Student Question
Discuss the characteristics of epic poetry in John Milton's Paradise Lost. Is Satan an antihero?
Quick answer:
Milton's Paradise Lost exhibits the characteristics of epic poetry in its great deeds, heroic characters, supernatural scope, and elevated style. Satan is often defined as an antihero for his inner struggles, imperfection, cynicism, and lack of remorse, but he does not have the good intentions that antiheroes usually exhibit.
To get you started on this assignment, let's review the characteristics of epic poetry and the definition of antihero. We'll start with epic poetry. The plot of an epic focuses on a great hero (or sometimes an antihero, depending upon the era in which the epic was written). It involves great deeds that are performed by the hero or antihero. These deeds usually involve far more ability than any normal human being could ever hope to achieve. Further, epics often include supernatural characters and events as well as immense obstacles that are also sometimes supernatural in scope. The setting of an epic is vast, covering a wide territory that even stretches into the supernatural realm, and its time is often in the far past, beyond human memory. Stylistically, epics are written in a formal tone with elevated, grand language.
If we think about Paradise Lost, we can see that all of these characteristics describe the poem, at least to some extent. The plot focuses on Satan, whom many label as an antihero (see below), and it certainly involves great deeds that are supernatural in scope. The setting is vast (stretching all the way from heaven to hell), and the poem covers a time in the far past. Milton also writes in a highly elevated style. So we can conclude that Paradise Lost is an epic.
Now let's turn our attention to the antihero. An antihero is a complex character who is highly imperfect and tends to break the rules and ignore moral standards. Antiheroes experience severe inner struggles and are often cynical and lack remorse for their immoral actions. So far, then, Satan in Paradise Lost seems to be an antihero by definition. But antiheroes tend to have one quality that Satan definitely does not: good intentions. He is out to defy God and corrupt humanity. So he is not a typical antihero, even though he does exhibit many of the characteristics of such.
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