Hope Found

Hope Found

Paradise Lost by John Milton

“This horror will grow mild, this darkness light,/Besides what hope the never-ending flight/Of future days may bring, what chance, what change/ Worth waiting since our present lot appears/For happy though but ill, for ill not worst,/If we procure not to ourselves more woe,” (book #2, 220-225)

            This quote from Paradise Lost shows the reader that even Satan has not given up hope.  He believes in the concept that we all will adapt to our surroundings and our troubles will not seem so bad.  I believe that this is a very empowering quote because if one can adjust to the torments of hell we can certainly adapt to a few troubles here on earth.  This is extremely meaningful to anyone who is struggling with anything with anything in their lives because there is the hope that things will get better and not seem so bad.  Satan also touches upon the fact that this pain and torment, which they suffer now, will be nothing if they choose to battle God again.  What could be worse than hell we ask?  Well no mortal could ever know.  I believe that Satan is viewed as a very pessimistic being however here he is represented as someone with insight and perhaps even optimism (an uncommon view of Satan).  I believe that this was Milton’s design to metaphorically ask the reader to look into the other sides of people because if Satan can come up with something so powerful that we can only imagine what any of us could do.  We must look past the façade that many people put off and look beyond our false pretenses and see the person whom they really are.  In Conclusion along with giving the reader much insight into their own life Milton has shown us that Satan is a much more complex being than all darkness and evil and this has just begun to open up his character for the remainder of the story.  -Megan