Classical Epic Features in ‘Paradise Lost’

In this article I would be analyzing Milton’s reworking of the classical epic features in Paradise Lost with specific textual examples.

Paradise Lost is one of the greatest regarded works by John Milton, originally published in a 10-book series in 1667 and then as 12 books in 1674. The epic poem is a retold version of Adam and Eve’s downfall after eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The main characters of this poem are God, Adam, Eve and Satan. Paradise Lost is an epic poem in every sense as it follows all the epic conventions but not entirely. Milton uses the epic conventions to suit the Christian framework of the poem.

According to Britannica,

“Many scholars consider Paradise Lost to be one of the greatest poems in the English language. It tells the biblical story of the fall from grace of Adam and Eve (and, by extension, all humanity) in language that is a supreme achievement of rhythm and sound. The 12-book structure, the technique of beginning in medias res (in the middle of the story), the invocation of the muse, and the use of the epic question are all classically inspired. The subject matter, however, is distinctly Christian.”

Milton took inspiration from the ancient Roman poet, Virgil to write an epic along the likes of Virgil’s Aeneid, Dante’s Divine Comedy and Homer’s Odysseus.

An epic is a long narrative composition in verse that is about a heroic action that holds national value. All the classical epics mentioned before are divided into several books encompassing one legendary story. And paradise lost is the only complete epic in English literature. Milton redefines the classical heroism to suit the Christian terms of his poem. For example, in The Verse, Milton writes

“This neglect then of rhyme so little is to be

taken for a defect, though it may seem so perhaps to vulgar

readers, that it rather is to be esteemed an example set, the

first in English, of ancient liberty recovered to heroic poem

from the troublesome and modern bondage of rhyming.” [The Verse; 18–22]

Milton is defending his choice of writing the epic in a blank verse instead of the conventional rhyming couplet by saying that he is setting an example (in English language) by overcoming the bondage of rhyming. He is claiming to be both innovative yet also recovering the old literary tradition of ‘ancient liberty’.

Paradise Lost, like Virgil’s Aeneid, is a written epic. One of the major differences between a written and an oral epic is that the latter tends to be more polished, coherent, and compact in structure and style when compared to the former.

The theme of the poem is mentioned in the starting of book 1,

“of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste

Brought death into the world, and all our woe,

With loss of Eden, till one greater man,

Restore us, and regain the blissful seat…” [book 1; 1–5]

The theme of the poem as stated by Milton is the first disobedience of man, the act of eating the fruit from the forbidden tree because of which death entered the world. The ‘one greater man’ mentioned here is Jesus Christ. Milton has followed another epic convention by mentioning the theme at the starting.

Invocation of the muse is also a distinct feature of classical epics and Milton follows it too. But because the framework of Paradise Lost is Christian, Milton does not invoke any of the 9 Greco-Roman muses that reside on mount helicon. It is instead the ‘Holy Spirit’, a part of the holy trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) that is associated with inspiration and knowledge.

“Sing Heav’nly Muse, that on the secret top

Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire

That Shepherd, who first taught the chosen Seed,

In the Beginning how the heav’ns and earth

Rose out of Chaos: Or if Sion Hill

Delight thee more, and Siloa’s Brook that flowed

Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence

Invoke thy aid to my advent’rous song,

That with no middle flight intends to soar

Above th’ Aonian Mount, while it pursues

Things unattempted yet in Prose or rhyme.” [book 1; 6–16]

Milton not only says that his Muse is better than that of the other classical poets but he also says that this poem will also achieve what the others could not because his source of inspiration, the Holy Spirit, is greater than theirs. This constant need to be better than the other classical epic writers is seen several times in the text.

Just like Milton reworks the invocation of the Muse to fit the Christian framework of Paradise Lost, he does the same with epic catalogue. The book structures of epic poetry explains epic catalogue as “one of the most striking features of ancient epic poetry…Within an epic poem, the catalogue can provide a range of narrative functions: it broadens both the temporal and the geographical space of the narrative, it enhances the authority of the poet who is able to present broader or even complete knowledge about a certain topic to his audience, and it enrolls divine help through a distinct invocation, thereby linking itself with the most prominent programmatic and poetological element of a poem, the proem. On the other hand, the catalogue offers manifold possibilities for poetic innovation.” Like in the second book of Iliad, there is the Catalogue of Ships which contains a list of nearly 190 place names and includes the 29 contingents that make up the Greek expedition to troy. Likewise, Milton catalogues the fallen angels and explains their names and the cults that worship them. A few of the fallen angels had more influential power were idolized and worshiped as pagan deities, like Moloch, Astarte and Osiris. This act of Milton portraying pagan gods as fallen angels or devils can again be a way to show Christianity superior to other beliefs. This can also be a way to show that his epic has better than the rest because he is not just including Christian deities but also the deities from pagan cultures too, even if it is not in a good light.

Milton is also demonstrating that his poem is set a bigger scale and his poem is much greater to the rest because his worldview and inspiration are inclusive of pagan cultures too. The setting of Paradise Lost is large enough to include those smaller, classical worlds. By doing this Milton imbibes another feature of classical epics, that epics are usually vast in scale and build on national ethos, in his poem Paradise Lost.

Another distinct feature of classical epic is the beginning of the poem in medias res, which is Latin for ‘in the middle of things’. One of the main reasons of starting the narrative in the middle and not the beginning is to make it more interesting for the readers. Paradise Lost does not start by introducing Adam and Eve, it starts with Satan being thrown out of heaven into hell. Hence, Milton follows the convention of in medias res too.

Another common feature of epics is the descent of the characters into underworld. For example, Odysseus, the hero of odyssey, along with his companion travels to Hades. And the first book of Paradise Lost follows Lucifer’s (Satan) fall from heaven and descent into the underworld.

Even though Milton has followed all the epic conventions, he has reinvented them to suit the Christian framework of Paradise Lost. He has also used the epics to poke fun at the genre and show himself superior to the others.