Milton in Art, Part II

Sin, Death, and the Devil, 1792, James Gillray

Okay, okay. Last one, I promise. After Sarah wondered what the key meant in the Blake watercolor, I was trying to find out and came across this. How cool is this caricature? It's from the political satirist James Gillray, and according to the website I found it from, it parodies the quarrel between Prime Minister Pitt (Death) and Chancellor Thurlow (Satan), with Queen Charlotte in the middle (Sin), protecting Pitt. I think it's hilarious, and it was probably really offensive to the portrayed parties. I hope we get to this section in Cultural History because now I want to know more about the political context behind the painting.

Death, continued

In Book X that we had read for Thursday (class discussion was obviously a little limited that day), a big part of the action of the book is the decision on Adam's part - and eventually Eve's - to confess their sins and beg for repentance/forgiveness. Repentance was and is a huge theme of many of the books we have read both this semester and previously. Because Adam and Eve ask God for forgiveness, they manage what Satan did not, because he would rather "reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

I feel like we have sort of seen this coming from the previous books, because although Satan is inherently evil (as evidenced by his contorted face even when assuming the form of a cherub), there was always that one shred of jealously and hatred that made him wish so badly to want to live in Paradise as the humans did. If he had only repented as a result of his despair (fear?) as they did, I wonder if he might have ended up differently.

Considering that, is Satan the Hero of this book? A lot of the action is focused on him. Maybe his stock "fatal flaw" was in this inability to feel remorse. Maybe it's Adam and/or Eve. Does a hero need to be a good person? Or can he literally be the Devil? If this is the case then I think Milton was pretty bold to make Satan the hero of his book in such times.

Milton in Art

William Blake, Satan, Sin, and Death, 1808, Watercolor.

Just wanted to share this interesting image of Paradise Lost. It is Blake's rendition of Satan, Sin, and Death, and I like it because it is so luminous and bright. Instead of being completed with oil-based paints, it is a watercolor, which allowed Blake to portray Death as that terrible transparent shadow (in line with the way Milton described Death). There is also a lot of movement in it, and I especially like the creepy serpent coiled around at the bottom. Do you like it?