ut that the fallen angels can’t be retrieved (III.129-32). Milton employs a variety of animal images throughout Paradise Lost to depict facets of Satan’s character. Most obviously, the serpent is a symbol of his evil: as a predator, he is compared to a wolf or vulture; he is a ‘proud steed’; and an ironic symbol of death as he alights ‘like a cormorant’ on the Tree of Life in Paradise, and the image of him sitting ‘squat like a toad’ by the sleeping Eve, instilling corrupt thoughts into her dreams reveals the ugliness of his evil designs. Parallels with the insect world are used to describe Satan’s followers: as agents of destruction, they are likened to “a pitchy cloud/Of locusts,” as they amass at Satan’s command in Book I and, as Satan embarks on his journey to Earth, they are ironically compared with bees variously occupying themselves until their leader’s return. Despite the enormity of his flaws of character and Milton’s attempts to belittle him, I would argue that our admiration for Satan’s strength of resolve and powers of leadership, our fear for his inevitable fate, and our pity for his torment and the very nature of his circumstances are sufficient to render him deserving of tragic status. The fact that critics have often compared him with great tragic figures such as Prometheus, Faustus, Macbeth and Tamburlaine would seem to lend weight to this contention. Concerning Adam and Satan, I would suggest that our fear for Adam is not as great as our fear for Satan. Satan’s doom is eternal and the more he perseveres with his plan of corruption, the more we worry about the nature of the retribution which will befall him. A reason why Adam is not so convincing as a tragic figure is Milton’s portrayal of the flaw in his character which leads to his fall, that is, that he ultimately places human love above his obedience to God. He take...
