Paradise Lost by John Milton is an epic that talks about a married couple named Adam and Eve that lives in a garden. John Milton wanted to make them as sort of hero types and not referring to the original Adam and Eve. This epic deals with temptations and making choices under pressure. Epics deal with the supernatural elements, warfare, and trips to the underworld. The climax of the epic is when Eve eats the fruit and things start to turn around. ...

• Word Count: 403
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Milton uses many events like the ones listed above to encourage the reader to view Satan as a hero. ... At the start of this epic, Satan can be described as a hero. However, Milton changes the view of Satan drastically as the epic continues. ... The character of Satan breaks down greatly through the epic. ... Throughout the epic, Satan delivers strong persuasive speeches. ...

• Word Count: 1429
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Milton intended Paradise Lost to be an epic poem; this meant the poem had to meet specific requirements. One of these requirements was that there had to be a hero in the poem, following the epic style of Homer and Virgil. There has been much debate on the hero of Paradise Lost, and one of the possibilities that is discussed is weather Milton intended Satan to be the hero. ... From Satan's speech we can see some admirable qualities such as ambition, and pride; however, as these qualities are closely examined in the context of book IX it is not difficult to prove that Satan is more closely...

• Word Count: 955
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

These exterior influences and pressures, combined with Milton's amazing ability and the mirror his writings seem to hold up to society, are the key to understanding Milton's confusing ambiguity in making Satan the epic hero in "Paradise Lost". The critical readings and commentaries on "Paradise Lost" seem to be overwhelmed by the epic poem itself. ... He writes in his "Second Defence" that the epic poet is not able to focus on anything more than a particular event. He says, Moreover, just as an epic poet, if he is scrupulous and disinclined to break the rules, undertakes to ext...

• Word Count: 1188
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

However, for people who are familiar with epic poetry of such authors as Homer, we can see that this is really a great example of an epic poem, which is no surprise since in his times, Greek poetry was quite famous and influential. ... Of course in every epic poem, there is a hero, and this one is no different, but who is the real hero in this book? ... I really believe that the real hero is Satan, though of course that is not what was intended. However, as every hero, he goes against the authority, he has followers who he encourages with great speeches, and he has a quest which he finally ...

• Word Count: 1754
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The epic represents what can be accomplished with the English language as sounds and syntax are carefully crafted. ... The real hero of Paradise Lost is the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan is anything but a hero. ... The Son of God is everything that a true hero ought to be. ... In short, Pound's hero, Satan, is no hero at all. ...

• Word Count: 854
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

According to Neil Forsyth, John Milton's Paradise Lost is "an epic poem about the origin of evil" (Forsyth). ... Milton goes back and forth portraying Satan as both the hero and the villain. When in hero mode Satan leads an uprising and revolts against God who in his opinion was a tyrant. ... Did Milton intend to portray Satan as a hero or a villain? ... According to Kaiter and Sandiuc, Milton realizes he was coming too close to portraying Satan as a hero. ...

• Word Count: 1335
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

A hero is generally defined as a great warrior, who shows great courage or the main male character in a literary or dramatic work. ... Satan certainly fulfills each of these requirements to be a hero. ... These evil attributes don't necessarily make him a true villain, just as heroic qualities don't make him a hero. ... As a result of the depth of his development, Satan cannot be typecast as a traditional epic hero or a classic villain. ... His heroism is defiled because generally, a hero is one who is fighting for a good or noble cause. ...

• Word Count: 2236
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School