How fall’n! how changed : the visual history of Milton’s Satan.

Abstract

The Satan of Paradise Lost has long been a fascinating object of study for Milton scholars. John Milton’s epic may rely heavily on the Biblical story of creation and original sin, but his creative shaping of a character like Satan has drawn the attention of not only academics but also artists over the course of several centuries. Milton’s Satan is a major character in the narrative that has been examined and dissected down to his physical descriptions, his speeches, his actions, and his motivations. What are his motivations as a character and do they change throughout the poem? What does his physical description in Paradise Lost say about his character? Does it contrast with his rhetoric in the speeches he gives? What connections can be made between Milton’s Satan and the visual representations of said Satan in art? To explore the visual reception of Milton’s Satan in art of different forms and time periods, I begin by examining some medieval and Renaissance Christian art as well as the most commonly cited and reproduced artworks and illustrations of the poem by artists John Baptist Medina, William Blake and Gustave Doré. After establishing Satan’s visual presence in the artistic reimaginings of Milton’s epic by these artists, I extend my visual reception of Satan to encompass new and hybrid media such as a graphic novel, two comic book series, and two television shows. How do Satan’s character, physical appearance, and attributes develop and evolve across not only time but also different media? What does a comparison of the stylistic choices of illustrations and adaptations imply about not only Satan but also Milton’s own choices in the portrayal of this character? I attempt to analyze both text and art and find common ground between the two that will analyze the role of the visual in establishing Satan as a potentially heroic figure within the text and an omnipresent cultural touchstone beyond it. Lastly, I discuss Milton’s and more specifically his