Christ and Satan - Structure and Synopsis

Structure and Synopsis

Unlike the poems in Book I of the Junius manuscript, which rely on Old Testament themes, Christ and Satan encompasses all of biblical history, linking both the Old Testament and New Testament, and expounding upon a number of conflicts between Christ and Satan.

The composite and inconsistent nature of the text has been and remains some cause for confusion and debate. Nevertheless, Christ and Satan is usually divided into three narrative sections:

1. The Fall of Satan. The first section runs from lines 1 to 365 and consists of the grievances of Satan and his fellow fallen angels. In this section, Satan and his fallen brethren direct their complaints toward Christ the Son. This is an unusual and unparalleled depiction of the story, as the complaints of Satan and the fallen angels are usually directed toward God the Father, as is the case in the preceding poems Genesis A and Genesis B.
2. The Harrowing of Hell. The second section runs from lines 366 to 662 and offers an account of the Resurrection, Ascension, and Last Judgment, with emphasis on Christ’s Harrowing of Hell and victory over Satan on his own ground.
3. The Temptation of Christ. The third and last section runs from lines 663 to 729 and recalls the temptation of Christ by Satan in the desert.

In addition, the poem is interspersed with homiletic passages pleading for a righteous life and the preparation for Judgment Day and the afterlife. The value of the threefold division has not gone uncontested. Scholars such as Donald Scragg have questioned whether Christ and Satan should be read as one poem broken into three sections or many more poems which may or may not be closely interlinked. In some cases, such as in the sequence of Resurrection, Ascension and Day of Judgment, the poem does follow some logical narrative order.