John Milton's Paradise Lost and Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing contain two characters that are satanically similar - Satan and Don John respectively.
Throughout Shakespeare's drama and
Milton's epic, each fights to defeat their own
doubts and drawbacks. During this
process, they desire to corrupt humankind and bring
all of those around them down to
their perilous level. Being illegitimate heirs to a
throne, Don John
and Satan both exhibit similar motives, words, and attitudes as they
austerely hate
anyone who is joyful and desire to bring revenge upon the world around
them.
Don John and Satan suffer from the pride syndrome. They want the power and
glory that they do not have. Don
John is known as the "bastard son" who thinks that life
is not fair because he is excluded
from the possessions that Don Pedro will eventually
rightfully receive. Don John
states, "I had rather be a canker in a hedge, than a rose in
his grace, and it better fits my
blood to be disdained of all than to fashion a carriage to
rob" (580). This statement
closely parallels Satan's motives. A once admired angel,
Satan is not satisfied by being in
the eternal loveliness of God. Satan, just like Don
John, is motivated to "do his
liking" and will not let anyone stop him. Both characters
desire to bring others down with
them. They believe their own lies. For example, when
Satan is cast out of heaven, he is
demented and begins to believe his immoral thoughts
of taking God's goodness and
making it evil. Being that Don John is a "bastard," he
tries to lower Hero down to his
status quo by making it seem like she is a whore.
troublemakers, seducers, and
serpents. Shakespeare's Don John interrupts the cordial
atmosphere with his evil plot. He
states to Conrade, "Come, come, let us thither: this
may prove food to my displeasure.
That young startup hath all the glory of my
overthrow." Here, he is
trying to inflict pain upon Hero and Claudio by splitting them
up. His words say it all.
Similarly, Satan tells Beelzebub that "the mind is its own place
and in itself can make a heaven of
hell, hell of heaven" (Book 1, lines 254-255). This
statement signifies that Satan
wants to corrupt God's holy work and that he will continue
to disrupt others with his
overthrow of the world. Both characters try to achieve this end
by infiltrating the lives of those
around them.
will
unsuccessfully try to destroy the goodness around them. The vanity and
pride of
Satan causes him to lie to his
fellow devils. Satan tries to make the best of his situation
in hell, explaining, "Better
to reign in hell, than serve in heaven" (1.263). Don John's vanity and prideful
attitude cause him to lie to his brother. In doing so, Hero is falsely accused and Don John
turns into a state of wicked happiness. However, his sin eventually finds him out. Don
John is accused and disgraced. In comparison, Satan will also one day be accused,
found guilty, and disgraced. Satan thinks he gains power by going to hell, but since he
raises arms up against God, his power is truly lost. Both characters become unsuccessful,
worthless beings.
attitudes. Unfortunately, because
they choose the path of wickedness, they both end up
burning only themselves in the end
(Satan literally). Consequently, punishment
follows them due to their evil
plots. Not only have they deceived others, but also they
have deceived themselves. Their insecurity,
pride, and lust lead to destruction. Being
that Don John and Satan were
unable to accept their status, they turn on the ones that
loved them and gave then "hell". In return,
the "bastards" went to "hell".
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