Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Devil Thinking Out Loud
In the first part of this section (about lines 84-124), it seems like the devil is almost verbally trying to sort through what has happened. The devil sounds a lot like Iago when he is thinking out loud. In lines 105-109, he says, "What though the field be lost? All is not lost; the unconquerable Will, and study of revenge, immortal hate, and courage never submit or yield: and what is else not to be overcome?" To me this basically runs parallel to Iago's belief that it doesn't matter if he loses as long as he takes his opponent down with him. I also found the next few lines really interesting. Lines 111-116 say "To bow and sue for grace with suppliant knee, and defy his power who from the terror of this Arm so late doubted his Empire, that were low indeed, that were an ignominy and shame beneath this downfall". This sounds almost like something the American patriots fighting for their independence would say, very patriotic and justified. These lines just reminded me what Coach Crook says frequently in class about how the villains who are the hardest to defeat are the ones who can justify their cause and truly believe that their side is the right one.
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I like your analogy to patriots. One side's patriot is the other side's rebel? Also, let's remember that like Iago, we are getting one side of the story. Do we have a reliable source of information here in Satan, especially about having had God on the ropes in the war in Heaven? That is addressed elsewhere in PL; perhaps it's Book III.
ReplyDeleteSatan's logic is still a bit flawed. Satan wants to take God down with him, but he really can't because if God is omnipotent, nothing can stop him. It's like a suicide bomber who only ends up killing himself
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