John Milton (1608-1674), Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost, published in 1667, claims to ‘justify the ways of God to man’ (line 26) but, presumably despite himself, Milton is usually judged to have conveyed to the reader a good deal of kinship with the figure of Satan in his revolt against God, to the extent that, famously, William Blake claimed that Milton ‘was of the Devil’s party without knowing it.’ Satan’s heroic first speech, when he and the other rebel angels have been consigned to Hell, displays Milton’s appreciation of the feelings of those who have risen against a repressive force:

All is not lost; the unconquerable will,

And study of revenge, immortal hate,

And courage never to submit or yield,

… We may with more successful hope resolve

To wage by force or guile eternal war,

Irreconcilable to our grand Foe,

Who now triumphs, and in the excess of joy

Sole reigning holds the tyranny of heaven.

( Paradise Lost , Book I, lines 106-124)

Lord Asriel

The figure in His Dark Materials who corresponds most closely to Satan is Lord Asriel, in his quest to defeat ‘The Authority.’ Although he is not an angel, his name echoes those of several archangels (Gabriel, Uriel, Uzziel, Ithuriel) who figure in Milton’s epic, and his pride and fortitude certainly have parallels with Satan’s qualities. The epic scale of Paradise Lost and Satan’s journey to find the earth also seem to be echoed in His Dark Materials , though Biblical and Gnostic influences also proliferate.

A Second Fall

In his depiction of a second ‘Fall’, Pullman seems to owe more to Milton’s description of Paradise than to the brief description in Genesis . The sensuous quality of the relationship of the first humans and their delight in the taste of the forbidden fruit is evident in Milton’s poem:

So saying, she embraced him, and for joy

Tenderly wept, much won that he his love

Had so ennobled…

She gave him of that fair enticing fruit

With liberal hand. He scrupled not to eat…

( Paradise Lost , Book IX, lines 990-999)

These sentiments are echoed in the scene where Lyra and Will eat the sweet red fruit that makes them become aware of the depth and mutuality of their love. In effect, it is impossible to imagine His Dark Materials existing without Milton’s prior example, though whether or not Milton, as a devout if somewhat heterodox Christian, would have relished his enlistment to the ranks of defenders of ‘the Republic of Heaven’ remains debatable.