Heroic in Paradise Lost by John Lost Essay
The theme of the heroic in John Milton s Paradise Lost is one that has often been the focus of critical
debate, namely in the debate surrounding which character is the true hero of the poem. Most critics of
the subject have, however, noted that the difficultly in defining the hero of Milton s work is mainly
due to our vague understanding of what constitutes heroism 1 and the fact that the term itself is
equivocal 2. The vague terming of what heroism can be defined as it what draws critics to disagree
with one another over the nature of heroism, as Charles Martindale points out that there are different
models of heroic , many of which Milton employs in his epic poem. To incorporate these different
models of the heroic into his ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...
As Satan later claims, To reign is worth ambition .. /Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. (PL, I:
262 63, p.156) His statement suggests that his fatal flaw might be his ambition, his desire to become
even more powerful than he once was. This image of Satan having a fatal flaw , something that drives
him into destruction, connects him with the idea of Aristotle s hamartia, and connects him to the
imagery of the other a good person who has fallen from grace, but is nonetheless a hero. Satan is also
connected to Aristotle s idea that heroic virtue is superhuman, godlike, and divine 5, when he is
described to be stretched out huge in length (PL, I: 209, p.155) across the lake, further imprinting the
image of his heroic status.
However, modern critics have begun to criticise the conclusions of the Romantics, claiming that the
notion of Satan as a reflection of a classical hero can only be accepted when studying the first two
books of Milton s poem. During the course of the poem the superhuman, godlike image of Satan
deteriorates. John Peter, in his study of Satan, quotes C. S. Lewis, who claims that Satan s character
moves from hero to general, from general to politician, from politician to secret service agent, and
thence to a thing that peers in at bedroom and bathroom windows, and thence to a toad, and finally a
snake 6. C. S. Lewis s detailing of Satan s various images gives a
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