The Depiction of the Anti-Hero in Milton's Paradise Lost

• Thesis title in Czech: Zobrazení antihrdiny v Miltonově Ztraceném ráji
• Thesis title in English: The Depiction of the Anti-Hero in Milton's Paradise Lost
• Key words: Milton|John Milton|Paradise Lost|Poezie|Epos|Křesťanství
• English key words: Milton|John Milton|Paradise Lost|Poetry|Epic|Christianity
• Academic year of topic announcement: 2015/2016
• Thesis type: Bachelor's thesis
• Thesis language: angličtina
• Department: Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK)
• Supervisor: PhDr. Zdeněk Beran, Ph.D.
• Author: hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept.
• Date of registration: 29.09.2016
• Date of assignment: 29.09.2016
• Administrator's approval: not processed yet
• Confirmed by Study dept. on: 19.10.2016
• Date and time of defence: 05.02.2019 08:30
• Date of electronic submission: 08.01.2019
• Date of proceeded defence: 05.02.2019
• Submitted/finalized: committed by worker on behalf on and finalized
• Opponents: Mgr. Helena Znojemská, Ph.D.

Guidelines

In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake wrote of Milton to be "of the devil's party without knowing it". Indeed, even before Romanticism, the anti-hero of Paradise Lost was attracting readers for his steadfast rebellious bearing and other traits he shares with Classical epic heroes, as well as for the way he sometimes resembles a Shakespearean tragic hero. Although we cannot really say that Satan is the true hero of Paradise Lost – there are critics convincingly arguing against Blake – it is clear that Milton succeeded in portraying him in such a way that the reader cannot help sympathizing with him. According to the Christian tradition, however, any such attraction to evil is deceptive, and it is to Milton's credit that he humanized and complicated the character of the fallen angel.
This thesis will examine the way the Satan figure is depicted in the poem so as to appeal to us. After briefly placing Paradise Lost in the context of the previous epic achievements, I will particularly focus on a close-reading of the poem. First, I shall analyse Satan's physical description and his actions, suggesting what Satan might have inherited from other epic heroes and how he differs from them. Then I will concentrate on his speeches in which he reveals his eloquence and good command of leadership skills. I shall also consider the discrepancy between his public self and his inner world and reflections, keeping in mind our temptation to interpret Satan as a tragic hero. In both of these discussions, the focus will be on the way Satan is depicted to sway the reader’s sympathy in his direction.
The thesis will go on to discuss the problem of the authorial voice which often comments on Satan and warns the reader against falling for the devil, as it were. This conflict between the narrator's perspective and Satan's actual behaviour will be considered alongside the gradual change that Satan undergoes in the poem – I shall trace his development, contrasting his early impressive self with his downfall in the later books. In view of this paradox, I wish to conclude by reflecting on the problem of the poem’s potential inconsistency – precisely the problem that may have been on Blake's mind as he refused to make Milton "of God's party".

References

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