Essay on Is Satan the Epic Hero in Paradise Lost

Young children and adults across the world are taught that God is a hero above the rest. He is both omnipotent and omnipresent, almost like how Santa Clause is described as to little children. God does no wrong and is incapable of committing a sin; He is a picture perfect being. Satan is God’s archenemy and polar opposite, he’s popularly known for his evil ways and the fiery inferno that he inhabits, described in the book Dante’s Inferno. Rarely do people confuse the idea that God is the hero and Satan is the evildoer that needs to be extinguished from the world. I can safely say that in terms of Christianity and its beliefs there is no mistake to who the epic hero of the bible is. In John Milton’s poem â€Å" Paradise Lost,† the lines†¦show more content†¦She believes that the purpose of the poem was to provoke readers (Webber 514). The confusion of Milton’s explanation and God’s intentions arise when Milton makes a claim that Adam and Eve’s plunge into the world of sin was indirectly the result of Lucifer, a serpent wondering around in the Garden of Eden. At this time, Satan becomes the central focus of this poem. Routinely in epic novels and poems the epic character narrates the tale. So for Satan to be the main narrator in books one and two begs to question whether Milton has lost focus in his story and inadvertently portrayed Satan as the epic hero. Leontien Kouwenhoven suggests in a paper titled â€Å"Satan as the Hero of Paradise Lost,† that Milton’s creation of Hell is void of order giving Satan the power and ability to become a strong and prominent leader. Milton uses vivid imagery to conjure up the image of Satan and his second-in-command Beelzebub tied by chains to a fiery lake below earth’s atmosphere also known as Hell. Satan contrite with anger does not show any penance for his rebellion from God but instead disgust for their current condition. In an attempt to alleviate the discomfort he feels for rebelling he decides to gather an army and attack the Lord again. Satan and Beelzebub easily break free from their chains. His chains are so weak that he and Beezebub are able toShow MoreRelated John Miltons Epic Poem, Lost Paradise Essays601 Words   |  3 PagesJohn Milton created an epic poem unlike any other. He created the poem while going blind, and recited it in its entirety, after he went completely blind, for his daughters to record. Paradise Lost is arguably the greatest epic poem ever written, though not the most well-known. It is so great because it is so modern. Other epics, such as The Iliad or The Odyssey written by Homer are poems of the past. 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