The fall provides for humankind's ultimate salvation thus showing the difference between Milton's poem and Spenser's poem in the way that Milton's epic concerns the whole human race, not just one state or one kingdom or even one hero, like we see in Book I of The Faerie Queene where every action revolves around one hero, Redcrosse and his intent of saving a kingdom and fighting for the king and queen against a dangerous monster threatening the people of a town. .
Milton criticizes the knightly romances of the Middle Ages on the basis that they make the act of heroism superficial. Spenser's poem shows knightly romance with the love between the courageous knight Redcrosse and his beloved Una. Knightly romances conform largely to the traditional notions of heroism in epic poetry. In the case of Milton, he does not portray his hero as a knight who fights for his ladies" honor or to keep his lover safe from threatening monsters. Instead, he presents his hero Adam as a dignified character with moral power rather than a knight or hero with strength and soldierly ability to engage in battles. Paradise Lost gives the reader the sense that for Milton, a chivalrous warrior was a type of oxymoron and that such characteristic for a knight was ironic. Even though in Milton's poem there is romance between the hero and Eve which becomes his companion and lover, the heroes" goal involves saving humanity and not just fighting for the honor of his lover like most knights did in other epic poems.
The differences on the traditional notions of heroism make these two epics unique from one another. Once again, we see how the hero, Redcrosse fights off a terrible dragon with his horse and sword and protected by his armor, who threatens the kingdom of Una's parents who were the rulers and Una herself. Spenser makes a vivid description of his battle with the beast describing how "the weapon bright taking advantage of his open jaw, ran through his mouth with so importune might, that deepe emperst his darksome hollow maw, and back retyrd, life bloud forth with all did draw"(p.
