![]() ![]() This muse is the Judaeo-Christian Godhead. ![]() Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme. That with no middle flight intends to soar In the beginning how the heav’ns and earthĭelight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed, Like many Classical epics, Paradise Lost invokes a muse, whom Milton identifies at the outset of the poem: Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top If Classical epics deem their protagonists heroic for their extreme passions, even vices, the Son in Paradise Lost exemplifies Christian heroism both through his meekness and magnanimity and through his patience and fortitude. Their strength and skills on the battlefield and their acquisition of the spoils of war also issue from hate, anger, revenge, greed, and covetousness. The Son’s selfless love contrasts strikingly with the selfish love of the heroes of Classical epics, who are distinguished by their valour on the battlefield, which is usually incited by pride and vainglory. ![]() Though his role as saviour of fallen humankind is not enacted in the epic, Adam and Eve before their expulsion from Eden learn of the future redemptive ministry of Jesus, the exemplary gesture of self-sacrificing love. But Milton’s emphasis is less on the Son as a warrior and more on his love for humankind the Father, in his celestial dialogue with the Son, foresees the sinfulness of Adam and Eve, and the Son chooses to become incarnate and to suffer humbly to redeem them. In the battle, the Son (Jesus Christ) is invincible in his onslaught against Satan and his cohorts. In Book 6 Milton describes the battle between the good and evil angels the defeat of the latter results in their expulsion from heaven. In Paradise Lost-first published in 10 books in 1667 and then in 12 books in 1674, at a length of almost 11,000 lines-Milton observed but adapted a number of the Classical epic conventions that distinguish works such as Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid.Īmong these conventions is a focus on the elevated subjects of war, love, and heroism.
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