Unleashed academics, tutors, and ornamental hermits Alice and Rowan
do a deep dive into dark hero archetypes on a semi-weekly basis.
This episode they continue their mini-series on John Milton’s Paradise Lost and discuss the representation of Satan in book 4 of the poem. Compared to what we've seen so far, Book 4 presents a different side to Satan. The Machiavellian dictator, rhetorician, military commander, and epic hero is replaced by a soliloquising shapeshifter who has more in common with a Shakespearean villain—Alice and Rowan explain why. Book 4 features some of the most famous sections of the poem, including Satan's confirmation in evil and his attempt to corrupt Eve via her ear. This and other pressing questions, like why there are no bugs in Adam and Eve's bedroom, are explained this week.
Next episode, they examine the epic war in heaven—it’s like Avengers vs. Thanos, but better.
Sources cited:
Fish, Stanley. Surprised by Sin. London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1967, 106-7.
Gardner, Helen. A Reading of Paradise Lost. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965, 122.
Marlowe, Christopher. Doctor Faustus. Edited by David Bennington; Eric Rasmussen, 1.3.76-81; 2.1.119-126.
Steadman, John. Milton and the Renaissance Hero. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967, Xviii, 17.
See previous episodes for recommended reading lists and textual editions
