Nikhill Joshi

Joshi 1

AP English 12
Mrs. Bradley
December 12, 2016
Satans degradation in Character
In Paradise Lost, Satan and his army of fallen angels are imprisoned in the the fiery
lakes of Hell. Defeated by God and his angels, Satan and the other devils are eternally
punished for their sins of rebelling and are essentially forced down into Hell. Throughout Satans
escape from Hell and his journey towards the Garden of Eden, his very essence and character
begins to show signs of shameful degradation as he slowly approaches his goal towards
corrupting mankind.

Satan successfully escapes his abysmal imprisonment in Hell and is able to witness the
beauty and raw purity of Earth for the first time. After spotting Adam, Eve, and the other beasts
of the new world, Satan takes the form of a powerful lion in order to stalk with fierie glare and
observe Adam and Eve from a lengthy distance (Book IV, 402). Satan views Adam and Eve as
his targets or prey, and his form of a lion helps illustrate how he patiently, almost intrinsically
waits for his prey to come before he might surest seize them both, gript in each paw (Book
IV, 407-408). Even though he is within the purity of Earth, his evil and corrupt souls perverts one
of Gods creatures into an intelligent, blood-thirsty beast. Gods creatures were initially created
with only purity and calmness in mind, yet Satans indifference towards his goal of corrupting
man has allowed him to taint the very sanctity of Gods creations.

Even though Satan should have been cleansed from his evilness due to the presence of
God and the Earth, he slowly begins to corrupt and ultimately displays his wicked, true form.
Heaven and Earth are essentially linkd in a golden chain, and Earth serves as an extension of
Gods willful command and influence (Book II, 1005). As described, Earth is modeled after

Nikhill Joshi

Joshi 2

AP English 12
Mrs. Bradley
December 12, 2017
Heaven and is meant to contain Gods pure creations; the land itself was made in Gods image
and it is essentially a pristine, beautiful world free from corruption and hate. Despite this flawless
world, Satan is able to enter Eves mind close at the eare of [her] by squat[ing] in the form of
a toad and corrupting her with his will (Book IV, 800). Despite the Earth being protected by
Gods own power, Satans very essence and vile character are able to be relayed as illusions
and phantams towards man, and his intrinsic dexterity to taint with inspiring venom of the
vaine hopes, vaine aimes, and inordinate thoughts to the unsuspecting Eve is greatly effective
(Book IV, 803-804, 808). Although Earth should have theoretically been immune to attacks and
corruption, the true rancor of Satan is so great and genuine that he is able to indirectly attack
God in the form of a toad, a vile abomination of a creature in Gods vision of Earth.

As he continues to ascend from Earth to Eden, the form of Satan becomes more and
more distorted. Satan took on the forms of relatively normal and even beautiful creatures in the
beginning of his long journey, such as the cormorant and the lion. As he progresses his
advancements and begins to linger around the Garden of Eden, his intentions of corrupting
mankind begin to become more and more in-reach. His shift from beautiful creatures to vile
beasts correlates with his location towards mankind and God; the closer he approaches God
and his creations, the more crooked and hostile he becomes. Both physically and spiritually,
Satan degrades in character and form the closer he goes to God and continues to stray from the
path of right, even in the pure land of Earth.