Satan as the Hero in John Milton’s Paradise Lost

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1,7, University of Bonn, language: English, abstract: John Milton wrote his famous epic poem Paradise Lost at the end of Renaissance. It was published in a first version in 1667, consisting of ten books and in the final version in 1674, consisting of twelve books. Up until today this masterpiece is considered as one of the most famous writings of English literature. The question of this paper is if the character of Satan can be depicted as an heroic figure and in how far Satan can be described as epic hero. John Milton is forcing the reader of Paradise Lost to consider the possibility that Satan may actually be a hero, or at least a character that might be analysed in a more complex way. The character of Satan uses this tension and provokes the reader. During the 13th up to the 16th century the devil was discussed very frequently among people of all classes. Nevertheless Satan or the devil is afflicted with mostly negative thoughts as he is the antagonist of God.