You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU College Collections » Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College » Honors Student Theses

Satan's imprisoning words

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2009
Summary:
Through a critique of Satan's misuse of language, John Milton's Paradise Lost makes the greater argument that language should coincide with God's creation narrative. The poem proposes a theory of how language should be used: to connect the mutable world of humans to the immutable world of God. I propose that Milton uses Satan to portray both a fear and a faith in the power of language. Satan makes language the accomplice to his sin, attempting to use language, which has the power of creating a world that seems true, to replace God's Truth. Milton's poem neither solely endorses the theory that language points directly to absolute Truth, nor does it endorse the theory that language is an arbitrary system of signs which impose meaning the world. Milton blends these two theories of language, connecting the Idealist system to what will be Friedrich Nietzsche's.
Title: Satan's imprisoning words: examining the value of language in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
338 views
232 downloads
Name(s): Ryan, Victoria.
Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Thesis
Issuance: multipart monograph
Date Issued: 2009
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
electronic resource
Extent: v, 52 leaves ; 29 cm.
Language(s): English
Summary: Through a critique of Satan's misuse of language, John Milton's Paradise Lost makes the greater argument that language should coincide with God's creation narrative. The poem proposes a theory of how language should be used: to connect the mutable world of humans to the immutable world of God. I propose that Milton uses Satan to portray both a fear and a faith in the power of language. Satan makes language the accomplice to his sin, attempting to use language, which has the power of creating a world that seems true, to replace God's Truth. Milton's poem neither solely endorses the theory that language points directly to absolute Truth, nor does it endorse the theory that language is an arbitrary system of signs which impose meaning the world. Milton blends these two theories of language, connecting the Idealist system to what will be Friedrich Nietzsche's.
Identifier: 460167828 (oclc), 209999 (digitool), FADT209999 (IID), fau:1373 (fedora)
Note(s): by Victoria Ryan.
Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Honors College, 2009.
Bibliography: leaves 48-52.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Milton, John, 1608-1674
Milton, John, 1608-1674
Devil in literature
Narration (Rhetoric)
Held by: FBoU FAUER
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/209999
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Host Institution: FAU

In Collections