Satan’s size in Paradise Lost

Jiménez Martínez Andrea
Ana Elena González Treviño
Literatura en Inglés III
2 June 2015
Satan's size in Paradise Lost
In this paper I will analyze the way in which John Milton uses epic similes and the character's use of rhetoric to create Satan's heroic stature in Book One of Paradise Lost, while at the same time diminishing his size in the face of Christian ethics. Although Satan might seem like the hero of the epic poem, Milton emphasizes the fact that he is inferior to God by stressing his lack of virtues, either through Satan's own speech or by comparing him with mythological figures that are characterized by their pride or deceiving appearance. It does not matter how heroic Satan appears to be, he embodies everything that is low according Christian ethics: pride, selfishness and rage.
The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory defines the epic simile as "an extended simile, in some cases running to fifteen to twenty lines, in which the comparisons are elaborated in considerable detail." Through the use of this rhetorical devise, Milton portrays Satan as a creature of incredible height. The first book of Paradise Lost narrates the story of how Satan and his rebel angels wake up in hell after being chased out of heaven by the celestial army for rising against the power of God. Satan's main characteristic, pride, has been related since classical antiquity to colossal dimensions, so it is only natural that Milton characterizes Satan as a gigantic entity.
The first time Milton describes Satan physical appearance, he uses multiple allusions to classical and biblical mythology in order to highlight his dimensions and also to emphasize the sin that is linked with his stature:
Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate
With Head up-lift above the wave, and Eyes
That sparkling blaz'd, his other Parts besides
Prone on the Flood, extended long and large 
Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge
As whom the Fables name of monstrous size,
Titanian, or Earth-born, that warr'd on Jove,
Briareos or Typhon, whom the Den
By ancient Tarsus held . . . (Milton I.192- 200).
Milton compares Satan in height with the Titans and Giants, who also rebelled against their Gods and were punished because of their arrogance. The epic simile continues with the allusion of the biblical monster Leviathan, which in medieval tradition was sometimes mistaken for an island:
Created hugest that swim th' Ocean stream:
Him haply slumbring on the Norway foam
The Pilot of some small night-founder'd Skiff,
Deeming some Island, oft, as Sea-men tell, 
With fixed Anchor in his skaly rind
Moors by his side under the Lee, while Night
Invests the Sea, and wished Morn delayes:
So stretcht out huge in length the Arch-fiend lay (I. 202-209).
According to the notes to the poem in the The Oxford Anthology of English Literature, the importance of this particular simile lies in the fact that, as Leviathan is mistaken for something that it is not, every simile "emphasizing Satan's magnitude or power in Books I and II [ . . . ] will also show something false, illusory, or [ . . . ] untrustworthy about it" (Kermode, Frank, and Hollander 1265). By comparing Satan with these creatures, Milton not only makes it easier for the reader to imagine him, but also makes a statement about Satan's pride and falseness.
Milton uses the epic simile to make yet another description of Satan's size in which he compares him with enormous objects. Satan's shield is supposed to be as big as the moon, and therefore, he must be big enough to carry it:
Ethereal temper, massy, large and round, 
Behind him cast; the broad circumference
Hung on his shoulders like the Moon, whose Orb
Through Optic Glass the Tuscan Artist views (I. 284-287)
The description of the hero's shield is a common technique in epic poetry. By describing his shield, Milton is making a parallelism between Satan and the heroes of the epic tradition. Satan's spear is described to be as big as "the tallest Pine/ Hewn on Norweigian hills" (I. 292-293), but in hands of the angel is nothing but a wand. However, it is important to notice that Satan uses this spear to "support uneasie steps" (I. 295). This is a way in which Milton hints that Satan is clearly not as powerful as he used to be before his expulsion from heaven.
Another important aspect that contributes to create Satan's heroic stature is his rhetorical ability. He comes off as a very powerful and assertive leader, who even in the worst situation stays true to his convictions and has the ability to inspire his troops:
What though the field be lost? 
All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:
And what is else not to be overcome? (I. 105-109)
According to John Milton's Paradise Lost: A Sourcebook, "It is in Satan's vocabulary that we recognize the values most closely associated with the pagan hero of Homeric epic-strength, courage, audacity, arrogance, pride, charisma, embitteredness, rhetorical skill and mendaciousness" (Kean 8). Satan is not willing to yield even though he has experienced a traumatic defeat. For him it is preferable "to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n" (I. 263). These qualities that build his heroic stature are the same that diminish his size according to Christian values.
Satan lives under the illusion that he has control over his actions. An example of this is his conviction that it was because of his own power that he was able to free himself from the chains that tied him to the burning lake: "Both glorying to have scap't the Stygian flood/As Gods, and by thir own recover'd strength,/Not by the sufferance of supernal Power" (I.239-241). His pride makes it impossible for him to see that he is just part of God's plan:
. . . nor ever thence 
Had ris'n or heav'd his head, but that the will
And high permission of all-ruling Heaven
Left him at large to his own dark designs,
That with reiterated crimes he might
Heap on himself damnation, while he sought 
Evil to others, and enrag'd might see
How all his malice serv'd but to bring forth
Infinite goodness, grace and mercy shewn
On Man by him seduc't, but on himself
Treble confusion, wrath and vengeance pour'd. (I.210-220)
In conclusion, Milton, through the use of epic similes and dialogue, presents Satan as a creature of heroic proportions in the first book of Paradise Lost. However, this mighty stature is diminished when contrasted with the Christian ethic code. Satan is compared with creatures characterized by their pride and falseness, which make him seem large in size, but tiny in values. The same thing happens with his speeches: Satan is an incredible orator, but his discourse is full of hatred and pride. The more Satan resembles the proud heroes of antiquity, the lowest he appears by Christian ethical standards.


Works Cited
Cuddon, J. A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 4th
Ed.London: Penguin, 1999. Print.
Kean, Margaret, ed. John Milton's Paradise Lost: A Sourcebook. New York: Routledge,
2005. Print.
Kermode, Frank, and John Hollander. The Oxford Anthology of English Literature.
Vol. 1. New York: Oxford U P., 1973. Print.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Barbara Kiefer Lewalski. Malden, MA: Blackwell
Publishing, 2007. Print.