Efterpi Saganis
Lines 164- 178 (O foul decent- spite repaid)
How does Milton use language to portray Satan’s character. Milton uses language techniques such as repetition, oxymorons, imagery and alliteration to portray Satan’s cunning and jealous character. Milton also foreshadows Satan’s devious plans to destroy Man and reveals his repulsed thoughts as a character through Latin rooted words and juxtaposition. Milton’s language in this extract symbolizes Satan’s current lowly state, but also foreshadows the ‘fall” of Man. For example, in “o foul descent” and “descend...down as low”, the repetition of the idea of ‘plummeting’ emphasizes the low debasement of Satan on the hierarchy (where God is at the top, but Satan is at the very bottom). Furthermore, Man’s fall is foreshadowed by Satan repeating words like “descend” as he plans to destroy God’s best creation and this reveals Satan’s character who is obsessed with being powerful, but also his cunning plans to destroy Man. Milton’s use of an oxymoron suggests the difference between the high and low contrasts he tries to reveal through his language. In “who aspires must down and low”, the word “aspires” is the complete opposite compared to the rest of the sentence which emphasizes the falling of something. Therefore, once again, Satan’s fall is emphasized and also reveals his deceitful character who is now lowest on the chain of being, (suggesting that Satan is even lower than man who is not ethereal). Milton uses Latin rooted words to emphasize Satan’s plan to fight against God himself. In “contended” and “constraind”, the “con” comes from the Latin word “contra”, which means against. Therefore, this reveals the battle between Satan and God and this reveals Satan’s character who has a desire for more power than God and will battle him in any way. Furthermore, the word, “constraind” also comes from the Latin word “constringere” which emphasizes the tightness and constraints Satan is feeling, because he no longer has freedom and has been banished from his high place near God, therefore, as a character, he is portraying self-pity to a great extent. Milton’s juxtaposition also reveals Satan’s character who is obsessed with hierarchy. In “o foul descent that I who erst contended With Gods to sit the Highest”, the juxtaposition of “descent” and “highest” reveals how Satan’s character is consumed with the idea of wanting, or rather, needing, more power. However, he is “stuck” as one of the most powerless characters, in this part of the poem. Some critics have suggested that Satan’s desire to spite God’s best creation (Man) has evolved from his idea that spite is best avenged with spite, and this is shown in “spite then with spite is best repaid”
Milton creates imagery to depict how low Satan’s character has to stoop in order to gain power. For example, in “am now constraining into a Beast. And most with bestial slime”, Milton creates a grotesque imagine of a monstrous creature, oozing muck. This reveals Satan’s determined character who is willing to become the most twisted creature, in order to make sure his plan to destroy Man succeeds. Furthermore, the fact that Satan is willing to possess even the lowest of the earthly creatures, a “beast”, reveals his ambitious character, doing anything to spite God’s creation. Satan’s thirst for revenge reveals his spiteful character in this part of the poem. For example, in “but what will not Ambition and Revenge”, Satan implies that he will accept any condition (such as incarnating himself as a “slimy” serpent), in order for his “ambition” to be filled, in this case, his ambition to destroy Man. This reveals Satan’s hateful and eager character who holds hope and confidence in his plans to destroy Man.
Milton portrays the image of a snake which Satan will possess when it is time to cause the fall of man and this reveals his determined character. In “revenge, at first though sweet, Bitter ere long back on it self recoils”, a snake is known to “coil” around itself. Milton connects Satan’s recoiling evil actions and evil character with the recoiling of a snake, which is a foreshadowing of the beginning of Man’s fall as a cause of Satan’s fall. This suggests Satan’s evil nature as a character, which is like a circle that has no edges, hence, it is never ending and keeps returning, such as Satan does when he returns after his failure trying to overthrow God . In addition to this, Satan’s use of “revenge” reveals his evil mindset, contrasting to God’s peaceful mindset, as only a villain intends on being as “vengeful” as Satan. Furthermore, the oxymoron of “sweet” and “bitter” in Satan’s speech contrasts to the oxymoron of the “hight of Deitie” and “down as low” that Satan also speaks about. This reveals his determined character, obsessed with hierarchy and being as powerful as God once again, and, holds a sense of humiliation for him, since Satan is no longer as “high” or powerful as he was near God.
Satan refers to man as “this new favorite” and “this Man of clay” and this reveals his jealous character, who believes Man was made to be better than the ethereal beings in Heaven out of God’s spite. In addition to this, Satan reveals his loathsome thoughts and devalues Man by using the terms “man of clay” and “from dust”, which suggests that he believes Man is made of nothing and cannot compare to the rest of the ethereal beings. Furthermore, when Satan lists different names of Man, such as “man of clay, son of despite, from dust”, his odious emotions are revealed, suggesting his malicious character. Once again, his jealous and spiteful character is also revealed as a cause of his heinous thoughts. Milton uses alliteration which foreshadows the snake that Satan is about to possess. In “Son of Despite, whom us, the more to spite his marker rais’d”, the “s” sounds not only mimic the sounds of a snake, which is a foreshadowing of the possession to come, however, they also sound as if Satan is spitting them out of disgust, revealing Satan’s malefic character which detests Man.
In conclusion, Satan’s evil character is revealed through Milton’s use of oxymorons and juxtaposition, which emphasizes his obsession with hierarchy. Furthermore, his use of Latin rooted words and degrading terms of Man emphasize the restrained feelings that Satan experiences and his heinous thoughts as a character, but also the disgust he feels for man which is also shown through alliteration. Milton uses repetition and creates imagery to reveal the lowest earthly creature that Satan has to possess, as well as the grotesque nature of the snake that Satan will have to embody.