Look at the opening pages of Book 4 of Paradise Lost, pages 1887-90. Here Satan lands on earth and the beautiful sight makes him doubt his previous actions and consider repenting them. Trace Satan's line of thought in these pages. What are some of the reasons that he wants to repent? Why do you think he decides, by page 1890, that he will
never repent?
Satan starts his soliloquy halfway down page 1888 addressing God, and apparently the sun which reminds him of his life in heaven, and starts to remember that life serving Him wasn’t so bad. He created him, never reproached him and didn’t make him work very hard. He only wanted to be able to pay God back for all that he’d done because he hated always owing Him. Satan then wonders that if he had been created an inferior angel he would have just defected along with an angel that did the same as he, even though other angels as great didn’t mutiny. He thinks about repenting, but the only way to gain a pardon would be through submission; and he refuses to submit because of the shame he would face from the angels that followed him into Hell. He cannot face the embarrassment of groveling before God after boasting that he would dethrone Him, and he regrets it more and more every day even though he is a king in Hell. Satan then enters the hypothetical situation where he does repent and even gets his old position back; but, stated in his own words, “For never can true reconcilement grow where wounds of deadly hate have pierced so deep.” He knows that this is a bad idea because he would only be repenting because of the pain and would eventually redo everything that already happened but God would punish him even further this time. He uses this reasoning to explain why God will not grant him peace and why he will not beg for it and so he says, “So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear, farewell remorse: all good to me is lost; evil be though my good.”
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Dandelion when he or she stated that Satan now realizes that serving God wasn't so bad, being that he wasn't really doing much. In lines 42-45, he says, "He deserved no such return from me, whom he created what I was in that bright eminence, and with his good unbraided none, nor was his service hard." This reveals that he knows that God created him as a peefect angel originally, so his sinning came from his own heart. His heart is not good. He didn't have the excuse of imperfection. He was made flawless with a conscience just like the rest of the angels. He knew exact what he was doing. So, the chances of him somehow miraculously turning back to doing things right is really unlikely. After he sees how beautiful earth is, he thinks about repenting but he doesn't want to submit. He doesn't want to let his angels down. He is afraid to look like a coward in front of his angels. He knows that if he was back in Heaven, he would do the same thing all over again because of his hunger for power. He knows that he can't reign over God. Eventually, he realizes that he is hell. In lines 110-113 he says, "By thee at least divided empire with Heaven's King I hold by thee, and more than half perhaps will reign; as man ere long, and this new world shall know." This reveals that he will reign over half of the world meaning that he will have control over hell and sneak on earth to get to the people.
ReplyDeleteI agree w/ Miracle in that Satan does say that His service was not hard and that it was his own sin in his heart that damaged him, and I'll get back to that. But I start with Satan's entrance into Earth as he gets closer to Eden. In lines 27-32 and 37-41, his conscience awakes from slumber and is brought into remembrance..."Sometimes towards Eden which now in his view lay pleasant, his grieved look he fixes sad, sometimes towards Heav'n and the full-blazing sun, which now sat high in his meridian tower. Then much revolving, thus in sighs began. 'O thou that with surpassing glory crowned.'-"O sun, to tell thee how I hate thy beams that bring to my remembrance from what state I fell, how glorious once above thy sphere; till pride and worse ambition threw me down warring in Heav'n against Heav'n's matchless King." Between those lines there is a clear awakening to the reality of what was lost, and how it happened. It started with him, and ended with him. His selfishness, self-ambition, conceit, and disdain for servanthood. He goes on to say in line 45, that neither was his service and the tasks he gave me hard and what else did He deserve other than my praise for He is due! He struggles intensely going back and forth in blame. He first takes an inward look at himself and his reprehensible pride. Then he turns it back to God subtly, saying in lines 51-57 that it was kind of God's fault because he got tired of always feeling like he owed God something. The burden of debt was immense. Then he shifts to why didn't he just make him a lower angel? Why give me the prestige and position? That's why this happened, he rationalizes. Yet here in line 63, "but other powers as great fell not.." Then his drifts swiftly to his search for potential repentance, and self pity. In line 79-85 he reveals his first two reasons as to why he can't fully repent, "Is there no place left for repentance, none for pardon left? None left but by submission; and that word disdain forbids me, and my dread of shame among the Spirits beneath, whom I seduced with other promises and other vaunts that to submit, boasting I could subdue Th' Omnipotent." His reasoning is first submission, and second is he can not let down the army of angels he has made promises to. Then lastly, his third reason found in lines 93-113, is that his repentance would not be genuine, causing even a greater relapse effect and heavier fall. He also says that God already knows what I would do so then I have no hope. So in forfeiting his hope, he finds reason and purpose in the world he hates. To dismantle the relationship between man and God.
ReplyDelete-Annie08