Comparison Of Heroism In Beowulf And John Milton's Paradise Lost

The epic poem Beowulf, penned by an anonymous author, survives as the oldest epic in the Anglo-Saxon tradition and serves as the pinnacle model of ancient and epic heroism. Beowulf possesses the traits required of a typical epic hero. He is courageous, strong, honorable, honest, skilled in leadership, and embodies heroes of ancient Greece. In ancient Greece, a hero was not necessarily virtuous, flawless in ethics, or well-mannered. A hero was just as flawed, and possible more flawed, than non-heroes and would often have one fatal weakness that ended in his demise. An example of this type of hero is Achilles. In contrast, John Milton’s epic tragedy Paradise Lost presents a different view of heroism. Milton’s hero, Satan, does not possess the