“The reason Milton wrote in bonds when he wrote of angels and God, and at liberty when of devils and hell, is because he was a poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it" (389). Although this analysis by William Blake recognizes clear stylistic choices made by John Milton in his epic Paradise Lost, the implied conclusion is not accurate. Although Satan is portrayed as a majestic character with many traditional heroic qualities, Milton does not depict him as the central hero of the epic. Instead, he reserves that role for Adam as the representative of humanity. An examination of the fundamental definition of hero reveals that, although Satan is endowed with many heroic qualities, Milton intends this to be understood as an insightful commentary on the relative importance of these traditional values ​​within the Christian world order. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To determine the central epic hero of Paradise Lost, you need to establish a concrete definition of the term and concept. Although etymologically meaning “the timely,” this definition only partially describes the role of epic heroes. Achilles decides to join the Achaean army just when all hope seems lost, just as Odysseus returns to Penelope just before she proposed remarrying, but both Homeric heroes do more than simply show up at the needed moment. Instead, an epic hero is truly a “representative of a community's values.” Continuing with the example of Achilles and Odysseus, it is evident that both men, to obviously different degrees, embodied the traditional values ​​of philos, sophos, agathos, as well as the desire for kleos and nostos. It is because these values ​​coincide with the values ​​of the Achaean civilization that Achilles and Odysseus are seen as epic heroes. Likewise, it is Adam who is seen as the hero of Paradise Lost because it is he, not his nemesis Satan, who should represent God's “community values” and his world order. Although Adam succumbs to Eve's pleas to taste the fruit of the tree of knowledge, his repentance atones for this shortcoming and forms the main body of his heroic actions. In Milton's Christian vision, humanity's failure is inevitable and is the act of repentance that pleases God. This awareness comes to Adam as he speaks to Eve. What better can we do than repair the place where He judged us to fall before Him reverently and there Humbly confess our faults and beg forgiveness, with tears Watering the earth and with our sighs the air Attending, sent by contrite hearts into sign of unfeigned pain and mild humiliation? (10.1086-1092) God's response, after receiving these supplications from his Son, is merciful and full of hope, and represents the importance that he, the true determinant of humanity's values, attributes to repentance and faith, not to the fallibility and sin of Adam. Speaking of Adam and humanity's eventual ascension to Heaven, God proclaims: Thus death becomes his final remedy and after life, Tested in harsh tribulation and refined Through faith and faithful works, to the second life, Awakened in the renewal of the just, He resigns himself. with Heaven and Earth renewed. (11.61-66) In contrast to the embodiment of Adam's repentance, Satan's blatant rejection of his exile, as well as the desire to attack God and his creation, in no way represent the values ​​that God (or Milton) have projected onto humanity. It is important, in determining the epic hero of Paradise Lost, to keep in mind the simple narrative convention - ending the epic when the story of the main hero isculminated - which is constant in historical epics. Milton does not end his epic with Satan's punishment - the transformation into a serpent - in the tenth book. “He fell / Monstrous serpent on his belly prone... punished in the form in which he sinned / According to his condemnation” (10.513-514, 516-517). Instead the last scene of Book Twelve is reserved for the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The hasty angel caught our parents who still resisted and led them directly to the eastern gate down the cliff... The world was all before them, to choose their resting place, and Providence their guide. They held hands with wandering steps and slowly through Eden they took their lonely path. (12.637-639, 646-649). This clear emphasis on the story of Adam and Eve (as representatives of humanity) rather than that of Satan demonstrates Milton's choice to place Adam in the role of the epic hero, not his counterpart. Despite these clear indications of Adam's heroic role, it is impossible to deny that Satan is characterized by possessing many characteristics typically associated with epic heroes. His epic journey to the land newly created by God is reminiscent of the great journeys of Odysseus and Aeneus. Milton even goes so far as to reference these precedents in the text. And in more danger than when Argos passed through the Bosphorus between the right rocks or when Ulysses on the port side dodged Charybdis and from the other whirlpool drove, so with difficulty and toil he went forward. (2.1017-1022) This example is but one of myriad instances in which Satan is placed within the epic tradition. Throughout the epic, his embodiment of the ideals of kleos and nostos, as well as his behavior as a sophos, make comparisons between Satan and other epic heroes inevitable, though ultimately misleading. Satan's pursuit of kleos, in many ways inextricable from his quest for power and vengeance, serves as the necessary impetus for his invective against God. Pow'rs and Dominions, deities of heaven, for no depth of his faith can contain immortal vigor. Although oppressed and fallen, I do not consider Heaven to be lost. From this descent More glorious and more terrible than from any fall And they trust not to fear a second fate. (2.11-17) While traditional epic heroes are motivated to perform moral acts conventionally by their desire for kleos (the idea being, of course, that their respective communities would value only virtuous actions), Satan chooses not only to attack the Supreme Power of its existence, but also to induce others to do the same. Milton's adaptation of traditional epic traditions serves as a critical commentary on the importance of values ​​of this nature within a Christian world. The fact that Satan, proud of his heretical views, exemplifies the same values ​​that glorified Achilles, Odysseus, and Aeneus, seems to demonstrate Milton's criticism of the values ​​of these pagan epic heroes. Satan's embodiment of the desire for nostos, especially through sophos actions, further emphasizes this. Although Satan's final decision to tempt Eve in the Garden of Eden is not directly representative of this fact, Satan's original desire to confront God, either directly or by harming his creation, stems from his displeasure in Hell and his desire to return home. to a more satisfying existence in Heaven. Is this the region... That we must change for Heaven, this dismal darkness For that celestial light? Let it be so... Goodbye happy fields Where joy dwells forever! Hello horrors, hello Infernal World! And you, the deepest Hell, receive your new possessor, one who brings a mind unchanged by place or time. (1.242, 244-245, 249-253) Satan's nostos, like that of Odysseus, takes him on a similar journeyepic that requires cunning for the journey to thrive. Satan uses sophos behavior, through lies and false pretenses, to deceive the angel Uriel, who resides near the orb of the sun, into pointing the way to God's newly formed Earth. With flattery and insincere praise, Satan tricks Uriel into helping him . Enlightening Seraph, tell me, In which of all these shining spheres has Man his fixed seat[?]... May we praise the Universal Creator, Who has rightly cast out His wayward enemies To the deepest hell and to repair that loss They created this new happy race of men To serve Him better: wise are all His ways. (3.667-668, 676-680)Once again, the entranceThe fact that Milton negatively portrays the values ​​traditionally attributed to glorious epic heroes indicates that these values ​​are not the ultimate determination of virtue and worth. Although Satan embodies many heroic qualities, this does not limit or diminish the heroic qualities of Adam, the true hero of the epic. . The act of repentance – Adam's most heroic moment – ​​does not easily fit within the confines of traditional classification. Adam's actions transcend the narrow confines of the philos, sophos, or agathos categorizations and are instead a fusion of all three. Adam's knowledge of the power of prayer and repentance, as highlighted below, demonstrates his conscious decision to beg God's forgiveness. This decision proves to be the wise and noble option that allows for the continuation of a relationship between God and his fallen creations. Yet this will be the prayer or a short sigh of human breath that will lead to the seat of God. Since I tried to appease the offended Divinity with prayer, I knelt down and humbled my whole heart before Him, although I saw Him calm and meek. listening... Peace came home to my bosom[.] (11.146-154) While the action of sophos Repentance is not as complicated and clever as Satan's deception of the angel Uriel, it is a wise and measured choice by Adam. Adam's actions are contrasted with those of his counterpart Eve, who must be convinced not to pursue her suicidal thoughts. This is logical because Sophos's actions are traditionally understood as the mental component of heroism, and throughout the epic, Milton characterizes Adam as having intelligence and reason, while Eve is simply beautiful. Adam, in conversation with Raphael, claims that God "by subjugating me has perhaps taken / More than enough, at least conferred on her / Too much ornamentation, externally / Elaborate, internally less exact" (8.536-539). Regardless of the intelligence of his decision to repent, admit guilt, and accept blame from God is courageous and courageous. This is in stark contrast to Satan's cowardly reluctance to accept his punishment in Hell. Furthermore, Adam's repentance, as well as that which he causes in Eve, favors a philosophical behavior between the two and with future humanity. Eve, expressing feelings both within herself and in Adam, clearly expresses her devotion to her counterpart, and thinks fondly of the human race they are destined to found. With you to go is to stay here; Without you here to stay, leaving here reluctant. You are to me everything under the sky, every place, you who by my willful crime have been banished from here. This further consolation, however certain, I bring here: although all for me is lost, such favor was granted to me unworthy, for me the promised seed all will restore. (12.614-623). Adam, sharing these feelings with Eve, clearly feels a strong bond not only with his companion, but also with the entire race of subsequent humanity. Understanding his responsibility to posterity, Adam models the philosopher's behavior through his own.