synonyms. This works especially well with the first group of words.

Since there are two groups of words here, it is possible that the father, son, and Holy Spirit act as the third group, thus fulfilling a new group of three. This would link the negative and positive groups of words together, making them become one. This would suggest that people have both good an evil in them, a belief Milton likely held as a Puritan.

Leviathan, Futility, and Autolycus

In lines 192-241 the first and most striking characteristic of Satan is his enormity. He is described as a "bulk as huge as whom the fables name of monstrous size," (1.196-197) and is compared to Titanian, Briareos or Typhon, and most importantly, Leviathan. The reference to Leviathan is especially significant because the footnotes illuminate the reference to Isaiah's prophecy that "the Lord 'shall punish Leviathan, that crooked serpent.'" Leviathan is a direct parallel to Satan, for Leviathan was punished just as Satan is being punished by God now. Additionally, Leviathan is a sea-serpent, and Satan is being punished for his trickery while in the form of a serpent.

Satan's torturous existence, "Chained on the burning lake," (1.210) is another poignant theme of his description. His excruciating punishments suggest that evil deserves and receives punishment for its wrongdoings. Additionally, his evil is futile, for "all his malice served but to bring forth infinite goodness, grace, and mercy shown on man by him seduced, but on himself treble confusion, wrath, and vengeance poured" (1.217-220). Not only does Satan's evil bring about "goodness and grace," the exact opposite outcomes of his intentions, for man, but his acts of evil are punished severely. The way in which Satan's shameless immorality actually brings out good is reminiscent of Autolycus in Winter's Tale, for they both intend pure evil yet unintentionally help other characters. We have yet to see how Satan's evil benefits others, but it is clear from the vivid descriptions of the hellish landscape that he is already suffering for his mistake.

Meggie's Blog on Milton's Characterization of Satan

In Milton’s description of Satan, the “Arch-Fiend” is characterized as physically huge and mighty, but simultaneously oblivious to God’s power over him. The readers are supposed to first be shocked by the physical description of Satan, but then, in a way, identify with him—he, despite his size, is just as subject to God’s rule as the rest of humankind.
Milton first characterizes as larger-than-life to frighten and impress the reader. Satan is “in bulk as huge/ As whom the Fables name of monstrous size,” such as “Levianthan, which God of all his works / Created hugest that swim the’ Ocean stream” (Lines 196-197, 201-202). Of all of God’s “works” in the ocean, Levianthan is the “hugest.” However, Satan is equally “extended long and large,” and perhaps even larger as he also is compared to “Titanian... Briareos or Typhon,” also intimidating and gigantic monsters (Lines 195, 198-199). Essentially, the reader can take their pick of any fierce villain of mythology, and Satan is just as, if not more, frightening.
Despite his impressive size, Satan is cannot be compared to God in wit and power, which Milton implies throughout the second half of the passage. Satan, though jaw-dropping in stature, is actually “chain’d to the burning Lake,” and he would never have “ris’n or heav’d his head, but that the will / And high permission of all-ruling Heaven” (Lines 210-212). God permits and enables Satan to lift his head, which indicates that his vast size is actually useless. As he and his right-hand man, Beezlebub, proudly leave the lake, Milton reveals the foolishness of Satan:

Him followed his next Mate,
Both glorying to have scap’t the Stygian flood
As Gods, and by thir own recover’d strength,
Not by the sufferance of supernal Power (Lines 238-241)

Satan and Beezlebub believe that they have the ability to leave the lake of fire on their own accord, “not by the sufferance of the supernal Power.” Milton once again indicates the strength of God, and thus the weakness of Satan, by capitalizing the word “Power.” God, whose name is always capitalized, then becomes synonymous with power. Satan, who may be physically large, is suddenly as “small” as the average reader.
Milton’s description of Satan in Book 1 of “Paradise Lost” demonstrates that the reader and Satan are both equally subject to the power of God. This actually makes the character of Satan more relatable, but simultaneously indicates his foolishness for thinking he is comparable in power to the Lord. At the time the epic was written, most readers would have identified with some sort of Christianity, and thus believed in God's over aching power. Because of this, any reader who truly believed in God would suddenly be represented as more intelligent than Satan through their understanding that God is the most powerful being in the universe.

Satan's Speech

In Satan’s speech starting on line 157, the arch-fiend reveals the mission and nature of evil in relation to the righteousness of Heaven. Milton writes “If then his providence/Out of our evil seek to bring forth good/Our labor must be to pervert that end/And out of good still to find means of evil”. (161-165) Here, we find Satan’s intention after facing defeat by God. While being unable to conquer heaven, he intends to spread evil through the distortion of the good in heaven. Milton is offering an explanation towards the existence of evil despite the omnipotent and benevolent nature of God. While God acts in righteousness, evil still exists. However, it is offered in this passage that the origin and existence of evil is the result of Satan’s distortions of good. God is also working towards turning Satan’s evil back into good, which he is largely successful in accomplishing. Through the context and content of Satan’s speech, we see the origin of evil out of the work of demons- yet the demons are ultimately kept in check and mastered by God.

Satan's Speech

Milton constructs a character who is trying to regain his power and influence. Reading Satan’s speech, it seemed to me that he was trying to rally troupes—to reassure them of their evil cause. He says, “…If then his Providence/Out of our evil seek to bring forth good,/ Our labour must be to pervert that end” (162-4). Satan knows what he is and does is evil. He is aware that he is fighting goodness:

“To do ought good never will be our task,

But ever to do ill our sole delight, [ 160 ]


As being the contrary to his high will


Whom we resist.”

He says they (his evil followers, I presume) must rest, (“if any rest can labour there”—reminiscent of Kent advising the same to Lear), and then reassemble. It seems interesting to me that Satan is being incredibly logical and effective like an general. He is studied and controlled. I feel the most revelatory statement in Satan’s speech is: “What reinforcement we may gain from Hope,/ If not what resolution from despare” (190-1). Satan has hope. Hope, which is associated with faith, God and Christianity. He then uses the paradoxical, “despare”, as his source of resolution. This is a contradictory insight into Satan’s character. I’m interested to see further developments.

Playing Devil’s Advocate... Literally

In his speech in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Satan motivates and rallies the other fallen angels against God, not once wavering in his hatred for all that is good. Though he consistently acknowledges his minions - and himself - as “fall’n” and “evil,” his grandeur, eloquence, and word choice causes us to question whether or not he truly is an antagonist in Book One. From what (and how) he recounts the past, perhaps he was justified in his actions, and it was God who was irrational and “impetuous.”

True, even the thought of questioning whether the devil is really evil seems radical and perverted; however, it is Milton who portrays Satan as a charismatic and persuasive leader as opposed to a manic villain. Much like Hitler (and excuse the obvious reference), Satan thoroughly believes that he is justified and that he must do everything in his power to fight to undermine the enemy, who in this case, is God. Satan eloquently recounts the aftermath of the fallen angels’ banishment: “the sulp’rous hail shot after us in storm o’erblown . . . and the thunder, winged with red lightning and impetuous rage” (Book 1, 171-175). At this point, the distinction between God’s and Satan’s powers start to blur. It seems natural that Satan could be the furious, raging perpetrator, shooting thunder and red lightning and promoting “the glimmering of livid flames” (Book 1, 182). However, through prior knowledge, we know that though God is supposed to be an all-powerful, supernatural being and is usually seen as “good,” He also has the ability to instill fear in humans and to punish the bad (ex. the Angel of Death, Sodom and Gomorrah). From this perspective, God could have easily been the main target of Satan’s reference. This, in turn, could develop within us growing senses of pity for the fallen angels.

Satan’s strategy to manipulate us into pitying the fallen angels is effective. He gives all these examples of the “bad” things God has done to them, especially during their banishment, so it would be natural to side with the “victim” aspect of the story. Many of his phrases (ie. “seat of desolation,” “void of light”) also exude a sense of hopelessness and desperation, furthering our attachment to his words. However, we must still be careful. Satan is, after all, the devil. He is the best at manipulation and deceit, the superior of any Edmund or Iago Shakespeare could have created. Because of this, he becomes much more dangerous and unpredictable, continuing the question of whether Satan is or isn’t the conventional antagonist at this point of the book.

Satan

Milton first characterizes Satan as wholly evil by citing “his own dark designs” and “reiterated crimes.” As he progresses, Milton shows Satan as impenetrable and pervasive through a description of his size, saying that he is “extended long and large”, “in bulk as huge/ As whom the fables name of monstrous size”, “mighty stature” and “so stretched out huge in length.” His evil becomes even more widespread as “he sought/ Evil to others.” These statements clarify that Satan not only invokes evil upon himself but also spreads this evil to others. However, the most enraging aspect of Satan’s evil is the “infinite goodness, grace, and mercy” that results. Therefore, the reader recognizes that although evil exists and is encouraged by Satan, ultimate goodness prevails, negating the effects of Satan’s wrath.

Milton's Description of Satan

Milton’s description of Satan in lines 192-241 presents a conflicting view of Satan: he is presented as vast and mighty, but he is simultaneously subordinated to God. The diction of this passage – using words such as “huge” (l. 196), “monstrous size” (l. 197), “hugest” (l. 202), and “mighty stature” (l. 222) – combined with Milton’s comparison of Satan to the enormous Titans and the mysteriously large Leviathon, produces an immensely large and powerful image of the devil. At the same time, however, Satan is lying

Chained on the burning lake, nor ever thence

Had risen or heaved his head, but that the will

And high permission of all-ruling Heaven

Left him at large to his dark designs (ll. 210-213).

Thus, the description of Satan’s greatness serves primarily to reveal the remarkableness of God’s superiority. Satan is a mighty warrior, sure, but God has him “chained.” Satan cannot so much as raise his head without the “high permission of all-ruling Heaven.” The juxtaposition of descriptions of Satan’s immensity with the description of his explicitly subordinate position to God and Heaven emphasizes the all-encompassing, almighty power of God. Even a creature as great and large as the Titans and as Leviathon is powerless to act without God’s permission. Milton characterizes Satan as a creature with heroic qualities, but all of these qualities of greatness are perverted within the devil and serve to create an evil character with evil designs. Ultimately, however, God prevails; the devil’s power cannot hold a candle to God’s magnificence.

Blog #8

Close read Satan's speech (lines 157-191) OR Milton's description of Satan (lines 192-241). What can you say about how Milton characterizes Satan? How are we supposed to read his character?

Blog 7-Madeline Berger

Florizel's profession of love (which begins on line 369) and Camillo's response to it satirize the notion that hypothetical claims prove felt emotion.

Florizel prefaces his profession by commanding Polixenes, Polixenes' neighbor, "and men, the earth, and the heavens and all" (369-370) to "be witness to't," which shows that Florizel thinks that using words is both effective and necessary in effectively expressing his feelings to others. He next hyperbolizes his love for her by using superlatives such as "the most imperial monarch," "most worthy," "fairest youth," and "more than was ever man's" (lines 372-374) to create an exceedingly desirable hypothetical situation and claim that he would not prize it "without her love." The irony is that he has never actually been in this hypothetical situation, which exists in the minds of the listeners only because he used words to invent it; he uses words rather than tangible evidence (such as past actions: for instance, having been in the situation which he describes and rejecting the fancy lifestyle) to supposedly prove his love.

Camillo responds to this supposed proof with a pun, "this shows a sound affection," (378) that simultaneously supports and refutes it. The pun lies in the double meaning of the word "sound," the adjectival form of which means "free from error, fallacy, or misapprehension...exhibiting or based on thorough knowledge and experience," and the nounal form of which means "the sensation perceived by the sense of hearing" (Merriam-Webster). This double meaning is ironic because, as I explained in the above paragraph, the words themselves are Florizel's supposed proof because they do not describe existing evidence, but rather, their creation is the evidence. This pun suggests that words themselves do not exhibitknowledge or experience but rather that they can be used to express knowledge or experience.