Sketches of English Literature; With Considerations on the Spirit of the Times, Men, and Revolutions Volume 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1836 edition. Excerpt: ... MILTON'S DEMONS AND ALLEGORICAL PERSONAGES. It were useless to repeat what every one knows respecting the spirits of darkness, as Milton has produced them. Satan is acknowledged to be an incomparable creation. Louis Racine makes this remark in speaking of Satan's four soliloquies: "On what occasions does the spirit of rage, the king of evil, utter reflections which may be called wise? First, when contemplating the beauty of the sun; secondly, in contemplating the beauty of the earth; thirdly, in contemplating the beauty of two beings, who in peaceful converse assure each other of their mutual love; fourthly, in contemplating one of these creatures alone, among trees, cultivating flowers, the image of innocence and tranquillity. All that is good and fair at first excites his admiration; this awakens remorse, by the remembrance of what he has lost, and the results of his remorse only harden him the more in crime. The king of evil by degrees becomes worthy of his new empire. Eve gathering flowers appears to him happy; her serenity is the pleasure of innocence; he hastens to destroy what he admires, because he is the destroyer of all happiness. In these four soliloquies Milton has preserved the same character for Satan, without copying himself. Satan is not the hero of his poem, but the master-piece of his poetry." Milton has almost given to Satan sensations of love for Eve. The fallen angel is jealous, at viewing the caresses of the wedded pair. Eve fascinating for a moment the rival of the Almighty, the chief of hell, the king of hate, leaves in the imagination an incomprehensible impression of the beauty of the woman. The allegorical personages of "Paradise Lost," are Chaos, Death, and Sin. Such is the fire of the poet that he has made the two...