The Paradox of Virtue: Milton's Satan and the Anti-Hero Tradition (thesis)

Abstract

In the classical sphere, Milton scholars have placed due emphasis on the associations between Paradise Lost and the epic tradition, particularly as expressed through Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Vergil’s Aeneid at the expense of philosophical analyses, particularly regarding Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. In the theological sphere, Milton scholars have grappled primarily with the Fall and in comparison, have produced little major research on the theological significance of Satan’s specific qualities as expressed in Paradise Lost. This thesis aims to address these deficiencies by endeavoring toward a singular goal: defining the Miltonic anti-hero. In condensed terms, I define the Miltonic anti-hero as follows: a protagonist that is good from a worldly perspective and is evil from a theological perspective, who commingles good and evil to ultimately render this moral dichotomy ambiguous. [From Introduction]