Here Satan is seen to have a CONSCIENCE. Throughout the poem, Satan is given many human chracteristics, perhaps to parallel their Falls. Satan was gifted with the same powers of CONSCIENCE and free will that man is, and he uses them for evil, rather than good. In theory, a CONSCIENCE should stop a person from committing evil, but in Satan’s case, his conscience is stirred only after he has done an evil deed, and therefore, the remorse he feels is cheapened by the fact that he continues to act out against God, no matter what he feels. Satan's conscience is not strong enough to erase the hatred that he has of God. His anger springs from a feeling of betrayal, because God chose Christ as his favorite, and not Satan. His dashed pride cannot be repaired, and it corrupts the rest of him, until he is convinced that the evil does not lie within him, but in God, and that God must be destroyed. What is ironic is that Satan battles God because he thinks that God has gotten too high and mighty and full of unmerited pride, but Satan fails to recognize these qualities in himself, not understanding. In terms of Milton's era, this can parallel the rebelliousness of the people, in wanting to overthrow a monarch for yet another monarch. There is no root structural change; a dictator is a dictator, and until the people understand what they need in a government and how to stop the chain of unwanted leaders, they are as naive and misguided as Satan is.
Lisa Stanton loyaltotheroyal@hotmail.com