Paradise Lost

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variations on the epic tradition all the more striking by contrast. The most important departures from epic decorum--the rejection of a martial theme, and the choice of an argument that emphasizes the hero's transgression and defeat instead of celebrating his virtues and triumphs--are paradoxically conditioned by concern for the ethical and religious decorum of the epic genre. On the whole, Milton has retained the formal motifs and devices of the heroic poem but has invested them with Christian matter and meaning. In this sense his epic is . . . something of a "pseudomorph"--retaining the form of classical epic but replacing its values and contents with Judeo-Christian correlatives. (Epic and Tragic Structure . . . 20)
Steadman goes on to defend Milton's changes in the form of the epic, saying that "such revaluations are not unusual in the epic tradition; they were in fact inevitable" (20).
It is important, before continuing with an examination of and its epic characteristics and ...

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poet recounts the deeds of his heroes with objectivity. (174-76)
There are also a number of common devices or CONVENTIONS used by most epic poets: ". . . the poet opens by stating his theme, invokes a Muse to inspire and instruct him, and opens his narrative 'in medias res'--in the middle of things--giving the necessary EXPOSITION in later portions of the epic; he includes catalogues of warriors, ships, armies; he gives extended formal speeches by the main characters; and he makes frequent use of the EPIC SIMILE" (176). The epic simile is "an elaborated comparison. This type differs from an ordinary SIMILE in that it is more involved, more ornate, and is a conscious imitation of the ...

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