The Satanic Virtues

Milton’s poem has always been disturbing, and for one primary reason: his Satan. The Satan of Paradise Lost is a staggering invention. Far from the brutal, subrational tortured behemoth of Dante, Milton’s Satan is oddly appealing. He’s manly, assertive, creative. He’s compelling. He has a goal and he pursues it relentlessly. He refuses to submit to fate. He’s a powerful speaker and a visionary. In a word, he’s heroic. To read the first half of Paradise Lost is to find oneself admiring the Devil, and that is a disturbing place to be.