At the opening of “Paradise Lost”

At the opening of “Paradise Lost”

At the opening of “Paradise Lost” (pp. 1945-1949) what does Milton do to announce to the reader that this poem will be an epic? How is his opening different from other epics? Why do you think Milton altered the epic conventions?

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            Paradise Lost is a poem that narrates about the fall of the first man and woman who were Adam and Eve, after eating the forbidden fruit from the garden of Aden. The narrator of the poem presents the first part in a way that depicts the poem is epic. An epic poem is always long and focuses on heroic topics.  Also, epic poems are always started and immediately take the reader to past events or stories and return the reader to the starting point.

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