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Criticism Of Milton Term Paper

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¶ … Dante Alighieri "Inferno," -- which is a physical description of hell that is a feast for the senses (Alighieri, 2003), Paradise Lost is also a comprehensive description of the process of creation of the Universe (Milton and Bentley, 1974). In the latter case, however, man is at the center of events. Paradise Lost is about personalities -- God's, Satan's, Sin's, Death's, Jesus Christ (Son), Adam and Eve. The epic poem has been severely criticized by scholars who aver that Satan has been given a place in prominence that is not deserved. (Hamilton, 1977) The most severe criticism comes from William Blake in prosaic sections of "Marriage of Heaven and Hell." (Blake, 1994) Blake's accusatory tone goes so far as to aver that thought there might be hints of poetic license in how Milton created the character of Satan, Milton might...

The exact quote is: "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels and Gods, and at liberty when of Devils and Hell, is because he was a true poet and of the Devil's Party without knowing it." Strong words indeed.
One might argue that in portraying the Devil, Milton was being true to what was written in the Bible. After all, Ezekiel (28:15) states that "You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you." This shows that Satan was first created as an Archangel complete with all the powers, but somehow iniquities entered into him. The expectations as in any religious missive or religion are that good and evil exists and that good eventually triumphs over evil. The problems that Blake and many others have are due to the kind…

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Disdain forbids me, and my dread of shame

Among the Spirits beneath (IV.75-83)

In a sense, Satan's malfeasance can be construed (as the narrative is developed by Milton) as rebellious because Satan was created through inequality of rank and power. The Archangel did not see the reason for that. Percy Shelley, in an essay "On the Devil, and Devils," wrote that the Devil owed a lot to Milton. (Curran, 1997) While Dante presented the Devil as the very embodiment of evil, Milton clothed him with "the sublime grandeur of a graceful but tremendous spirit." Milton made Satan a Romantic hero. There is no doubt that Milton (personally) Satan to
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