Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1957. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 336-355).

This study analyses readings and interpretations of the satanic figure in John Milton´s epic Paradise Lost. The study highlights positions from the literature debate about Satan, the main character, and analyses interpretations of Milton´s Satan in order to investigate the critical positions about the relation between text and interpretation. The study has a meta-perspective and analyses the character of Satan in relation to the two main positions that have occupied the debate. The central question for this study is the role of the satanic figure in Paradise Lost. Have the critics read him as a tragic hero or is he being portrayed as the embodiment of evil? By reading which strategies have been used for interpretation by critics in order to come to conclusions about Satan, I have also shown what views exist concerning literary texts and character presentation. The result shows two clear traditions, satanists and anti-satanists, the former interpreting Satan as a positive character and the latter viewing him as a negative one. This study has shown that the debate concerning Satan has touched upon a wide spectrum of subjects where questions concerning authority, revolt and the closeness/distance to a text has been part of the interpretations. The satanic figure has at the same time shown to be an ambivalent 'round' character which makes simple interpretations of him more difficult.