To Serve in Heaven or to Rule in Hell?

           In Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Lucifer not as an inherently evil being, but as a character who can be justified for his actions. Milton portrays Lucifer as an ambitious archangel who may be misguided in his actions, yet his actions are justifiable and relatable to the struggles of the everyday people.

            Lucifer decides that he would rather rule in hell and be evil than serve God and live in paradise; however, Milton provides justification for Lucifer’s actions: “if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure…” (Milton 256-261). Milton illustrates in this quote that Lucifer simply wanted to be free from God. He does not wish to be less than the he who thunder made great, clearly a reference to God. He also wishes to be secure and safe, a desire that most people can relate to. In fact, many of the revolutions in history were the cause of people not feeling secure under a ruler; they wanted to be free from servitude, for it is the common desire of all people to have freedom. Lucifer is in the same exact position. He did not necessarily want to reside in hell, but for him “To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell” (Milton 262). To Lucifer, his ambition of ruling and being free from God is worth having to live in hell. Thus, Lucifer is portrayed as an ambitious character who is not completely evil because his ambition is justified for his desire for freedom.

            Milton’s portrayal of Lucifer has certainly influenced the work of other writers. The most obvious example in literature would be his influence over the work of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the novel, the monster uses Paradise Lost in order to teach himself how to read, but what the monster finds is that his situation is very similar to Lucifer’s. Both the monster and Lucifer were abandoned by their creators, and are forced to live in exile. Milton’s Paradise Lost has created a character that is not entirely evil, but one that is certainly justified and relatable.

Works Cited

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. Scott Elledge. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1975.

A Tragical Comical Romantic Tempest?

      The Tempest, Shakespeare's last play, can neither be called a tragedy nor a comedy. The plot is much too serious to be classified as a comedy, yet unlike other Shakespeare's tragedies, such as Macbeth or Hamlet, none of the main characters are killed. The Tempest is therefore a romance. It simply acknowledges the presence of evil, but evil never actually takes action, and while comedy is present, the play is too dark to be a comedy.
      A Romance describes a play that encompasses both the elements of a tragedy and a comedy (Schwartz). Like a comedy, The Tempest ends happily with Prospero and the shipwrecked sailors deciding to leave the island. At the end of act V, Prospero says, "in the morn I'll bring you to your ship and so to Naples, Where I have hope to see the nuptial Of these our dear-beloved solemnized; And thence retire me to my Milan..." (Shakespeare 164-165). Not only is Prospero leaving the island and returning to his dukedom in Milan, but his daughter will be happily married to Ferdinand, the son of Alonso. Also, Prospero tells Ariel that he is free from servitude after treating him poorly in act I, in which Prospero calls Ariel a "malignant thing" amongst other blatant insults (Shakespeare 32).
      In tandem with comic elements, the play contains some similar elements to those of a tragedy; however, it is important to note that in a tragedy there is evil, while in a Romance evil is only acknowledged and does not necessarily act (Schwartz). In act II, Antonio and Sebastian plot to kill their own brothers, but the plan is not executed. The act of killing one's brother is acknowledged as evil, but the evil never actually acts like it does in a tragedy. However, similar to tragedy, one of the characters exacts revenge on another. In this play, Prospero sends Ariel to wreck the ship that Alonso and Antonio were on so he can confront them after they took away his dukedom: "Hast thou, spirit, Perform'd to point the tempest that I bade thee?" (Shakespeare 27). Prospero does not actually get the revenge he intended though; instead, like in a Romance, he forgives them for their actions, and he returns with them to Milan.
      The Tempest, although it was originally classified as a comedy, should be classified as a Romance. The play acknowledges evil, while evil never truly acts, and it is comical, yet the plot is too serious to be classified as a comedy; therefore, The Tempest is a Romance.

Works Cited 

Schwartz, Debora B. "Shakespeare's Four Final Plays: The Romances." 2005.Web. 13 January 2015. 

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. BookByte Digital. iBooks.