Remembrest thou that silent, starry floor,
Or thrones of ember, song, and silver light?
Recallest thou that bright empyrean shore,
And sphere-song that reproves the blackest night?
How art thou fallen from this sorr'wing sky
O Lucifer, thou morning star and son
Of that bright glory forfeited, to fly
In proud rebellion earliest begun.
For thou in fatal flight didst fall to earth--
As Icharus, his waxy wings diswed--
No child of life, no son of mortal birth
But ashen babe of feral fires fed.
Lamb child, far from thy long forgotten home
How long in solemn darkness needst thou roam?
This sonnet is based loosely on Isaiah 14:12. One of the things that I am most excited about this semester in terms of literary content is trying to understand Lucifer better through Paradise Lost. Does God love him? Do we love him, and should we? On my mission, I cringed a little when an old man prayed for Satan, but I wonder if he was not so far from truth: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matt 5:44).
I was really enchanted by the seamless use of mythology as a parallel here. And you bring up such an interesting question. Does God hate Satan? He hates sin, but loves the sinner. Is Satan a sinner or the embodiment of sin itself? Sinners can repent, but Satan has already chosen what side he's on. Does that mean he is in some way inhuman?
ReplyDelete