Essay on The Problem With Evil In Paradise Lost

Submitted By ekarges
Words: 1520
Pages: 7
Open Document
The Problem with Evil in Paradise Lost

The idea of evil in John Milton’s, “Paradise Lost” is tricky because it makes for several problems that we see throughout the poem. The question that stems from this is, “Why is evil a thing? Why is there evil in the world?” These questions of course then lead us to the questions, “Why did God unchain Satan in Hell?” and “Why not just keep Satan Good in the first place?” For God, keeping Satan chained to the lake of fire would have been no problem and evil would have never existed. However, since he was released and created his own realm of darkness, evil was able to make its way to Earth/Eden and eventually cause the downfall of man. To understand all this, we have to understand what evil really means in Paradise Lost. What does Satan represent? In this paper I aim to discuss, with good understanding, why Milton created Satan as such a pinnacle character and why the problem of Evil is so important to this poem. Satan as a character in Paradise Lost is a really interesting concept because he was seen as the protagonist for the first couple of books whereas God is seen as the antagonistic tyrant. This was a peculiar move for Milton during a time period where religion was basically everything and to be pro-Satan would be looked down upon. However, without Satan’s classical epic demeanor, we would not be able to see the true emotion he has against God, or how he was able to become the king of the underworld. Satan (Lucifer) was the second in command to God; therefore he was created by God and considered divine. Satan not knowing the power of God, “In equal ruin: into what Pit thou seest
From what highth fall’n, so much the stronger prov’d
He with his Thunder: and till then who knew
The force of those dire Arms? (Milton ln. 91-94)” challenged God on the battlefield and lost. He was then banished for punishment into Hell. So why would God banish him? Well, because Satan chose to be banished. To Satan, God was a tyrant who wanted control over everything. God however, gave all of his creature’s free will. With this free will, Satan and his followers thought it was better (clouded by pride) to accept punishment and refute repentance (Wallace). This acceptance of choosing evil as their good is the first depiction of evil in Paradise Lost. Now, Satan and his minions are chained to the lake of fire in Hell and God ends up releasing them. This is what aggravates so many people. Why would God let Satan go if he knew that Satan had renounced good and succumbed to evil? Nobody truly knows this answer but Milton already knew that there was evil in the world around him, so he had to give some evidence on the topic. As it seems, Satan is considered the end-all beat-all of sinners. Many think that Paradise Lost is a story proving Satan to be the origin of all evil. This does not seem to the case in Milton’s story however. In book one, Milton states, “That with reiterated crimes he might
Heap on himself damnation, while he sought Evil to others, and enrag’d might see
How all his malice serv’d but to bring forth
Infinite goodness, grace and mercy shewn
On Man by him seduc’t… (Milton ln. 214-219)” Though Satan is vital to the introduction of evil to man, it seems that to Milton, Satan as a character is really more of an allegory to personify that evil still has a presence today (Gilbert). This is also a central message of the poem. It is stating that evil is a destructive entity whereas good is and will always be eternal (Gilbert). Satan knows of the destruction to ones self by saying, “Revenge at first though sweet, Bitter ere long back on itself recoiles. (Milton ln. 24)” So those who seek evil only seek to destroy themselves, and those who seek good, seek goodness the in everyone. God allowed Satan to rise from the lake to prove that the evil doings of Satan would only prove to show the light of God and his good ways. The account of Satan’s fall was not meant to be a
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on The Problem With Evil In Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost Vs Genesis

Tommy Conway Paradise Lost and the fall of man: Milton versus Genesis Milton adapted and elaborated on the Book of Genesis to create an epic poem he titled Paradise Lost in order to better grab the readers attention. By fictionalizing the story of the fall of man it became more understanding, more believable, more emphatic, and more relatable to the reader. Often outspoken against Catholocism, Milton used his stories to promote Protestantism. His version is much longer than the Biblical version…

Words 2640 - Pages 11

The Existence of God and Evil Essay

The Existence of God and Evil The problem of evil has been around since the beginning. How could God allow such suffering of his “chosen people”? God is supposedly all loving (omni-benevolent) and all powerful (omnipotent) and yet He allows His creations to live in a world of danger and pain. Two philosophers this class has discussed pertaining to this problem is B.C. Johnson and John Hick. Johnson provides the theists’ defense of God and he argues them. These include free will, moral urgency,…

Words 2226 - Pages 9

John Milton Essay examples

Josef Gamper Ms. Foley English 4 25 March 2014 Paradise Lost In John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, he recreates the Genesis story of the fall of man as it was caused by Satan. It is Satan's fatal flaws of pride and ambition that led him to battle over Heaven and even though he was defeated, he would not give up the battle against God. Ultimately, accomplishing mans entering into sin and promising to eternally do evil against god and man. Nonetheless, throughout the epic poem we also observe Satan struggle with…

Words 1819 - Pages 8

Frankenstein And Paradise Lost Research Paper

Caleb Frankenstein and Paradise Lost Synthesis Paper Does a creator who brings life to the lifeless resemble God, or does he hopelessly pine away cursed by creation? Is the monster more closely related to humans or the embodiment of everything against them? What could a horrible, disgusting behemoth and a belly-buttonless man have in common? Will those kids ever learn to share, and give that rabbit some Trix? The answers to such pondering are not simple or convenient; we have all had that eureka…

Words 1291 - Pages 6

Postwar Paradise Hero's Journey

obsession with alter egos and mirror games,” his “narcissistic pyrotechnics,” and a move beyond “the solipsistic presentations of self he had been practicing for years to create a capacious chronicle of American innocence and disillusion” (“Postwar Paradise” C11;“Confronting the Failures” E1). Perhaps most significantly, though, one of the central concerns of the “American Trilogy” is the interaction between self and society, between the individual and his community, between self-determination and social…

Words 1252 - Pages 6

The Holocaust: Genocide In The 21st Century

The Holocaust Genocide is a very big problem in the world and a lot of people die from it. Genocide is the killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. There are many events in the world that involve genocide which means lots of people have died because of it. Genocide came into general usage only after World War II, and in 1948 the United Nations declared genocide to be an international crime. Lots of groups of people would become extinct or…

Words 1709 - Pages 7

Personal Narrative: John Hick

future good that would be acquired in heaven. For example, in the evil situation of famine, you can develop the moral character of helping others and learn not to be selfish. Also, without the hard time of playing and practice of a ball game, no one can feel the actual pleasure of winning a game. Which is better, a world with greater number of moral virtual but with evil or a world with lesser number of moral virtues with no evil? The answer is the former, thus the need of soul…

Words 1477 - Pages 6

Anglo Saxon Literature

* Anglo-saxon is a very vocabulary and inflection driven language. Sort of lost that after the norman invasion * Norman French becomes main language, AS becomes language of streets because the AS becomes lower class * No clear date or event for when transition from middle English to modern English * Significant even distinguishing middle from modern is the great vowel shift * AS cherished heroism * Clan/family driven lifestyle * Earl is the name for the head of the clan…

Words 4363 - Pages 18

Responsibility In Frankenstein

about it. If Frankenstein had done that he could’ve come up with a better solution than leaving his Creature to wreak havoc on his family and friends. In conjunction with that he should’ve kept his creation locked up until he had a solution for the problem. He just let it run free, no locks or…

Words 982 - Pages 4

The Hobbits Essay

fictional characters with lots of action and adventure this story just might be for you. I, however, did not really like the story for my own reasons. I tried to get interested in this novel and I tried to read it and keep up, but it eventually just lost me. I did not quite like it because it was too long for me, and each chapter had too many little details that I felt was just unnecessary. There were too many different situations and ideas all happening at once and it was difficult for me to keep…

Words 1601 - Pages 7