Hope V. Despair

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Hope vs. Despair

In John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, we are given a beautiful interpretation of the story of Genesis. This detailed interpretation of Genesis begins with the fall of Satan and his inner struggle with good and evil. Satan assumes the role as the main character, Adam and Eve are his pawns for destruction and God is just a bystander. Although, when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit they lose their utopian paradise it is not the absolute fall of mankind because in the end hope overcomes despair and mankind is saved after all.
In Paradise Lost, Satan is a complex character which undergoes much change and turmoil throughout his journey to destroy mankind. He was once considered the highest angel under God however, his sins of pride and envy overpower his obedience to God and therefore, he is cast down from heaven. Now consumed with hatred he persuades others to follow his actions and wages a war against God and his new creation, mankind.
Satan is a twisted and tortured soul who is driven by an obsession of hatred, envy, passion and despair. While it is only his name which provokes hate within us it is his actions that we understand and relate to as humans. Satan is a real person to us and we understand what he is going through and his struggle with internal agony and sins. Yet, his inability to seek redemption and follow through with a life of continuous evil is where we lose connection with Satan. On more than one occasion Satan has struggled with the possibility to repent:
“O then at last relent! Is there no place
Left for repentance, none for pardon left?” (IV, 79-80)
While he knows that he would be better off repenting he cannot kneel down to a God that he believes is tyrannical and unmerciful. Consequently, he releases any kind of hope that he once had:
“So farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear,
Farewell remorse! All good to me is lost;
Evil, be thou my good…” (IV, 108-110).
As S...