"Satan: The Unlikely Hero" - Paradise Lost

Satan: The Unlikely Hero
In 1656 John Milton endeavoured to write the first English epic. The result was 'Paradise Lost'. His awe-inspiring poem tells the indescribable story of humanity's 'first disobedience', the 'original sin'. However the most intriguing element of the poem is his character representation of Satan. This character (Satan) is usually regarded as an antagonist, though Milton, surprisingly, presents him as a protagonist. Throughout the story Milton intentionally creates heroic qualities in Satan, in order to evoke sympathy from the reader. This sympathetic feeling evoked…