4/8/2023 0 Comments Satan paradise lost![]() God, the supreme witness, hears of his “great boast” (5), punishing him and his followers for their treasonous intent. Unlike in Paradise Lost, where Satan wages a full-scale rebellion against God, Satan in the Old English Genesis never seems to get beyond mere planning. In both narratives, Satan’s ambition to rule proves his undoing: “He could not find it in his mind that he would serve God, the prince, in obedience…He planned how he would create a stronger throne for himself” ( OTN 21-23). As Satan famously declares in Paradise Lost : “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” (1.263). Both Satans despise servitude while Milton’s Satan may have tolerated being God’s inferior, he cannot countenance being third in line. Satan complains more than once about the Son’s “newness,” resenting him for having skipped to the front of the line: “The great MESSIAH, and his new commands…speedily through all the Hierarchies / Intends to pass triumphant” (5.688-90). What irks Satan most, however, is not that he is less favored in God’s eyes than the Son but that he ranks lower in the celestial hierarchy. In Milton’s version of events, Satan first strays from God out of jealousy of Christ the Son, who replaces him as God’s right hand and favored child (5.659-69) this adds a shade of sibling rivalry to Satan’s grievances. Interestingly, though, Milton’s Satan is also said to “possess / The Quarters of the North” of Heaven (5.686), though this may be a coincidence. This version of events differs somewhat from Milton’s, in which Satan aspires to supplant God as sole ruler over all of Heaven, not just its northern reaches. Thus Satan, who arrogantly hoped to reign over a swathe of Heaven, instead becomes the king of Hell. God ironically fulfills this secessionist wish by “form a home in banishment for that traitor the howls of hell” (5). According to Genesis A, Satan’s original sin was his desire to “partition” Heaven, setting aside for himself and his followers “a home and a throne in the northern part of the kingdom of heaven” (5). ![]() After making a grand speech to his followers, Satan then hatches a scheme of revenge to thwart God by corrupting man, who God creates as a replacement for the fallen angels.Īlthough the two narratives share these same broad strokes, there are some distinctions in the finer details. Satan conspires to reign over Heaven, he and his angelic host are overthrown, their luminous forms are twisted into devils, and the devils are cast down into Hell. The story of Satan’s rebellion and fall provided by Old Testament Narratives (OTL) is remarkably similar to that which appears in Milton’s Paradise Lost. Why does Satan choose to rebel against God? While Satan is not mentioned in the Book of Genesis, he is featured prominently in its Old English counterpart. ![]()
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