Essay about The Powers of Satan in Paradise Lost - 713 Words

The Powers of Satan in Paradise Lost Since the beginning of Paradise Lost, a reader can witness the dramatizing power possessed by Satan, and how he takes advantage of this very power in order to satisfy his own causes. One such property of Satans fantastic powers is his ability to manipulate any individual into a false belief of who he really is, and therefore prevent a habitant of paradise from discovering his true purpose that is hidden behind his actions. One such example of this, and one of the most major in the epic, are the events that occur in Book IX involving Satan and Eve around the forbidden tree. Here, Satan uses, what is to Eve, excellent reasoning to convince her to eat the forbidden fruit, thereby exploiting†¦show more content†¦Even though her beauty momentarily stuns him and he, for the time remained stupidly good, his dedication to his vengeful cause prevails, and allows him to continue his appropriate plan. It is this same dedication that throughout Satans conversation with Eve, he does not allow her to retreat back to Adam in order to lose such an ideal situation. Initially, Satans actions with Eve involve little effort to convince her that he is not any evil demon that Adam told her to expect on her voyage. Simply, he uses his ability to flatter Eve in order to gain her attention and trust, an essential objective if he was willing to destroy mankind (p. 248-249 lines 540-548): #8230;By gift, and thy celestial beauty adore, With ravishment beheld#8230; #8230;who shouldst be seen A Goddess among Gods, adored and served By Angels numberless, thy daily train? Using this flattery to compliment her beauty, and allowing her to recognize the fact that all of Edens animals adore her, he slyly inserts the proposition that will allow her to become greater in power and being, A Goddess among Gods, rivaling the omnipotent power possessed by God. Satan came in the form of a snake, the only reptile and animal that could have the ability to pluck the forbidden fruit from the tree. When questioned how he attained the ability to talk and interact, he simply answered that he ate the fruit of the tree, and received the knowledge equal to that of a human.Show MoreRelatedThe Power And Lure Of Satan1365 Words   |  6 PagesThe Power and Lure of Satan Although the fall of man is written in the bible, no other author has thoroughly written thoughts which have resounded in the minds of those that have read John Milton’s â€Å"Paradise Lost†. Milton’s epic tale of Paradise Lost has become biblical folklore and even Christians who have not fully read the Bible rely upon the representations and indulgences that Milton presented through his embellishments of fact. 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