Essay on Myth of the Fortunate Fall in John Milton’s...

Myth of the Fortunate Fall in Paradise Lost From this descent / Celestial Virtues rising, will appear / More glorious . . . than from no fall. (ii. 14-16)1These are Satans words to the fallen angels in Paradise Lost. Satan claims that their fall from Heaven will seem like a fortunate fall, in that their new rise to power will actually be more glorious than if they had stayed in Heaven all the while. Can we, as fallen humans, possibly make Satans words our own, even if it is not our own work but Gods that causes our rising; or, if we do claim a fortunate fall, have we been beguiled by Satan to rejoice in our fallen state? While it is common among beguiled critics to claim that Paradise Lost presents the Fall as†¦show more content†¦Worse, as time passes, the scale shall dip farther downward before it can ascend. Sin will reign among men because of the Fall (xii. 285-86). No man or woman shall ever be as good or as fair as Adam and Eve (though this is not necessarily a result of the Fall; iv. 323-24). Michael tells Adam , Since thy original lapse, true liberty/Is lost. Liberty (with political overtones here) is lost because liberty is tied to right reason and depends on reason to moderate the passions. But now that sin is in the world, the passions often eclipse reason. The passions forever after will to servitude reduce/Man till then free (xii. 83-90). Worst of all, the Fall is most fortunate, throughout the entire history of the world, until the final triumph, not for mankind but for Sin and Death, and most of the time for the demons as well (x. 270 ff.). Thou hast achieved our liberty (x. 368), Satans progeny say as they thank him for orchestrating the Fall. What good can there be amongst so much evil? In fact, God makes a point of sending Raphael to Adam and Eve for the express purpose of encouraging obedience and warning against the Fall. Raphael is armed with compelling evidence, too; he explains the results of disobedience for Satan and the fallen angels. Thus mankind should fear to transgress (vi. 906-12; vii. 44-45). What trips up the critics is not that the Fall is evil, however, but that out of such an evil God can bring forth good (i. 163, vii.Show MoreRelatedFall from Grace: Satan as a Spiritually Corrupt Hero in Miltons Paradise Lost2859 Words   |  12 PagesFall From Grace: Satan as a Spiritually Corrupt Hero in Miltons Paradise Lost Can Satan -- a being, so evil that even as an Ethereal being of Heaven, who was cast out of Gods grace - be a hero? John Miltons Satan in Paradise Lost is very much a romanticized character within the epic poem, and there has been much debate since the poems publishing in 1667 over Miltons sentiments and whether Satan is the protagonist or a hero. As an angel in God the Fathers Heaven, Satan rose up with a group