Paradise Lost
We always assume that the hero is always a good guy when it comes to heroes and villains. Besides, we the villain is always the one trying to sabotage the good person’s plan. In the Paradise Lost novel written by John Milton, Satan is one the God’s angels who fell from heaven after failing to overrule God’s kingdom (John, 2017). This paper will focus on the aspect or theme of disobedience initiated by humans by eating the forbidden fruit. Disobedience is also portrayed by Satan when he was chased away from heaven. It is important to note that the importance of obedience to superiors is a matter of Adam, Eve, and the tree of knowledge and a theme that dominates the whole poem.
The above image portrays how Adam and Eve came into existence as written in the book of Genesis from the bible. The artwork above portrays how beautiful the garden of Eden was. There are beautiful plant flowers, animals like butterflies that indicate that God created everything in hierarchical order. Also, the picture portrays an ugly animal with red color in its eyes (Poole, 2018). Satan descents to the earth’s surface, trying to seek revenge after being chased away from God’s kingdom. The artwork shows that the naked man and women hiding in the leaves are Adam and Eve. They are hiding because they disobeyed God by giving in to the temptation. Here, disobedience brings a breakdown of social order in the garden of Eden with very severe consequences. Eve also disobeyed God and Adam as she should not argue with her superior. On the other hand, Adam wouldn’t have yielded his authority over Eve, her superior. This leads to the eating of the forbidden fruit that God had instructed them not to eat. The prominent red color indicates the dangers and consequences that result from disobeying God. The devil’s plan is to corrupt humankind because he has extreme hate towards God.
The above second artwork portrays Satan being plunged away from heaven after disobeying God and losing the battle. He was descending to earth to try reclaiming his place in paradise but keeps on failing repeatedly. Satan may be seen as a hero in this novel as he is not giving up, and also, he is tenacious. However, he is less heroic, seen as a villainous, emphatic character. This artwork also portrays Satan’s leadership skills as he seeks revenge. He appears like a triumphant leader who must reign and would do anything to resist to be a servant (LitCharts, 2019). The image reveals his strength, power, and willingness to go beyond extraordinary measures to accomplish his plans that demonstrate his heroic characteristics and capabilities. On viewing this image, Satan appears to be a hero in this poem. This is only true because it is the first idea presented to the reader. This means that the powers the devil is holding were given to him by God, and there can be taken away by God instantly. The image also resembles the wings of cormorants, which are crow-birds that have threatening looks. The devil imitates the birds’ wings, which portrays his sinister look. This, however, indicates that evil manifests within Satan and takes control. The dark environment represents how Satan is rooted in evilness. Satan degenerates and regresses physically. Satan changes his shape throughout the poem. For instance, from the above image, he has human and animal features, like wings on the human body. Satan uses these heroic features to disobey God and challenge Adam and Eve, who fall into temptation (Miller, 2019).
The above artwork reveals God’s anger on Adam and Eve. Besides, after Adam and Eve sinned against God, they realized they are naked. God descends from the heavens and rebukes humankind. We can also depict the hierarchal structure and order in heaven. For instance, God is surrounded by angels who are moving around with him. Adam is submissive, and he is asking for forgiveness from God. Since Adam was superior to eve, he is the first one who faces God as he was given the responsibility to rule over the woman and the animals. This reveals that it is not just proper to obey the superior, but it is morally required (Jager, 2015). God, being God, is the superior of everything on earth and the universe, and this is the reason why He should always be obeyed. God appears angry at Adam and Eve after they broke his commandment. For instance, God had prohibited them not to eat from the tree of knowledge. From this, it is evident that obeying the superiors by the inferiors is necessary for the universe’s proper running and functioning. Disobeying God and breaking His rule brings calamity into their lives, which in turn affects the lives of all humankind. For instance, the results of this are death, toiling, and striving to survive. Generally, due to disobedience of Adam and Eve introduces God’s higher love to man through grace, mercy, and salivation (John, 2017).
References
Jager, H. (2015). Paradise Lost by Hartmut Jager. Pixels. Retrieved 29 July 2021, from https://pixels.com/featured/paradise-lost-hartmut-jager.html.
John, M. (2017). Paradise Lost. Рипол Классик.
LitCharts. (2019). Hierarchy and Order Theme in Paradise Lost | LitCharts. LitCharts. Retrieved 29 July 2021, from https://www.litcharts.com/lit/paradise-lost/themes/hierarchy-and-order.
Miller, D. (2019). Milton’s Many Voices in Paradise Lost — Read Great Literature. Read Great Literature. Retrieved 29 July 2021, from https://readgreatliterature.com/miltons-many-voices-in-paradise-lost-readers-guide/.
Poole, W. (2018). Milton and the Making of Paradise Lost. Harvard University Press.
SparkNotes. (2017). Paradise Lost: Themes | SparkNotes. SparkNotes. Retrieved 29 July 2021, from https://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/paradiselost/themes/.
