Genesis has been poetically rewritten in Paradise Lost. It details the demise of Satan and his associates, the origin of man, and—most significantly—the act of disobedience committed by man, as a result of which paradise was forfeited for us. Because it incorporated the original tale, the investigation of everything that humans would go on to be and accomplish in the future for the Christian reader, as well as the dominating ethos of Western thought and society, it is a literary piece that transcends the conventional boundaries of literary storytelling. The two specific aspects of the book are different views on religion in terms of what was the catalyst of the expulsion of humans from Heaven and was the role of Satan in that story was heroic or evil.
The portrayal of Christianity in Paradise Lost shows the Renaissance’s impact. The quest for knowledge is the earliest and most obvious component of the Renaissance. People, particularly authors, had stifled their need for knowledge and made every effort to learn as much as they could. The experience of those involved was improved in both literature and other areas of life. Milton was like them in that he used indirect rather than direct language to explain aspects of the Renaissance in his poem (Milton). The poem’s central idea is intimately related to Renaissance components. It is known from the original narrative that Satan enticed Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. He gave Eve the justification for doing so: if she were to succeed in eating from the same tree, she might increase her knowledge. Even though she was aware that doing so was against God’s will, Eve only became prepared to eat the fruit because of her interest. Thus, the desire for knowledge turned into the catalyst for man’s expulsion from paradise.
Satan is a complex character in the book, as he is not portrayed as absolute one-sided evil. Milton gives the reader a choice to decide who Satan is and provides the character with many characteristics. No matter how masterfully Milton crafted the character of Satan, he cannot serve as the poem’s protagonist. Milton sees Satan as the opponent who decides to do anything that defies God’s fundamental principles and the universe’s fundamental laws. Satan’s rebellion is an attempt to overthrow the order of Heaven. Satan does this not because he is under the tyranny of God but rather because he prefers his desires to those of God. Satan is a self-centered individual whose interests are always driven by his ambitions. Satan views everything from the perspective of what will happen to him, in contrast to Adam, who talks with Raphael about a variety of topics while hardly ever discussing his wishes.
In conclusion, the influence of the Renaissance is significant in Paradise Lost. Milton views the story not from the unexplained motives or pure evil that made humans sin, yet determines the human nature of complexity and desire for knowledge as the reason. Regarding Satan, he seems a controversial and difficult character to define as evil or heroic, and it was purposed by the author. Nevertheless, Satan is egoistic and is interested only in the outcomes that affect him, even though he has his tragedy and problems in the story. Overall, the book provides a different point of view on the original story, which helps the reader to analyze their values deeper.
Work Cited
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. West Margin Press, 2021.