English Honors Theses

Date of Creation

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Departmental Honors Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Melissa Shoenberger

Abstract

William Blake once wrote, "Milton was of the Devil's party without knowing it," reasoning a deep-seated alignment with evil that only becomes illuminated in Satan's vibrantly humanized character. By analyzing Milton's earlier political prose, Areopagitica and The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, alongside Satan's monologues in Paradise Lost, the author and his fallen characters' voices begin to sound synonymous. They are enraged by similar injustices and failures of political institutions, and they employ very similar methods of argumentation and political rhetoric. Blake was correct, in a sense, that Milton was "of the Devil's party," but I argue that John Milton was conscious of his unique portrayal of Satan, designing this character with the intent to mirror his own rhetorical aptitudes.

Milton's illustration of Satan is not a product of internalized satanic tendencies, but rather, a very complex test for his audience: one that many, including Blake, have seemed to fail. Milton's Areopagitica instructs his readers to "consume" with caution: literature, food, and information, to develop the ability to discern between good and bad. Using his political prose as a framework for reevaluating Satan's character illuminates Milton's grand scheme: to challenge humanity's rational discernment by casting Satan in a new light. Will we fall, just as our first parents, to Satan's demand for sympathy and vast intellect, or shall we exercise unrelenting faith and reason?

This thesis grapples with the ever-confounding speculation surrounding Milton's Satan, concluding that his character stands as a genius challenge to our will, intellect, faith, and reason.

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