Paradise Lost as a Classical Epic
This article discusses Paradise lost as a classical epic.
An epic is a long narrative poem, typically derived from ancient oral traditions, that recounts the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures. Epics often explore themes of heroism, mythology, and the struggles between good and evil. Examples include Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey.
In the seventeenth century, the models for an epic poet were Homer, Virgil, Tasso, Ariosto and Spenser. Milton was an ambitious poet and he wanted to write a poem which, should rank with Homer and Virgil’s. He studied all the classical epics. Homer sang of Achilles and Odysseus; Virgil had glorified Rome and Aeneas but Milton decided to write a universal epic.
In the divisions and style, Milton’s poem follows Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid. Taking Paradise Lost as a whole, one can see that the rules of classical epic as discussed by Aristotle are followed, to a large extent, by Milton. The action deals with a great subject, derived from the Scriptures. It deals with the Fall of Man. Satan’s fall is a prelude to the main action. The action is entire, having a beginning, middle and an end. What is more, the vastness of the theme, encompassing the whole of the human race, makes it a unique epic.
Paradise Lost is a story of Human action dealing as it does with “man’s first disobedience” and his fate. As all other epics, it has a hero, though there has been a controversy as to who it is. But Adam is its hero. In the poem, we have other great figures, too. But it is Adam and Eve around whom the poem revolves. Milton’s great moral purpose was to “justify the ways of God to men.”
The Epic Style of Paradise Lost has all the grandeur which the epic poem demands. Milton is the “mighty-mouthed inventor of harmonies.” The march of the poetic lines resembles the ocean waves with their sonority, and grandeur. The meaning of the words, the syntax, the division of sentences, constantly remind the scholarly reader of classical writers. The opening sentence, the first lines of Satan’s speech on looking at this surroundings, his words to Beelzebub, and the description of Satin’s shield and spear—all these reflect Milton’s grand style.
Book I of Paradise Lost is just a part of the epic but several epic devices and conventions are made use of in it.
1. Statement of Theme
In the tradition of Homer and Virgil, Milton states the theme of his poem in the first lines.
2. Invoking of the Muse
According to the classical convention established by Homer, Milton invokes the Muse to help him in his great task of writing the epic.
Milton, like other classical poets, invokes the Muse again in the course of Book, seeking her aid in enumerating the fallen angels. But Milton’s Muse is not one of the Greek Muses. She is the Heavenly Muse of religious poetry who inspired the poets and prophets of Israel.
3. Milton plunges in the middle of the action
The poet begins his epic with a picture of the rebel angels floating on the lake of fire in Hell. How they fell into Hell is described in subsequent Books. Satan and his company of fallen angels are important because of the role they play in the Fall of Man.
4. A roll-call of the devils
A roll-call of the devils is given according to the classical convention. It can be compared with the catalogue of ships in Homer’s Iliad.
5. The speeches in the poem
The speeches in the poem are modelled on the speeches in Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid. The speeches of Satan and Beelzebub are elaborate, revealing their thoughts, motives, feelings, doubts and hopes. At the end of each speech are words such as “so Satan spake,” “He spoke,” etc.
6. Homeric Similes
Milton employs Homeric similes to heighten his theme to grandeur. In this he follows the convention of Virgil, Lucan, Tasso and Spenser. His similes not only ennoble and enrich the poetry, they are also the organic part of his story. Some examples of epic similes are the comparison of Satan’s bulk to a sea-beast, comparison of the fallen angels to forest oaks struck by lightning, the simile of bees in spring time.
Satan’s shield is compared to the moon seen through Galileo’s telescope. It recalls Homer’s description n of Achilles’ shield. Other rhetorical devices used by Milton also follow epic tradition. One such is the employment and repetition of numbers such as “three” and “nine”. These devices add a stately tone to the poem.
Conclusion
Milton adds a new dimension to the classical epic poetry. Though Milton has displayed his vast classical learning, he has employed it for his puritan theme—the justification of the ways of God to men. Paradise Lost is thus a classical epic imbued with Christian theology.
Related Questions
Q. 1. Discuss those traditional prescriptions of the epic form which illustrated in Book I of Paradise Lost.
Or
Write a brief essay on some of the epic devices used by Milton in Paradise Lost Book I and their artistic effects.
Or
Bring out those features in Book I of Paradise Lost which entitle it to be called an epic.
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