论《失乐园》中撒旦的形象.docx

1、论失乐园中撒旦的形象 An Analysis of Satan in Paradise Lost论失乐园中撒旦的形象An analysis of Satan in Paradise Lost 摘 要 约翰弥尔顿是英语文化历史上非常有名的一位作家。他的著作失乐园是英语文化史上的一座里程碑。在约翰弥尔顿所有的著作中，失乐园是最复杂，最难理解的一部作品，并为他赢得了永久的荣誉。他的史诗使得撒旦的形象更加生动，更加具有人性，并且使其在某些方面成为了一名特殊的英雄。弥尔顿用了很多的语句来描写撒旦对他的追随者所做的雄辩。撒旦追求自由，但是却不能用暴力手段得到他想要的。这就是撒旦在弥尔顿的著作中具有一种矛盾

2、性。尽管弥尔顿用了一种积极的态度来描写撒旦，但是撒旦邪恶的本性却从未改变。他的矛盾情感鲜明地遍及整个诗篇。这种矛盾的情感吸引了众多批评家的目光，引起了几个世纪的争论。 本文通过分析撒旦在失乐园中的形象，使得人们获得一种不同的视角来重新审视邪恶的撒旦。他的字句反映了他毕生所挚爱的自由，同时暗示通过暴力方式所进行的革命终将会失败，这也体现了弥尔顿自己的意志与精神。关键词：撒旦；自由；英雄；失败 Abstract John Milton was a very famous writer during the history of English literature. His masterpiece

3、 Paradise Lost was undoubtedly a milestone in the history of English literature. Among all of John Miltons great works, Paradise Lost was the most complicated and most profound one, which won him endless honor. His epic made Satan more vivid more humanized and made him a special hero in some aspects

4、. Milton wrote a lot of sentences to describe Satans defense for his followers. Satan sought for freedom, but he couldnt get what he wanted by violence. Thats why Satan in Miltons masterpiece had a kind of contradiction. Although Milton adopted a positive attitude to describe Satan, his evil charact

5、eristic didnt change at all. His ambivalence was obviously throughout the whole poem. This kind of ambivalence caught all critics eyes and led to centuries disputes. By analyzing Satan in Paradise Lost, the author of this paper aims to make people obtain a different angle to revisit the evil one, Sa

6、tan. His words showed his lifelong love for freedom, and implied that the revolution would be failed by violence, which also reflected Miltons own idea and spirit.Key Words: Satan; freedom; hero; failure Contents1. Introduction While Shakespeare was still writing his great plays, another excellent E

7、nglish poet was born in London. He was John Milton. John Milton, one of the greatest poets of the English language, was a political commentator of the English Bourgeois Revolution, whose importance was acknowledged around the world. Although Miltons father was a puritan, he was a music and book love

8、r. Puritans refer to the people who assert themselves the most rigid believers of God. Whats more he taught little Milton to enjoy music and books. Milton has received humanistic thoughts from 16th century and accepted the great science achievements of the 17th century, at the same time he had a cri

9、tical attitude towards his life. He thought that science was not everything. Without justice and science, people couldnt get peace and real happiness. Miltons literary ambition was to write an epic and he wanted his epic to be read by people in different countries. It took Milton seven years to fini

10、sh the great epic Paradise Lost. Among all of John Miltons great works, paradise Lost was the most complex and most impressive one, which won him everlasting honor. This book told the story of how Satan fought against God and how Adam and Eve were banished from the Eden. Satan was the major characte

11、r in Paradise Lost. His images were impressive and powerful. The main character of this book was intricate and contradictory. After finishing his famous poem, John Milton wrote Paradise Regained and a play telling the story of Samson.2. The Realistic Significance of Paradise Lost2.1 The Presentation

12、 of Every Image of Different Classes In this epic, Milton gave detailed description of every image, and as we know, the epic reflected the society Milton lived, so each image had its own presentation.Milton was a puritan, who was very loyal to his beliefs. From this book, we can sense the strong wil

13、l of freedom from Milton. Obviously, God was on behalf of the authority, and he was another best description of Miltons personalities. Some people agreed with Satan and regarded God as a tyrant and egoist. While other people who condemned Satan, took God as a merciful, just and lenient authority. Th

14、e author also told us something from Abdiels mouth that the compliance with God was not servility, but the only way of getting freedom. These people who defied their superiors and stirred up a new rebellion were not servile and inferior. And as to Adam and Eve, they were tempted by Satan and punishe

15、d by God, like all the common people, all the civilian class, they didnt have the power or courage to fight against the authority, so they chose to adapt themselves to it. Because of the prominent background, the story in Paradise Lost and the Bible had a lot in common. Thats a very important reason

16、 why Paradise Lost became so popular. 2.2 The Theme of the Whole Book If you have known Milton very well, you may find out that before he wrote this epic his life was not that positive. When he lived in this world, he loved freedom very much and tried his best to get freedom. Freedom as a topic is t

17、hroughout the whole masterpiece. The book has something to do with Miltons own life experience. He was a tough guy, who never gave up his own belief and would stick to his will forever. Milton didnt agree with the old way of teaching, which reflected his disobedience to feudalistic force, just as Sa

18、tans rebellion against God and the conflict from heaven. “We may with more successful hope resolve to wage by force or guide eternal war, irreconcilable to our grand foe, who now triumphs, and in the excess of joy. Sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven.”(Milton, 1667:1608) Instead of withdrawing

19、 from society, Milton still played an active role in political affairs. Although he was not going to take part in politics directly, he continued to work with friends and colleagues closely. Satans rebellious and heroic images were presented in Miltons thoughts. He always sought for freedom, like Sa

20、tan always took some measures to get rid of Gods control. 2.3 The Doomed Ending of Satan Milton was a loyal puritan and he knew that freedom was the only way to get happiness. And revolution was a good way to get freedom. But at last, Milton realized that the revolution at that time couldnt get real

21、 freedom. So, to some degree, the revolution must be a failure in his opinion. Whats more, from this book we can see that Satan was the typical representative of the revolutionary class, so we can say that failure was the doomed ending of Satan. By studying English history, we knew that the puritan

22、revolution was a failure just like Milton implied in Paradise Lost. Violence is not a good way to solve problems. Milton was a puritan. Although he was not satisfied with the Crown, he didnt agree to use the violence way to solve the conflict, either.Maybe this point of view was not that right in re

23、aders eyes, but in fact, we all know that war will never bring happiness. 3. The Changes of Satan3.1 Satan in the Bible3.1.1 The Congregation of All the Sins in the Bible There were two major reasons which made Satan a complete monster in Bible. The first reason was that he seduced good people into

24、doing evil things. The second one was his betrayal of God. If we didnt know something about Satan and his forces, we would not have a clear understanding of basic spiritual realities of the universe. The reason why Satan became the biggest enemy of God was that he was against the foundation of the e

25、arth. His main purpose was to get the worship that only belonged to the originator, God. To most people, Satans major work was to be against human beings. He would try his best to destroy the mankind. Whats more, he would do it for good and without specific reasons. Fear and pride were the major mot

26、ivations in Satans kingdom. Thats why Bible directed people to regard Satan as a devil in this universe.3.1.2 Satans Wisdom and Emotion Satans wisdom as an important aspect was worthy to be mentioned. To tempt Adam and Eve to eat apple from the tree of knowledge, which was forbidden by god, Satan di

27、sguised himself as a snake. He waited silently for a good time. Once Eve worked by herself and Adam wasnt around her, Satan would come out and approach her. Satan knew what women prefer to hear, so he normally started the conversation with praise for Eves beauty. Then he could get what he wanted and

28、 made the emotional Eve lose her last line of protection and couldnt wait to eat the fruit. Whats more, Satan was also emotional. For example, when he found out Adam and Eve were in love, he was moved by their pure feelings. And he would burst into tears at the sight of the suffering of his follower

29、s. After reading this epic, we could also sense that Satan had the dream to share happiness and tears together with his beloved followers.3.2 Satan in Paradise Lost John Milton was a great poet, thinker and political commentator of England in the 17th century. His masterpiece Paradise Lost was a lon

30、g epic with 12 books, written in blank verse. These stories were taken from the Old Testament, such as the making of the earth, the love stories between Adam and Eve, the fallen angels in hell plotting against God, Satans temptation of Eve, and the leasing of Adam and Eve from Eden. Although Satan a

31、nd his adherents were driven out of heaven into hell, Satan and his followers were not discouraged. The miserable punishment, instead of rubbing off their will, makes them much angrier. The purpose of this poem was to tell people to justify the manner of God towards people. This outstanding work was

32、 the product of Puritanism, which has shown Miltons own will and beliefs of freedom. Satan in his masterpiece was not the same as the one in the Bible and other books. In Paradise Lost, Satan was an independent image which can be studied and be discussed from a different perspective. I think the unique image of Satan was the reflection of the writer, who loved freedom and at the same time, expressed a kind of contradiction, and also the representation of the society at that time. This kind of idea has appeared in lots of articles written by C