From the War in Heaven through the fall of man in Paradise Lost, Satan's weapon at every point is some form of fraud (Anderson, 135). Milton's Paradise Lost explains the biblical story of Adam and Eve. Although the epic is similar to the Bible story in many ways, Milton's character structure of Satan differs from that of the Bible's version. Milton describes the characters as the way he believes they are throughout the epic. In book two of Paradise Lost, Milton portrays Satan as a rebel who exhibits certain heroic qualities, but who turns out not to be a hero. Everything that Satan reveals is reason mixed with obscurity, and lies mixed with the truth. .
Milton's introduction of Satan shows the reader the thin line between good and evil. Satan was once one of the highest angels in Heaven, and was know as Lucifer, the light bearer. Milton portrays to the reader that Satan was once a strong leader and had a large impact to all in his presence. He best describes Satan's devious way when stating, "His pride/ had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host. / Of rebel angels, by whose aspiring/ To set himself in glory above his peers" (Book I L 37). Satan's pride was the main reason that God banned him from heaven. Satan continuously tried to be above God, instead of following in God's shadow. He would have lived a life in Paradise forever, but instead, he followed his feelings. "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav"n" (L 263). This shows how strongly he felt about not being above God in Heaven, and only being second "best." Milton uses many examples as the one above to portray Satan's true qualities to the reader. Milton uses many events like the ones listed above to encourage the reader to view Satan as a hero. Satan is described to be the brightest and most important angel (McColley, 32). These traits of Satan show how one might recognize Satan as the second in power right below God, who was the highest power of all.
