Satan: the Dantean vs. the Miltonian

The name Satan often evokes images of an all-powerful devil that condemns sinners to the worst of punishments. This notion of Satan is one that pervades television, film, and most literature. Indeed, this is the Satan that is espoused by John Milton in Paradise Lost. At the outset of the novel, this fallen angel explains that it is “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” (Milton I. 263). Milton’s devil professes that hell is his domain and that he is no longer the servant he was in heaven.

Perhaps the most famous deviant from this popular conception of Satan is the one in Dante’s Inferno. In Dante’s hell, Satan is portrayed as a massive demon frozen in the deepest part of Cocytus. In this hell, Satan is not all-powerful; instead, he is but another sinner. Unlike Milton’s, Dante’s Lucifer does not rule the kingdom of but is one of its many subjects.

Another striking difference between these two versions of Satan is that Dante’s Satan does not speak. Unless we consider Dante’s veneration of language, this characteristic may seem simply aesthetic. Through The Divine Comedy, to which the Inferno belongs, Dante glorifies language in many ways. Dante thus asserts his moral code by stripping away the linguistic faculties from the worst sinners. Those souls frozen in Cocytus (those who cannot speak) receive the worst punishment according to Dante’s philosophy. In contrast, Milton’s Satan is extremely vocal. His speech, “Is this the region…lost in Hell?” clearly establishes this fact (Milton I 242-270). When compared to Dante’s Satan, such a behavioral difference indicates varied motives of the authors.

Fundamental Christian history posits that Lucifer was once the servant of God, but eventually tried to usurp his power, which brought him condemnation to hell. Dante criticizes this betrayal of God by situating Dante amongst the sinners; he is placed in the circle of treachery. Though Milton is aware this betrayal, he emphasizes Satan’s ultimate desire for power by illustrating him as the ruler of hell as opposed to a sinner. Either way, both authors offer a compelling image of Satan and do so within exceptional narratives, which is why both the Inferno and Paradise Lost have earned a place in the Western canon.

Works Cited

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. New York: Norton, 1975. Print.

The Tempest: An Experiment in Mixed Conventions

           When delving into classic, Western literature, it is often comforting to group the works we read under broad labels. Doing so ensures a sense of distinction between works of different cultural movements and stylistic elements. Of course, the scholarly community has the most influence when it comes to categorizing such precious literature. In the case of classifying William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, critics are entangled in a four-rope tug-of-war pulling in the directions of classical tragedy, medieval tragedy, renaissance tragedy, and romance. While most of the evidence would point to The Tempest as being a romantic work, to cast aside the presence of classical tragedy in this play for a single, clear label is to ignore the driving force that initiated the plot.

            Perhaps the most striking element that Shakespeare borrows from classical tragedy in this play is the tragic flaw. The one error that ultimately causes a character’s collapse, the tragic flaw in The Tempest takes the form of selfishness. Prospero, the protagonist of the story, is guilty of this flaw. When recounting his past to Miranda, Prospero recollects, “The government I cast upon my brother / And to my state grew stranger, being transported / And rapt in secret studies” (Act I, Scene II). When he was the Duke of Milan, he lost interest in his responsibilities as the duke in favor of practicing his magical powers, his “secret studies.” During this time, his brother Antonio, in concert with Alonso, overtake the dukedom. Prospero exhibits selfishness by neglecting his role as a leader and instead indulging in his own passion for magic. Eventually, this self-indulgence catches up to him and he loses his position of power entirely.

            Although the romantic tragedy might serve as the dominant organizing principle, the story’s plot ultimately derives from the fact that Prospero had a tragic flaw that resulted in his exile. Observing this play through just a romantic lens blinds us to this truth because typically “In tragedies, characters are destroyed as a result of their own actions and choices; in Romance, characters respond to situations and events rather than provoking them” (Schwartz). Conventionally speaking, the tragic flaw is an element that does not pertain to Romance. Therefore, we can accept that Prospero’s tragic flaw exists only when we recognize the coexistence of romantic tragedy and classic tragedy within this play.

Works Cited

Schwartz, Debora B. "Romance (Tragi-comedy)." California Polytechnic State University, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2015.

Shakespeare, William. N.p.: n.p., n.d. The Tempest. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.