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.