or us to see the power of God, it is necessary that Satan also be powerful. It is important that Satan, a parody of God, be viewed as an eloquent, bold being, one possessing superhuman strength, extraordinary martial prowess, fortitude, and other attributes--otherwise, what message is there to us? But Milton would also expect his readers to perceive fact from fancy; he would expect us to see through Satan's seeming greatness to his core of evil and pride and petty acts of revenge. That is, after all, part of the test. If we perceive Satan's real villainy, we indeed show ourselves sufficient. The next three characteristics of the epic listed above are hardly items of debate. The setting is indeed vast in scope, ranging from Heaven to Hell and to the Earth. The action surely consists of deeds of great valour requiring superhuman courage. And there are supernatural forces (gods, angels, and demons) at work throughout the poem. One question may occur in regard to the second of these: is it valour and courage that Satan and his followers showed in fighting the War in Heaven with God? Of course, we may have a bit of trouble thinking of Satan as showing courage and valour. But it may be the words themselves and modern connotations connected with them that cause the difficulty. When examined more closely, there seems to be little difficulty. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, valour means "the quality of mind which enables a person to face danger with boldness or firmness; courage or bravery, especially as shown in warfare or conflict"; courage is defined as "that quality of mind which shows itself in facing danger without fear or shrinking." Satan most certainly may be said to fit these descriptions. The OED provides an even more appropriate and interesting definition of courage dating from the 14th to the 17th centuries, one in which courage meant "anger, wrath; haughtiness, pride . . . ." Another of the characteristics of the epic, ...
