SATAN AND ADAM: CHARACTER OPPOSITES IN MILTON’S DIDACTIC VISION IN PARADISE LOST
SATAN AND ADAM: CHARACTER OPPOSITES IN MILTON’S DIDACTIC VISION IN PARADISE LOST

Summary/Abstract: Even at a cursory glance, opposites of all sorts prevail in Milton’s works, from his early poems like L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, his masque Comus, to three most known works, Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. These opposites provide the proliferation of different perspectives and opinions on a host of ideas; they are effectively the element that keeps these works still fresh and relevant since their inception in the second half of the 17th century, judging from the sheer number of subsequent critical reviews published on Milton. The most important oppositional relation in these works is the one between the characters, and contemplation of these makes Milton’s didactic statement richer and more complex as opposed to the simple moralizing that is sometimes present. Despite the obvious moral dimension of the well-known Biblical stories such as the Fall, the rebellion in Heaven, temptation of Jesus and Samson, occasional ambiguous aspects of the supposedly good and evil, merciful and cruel, modest and arrogant characters may yield unexpected results in the way one can view morality and the ability of a character to relate to us. Thus, Milton’s morality vision can go beyond the basic duality of good and evil and be closer to the complexity of life itself. In Paradise Lost, Satan and Adam are portrayed quite differently, with the first being the charismatic war leader and an evil adventurer, while the other is meek, obedient and peaceful Christian hero. However, upon closer inspection, one can find surprising similarities and ambiguities between them.

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