The character of Satan is difficult to understand. According to Neil Forsyth, John Milton's Paradise Lost is "an epic poem about the origin of evil" (Forsyth). In Paradise Lost Milton portrays Satan as both a single and plural entity and the reader is left to wonder if Milton intends to portray him as good or evil; a hero or a villain. He often contradicts himself; in one paragraph Satan is viewed as good and in the next paragraph inherently evil. Milton goes back and forth portraying Satan as both the hero and the villain. When in hero mode Satan leads an uprising and revolts against God who in his opinion was a tyrant. He speaks of freedom and a better life. He makes the other angels (and the reader) believe they are being mistreated. He is a powerful spokesman and leader, and yet he often contradicts himself and seems to have conflicting personalities. He is a chameleon, a humbug, and a phony and yet, at times, we the reader want to believe him. Did Milton intend to portray Satan as a hero or a villain? I had no idea, but decided to do some research to find out. .
According to Edith Kaiter and Corina Sandiuc, the source for Milton's Satan is unknown as the Bible has very little to say about him. They further state that the Bible says "he is the author of all evil, the master of disguise and man's worst enemy." Milton however is not as clear in his opinion. Throughout the poem, Milton presents evil as "real and isolated in a single being, and therefore punishable" (Kaiter, and Sandiuc 452). Kaiter and Sandiuc's research shows that Satan's portrayal as pure evil is not successful and that many believe that Satan is superior to Milton's God. (Kaiter and Sandiuc 452). They went on to argue that Paradise Lost's Satan deserves the "tragic hero status" (Kaiter and Sandiuc 453). They also state "in the Greek tradition, the tragic hero was supposed to stir up admiration, fear and pity and had to display a tragic weakness or flaw in his character which was to lead to his downfall" (Kaiter and Sandiuc 453).