75 pages • 2 hours read
John MiltonParadise Lost
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1667A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Character Analysis
Satan
Satan is a key character in Paradise Lost. He is the protagonist of his own narrative in the first few books, which recount his rebellion against God and Heaven, and the antagonist of Adam and Eve’s story, as he tricks the humans into committing the original sin. By depicting Satan as both main character and villain, Milton lets the reader see all of his inner turmoil. Satan is a complex angel who is more like man than a reader might expect. He is prone to fits of jealousy and anger, and he is violent and vengeful. He is also ambitious, hopeful, and on a journey to self-empowerment. Although Satan unleashes Death and Sin into Paradise and seduces Eve into committing the first sin, the reader can sympathize with Satan’s anger at God and his refusal to be ruled without say. Satan is a symbol of self-actualization and the pursuit of freedom, even though he is defeated and punished by the all-powerful God.
Adam
Adam, the first human, is a loving and kind man who commits an original sin against God that affects the rest of humankind. Adam’s reversal in fortune is tied to his love for Eve, a deep romance that the angels are suspicious of. Adam is willing to put his love for Eve before his love for God, which is truly the sin that he commits. Adam is entrusted with much of the knowledge of God and Heaven, a knowledge that he cannot or does not share with Eve but that makes him hopeful for the future, even in his darkest moments. As the original father of humankind and an original sinner, Adam embodies Milton’s message that simple obedience to God is the best, surest way to live well.
Eve
Eve is created from Adam’s rib, which delegates her status as the first woman to subservience and secondary importance. Eve does not get the same direct contact with God that Adam receives, but she is vain about her beauty, which she uses with Adam to get what she wants. Eve’s sin of silly vanity and desire for knowledge that God has decided she doesn’t need or deserve is the first sin committed by humans. Her flaws and original sin are also used by Milton to condemn women as seductive, silly, unintelligent figures who ought to stay subservient to their husbands who know better. Although Eve is responsible for the fall of humanity, she also enables its future salvation, as she will give birth to the human race.
God
Milton’s God, though not mentioned by that name, is a vengeful, petty God. He is easily bruised by any scent of doubt and punishes offenders in ways that often seem too extreme in comparison with the offense itself. God is a complicated character in this story, as he allows the fall of humanity to occur even though he knows when it will happen, how, and how to avoid it. God’s expectation that human beings must prove their undying loyalty to him shows how controlling he is, and although Milton is unquestionably on God’s side, it can be difficult not to empathize with Satan’s opinions of God as unfair and tyrannical. God’s only love is his Son, whom he forms to help him rule in Heaven.
The Son
The Son is God’s creation, a spiritual entity that is altruistic and utterly devoted to God. The Son volunteers to sacrifice himself for humankind and confronts sinners, such as Satan and Adam and Eve, when they have betrayed God. The Son believes in mercy and redemption, and he will one day be reborn as Jesus Christ, who will defeat Death and save humankind.
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By John Milton
