In my AP English 4 class we just finished reading the book Paradise Lost, by John Milton. We were then assigned questions to be discussed during our Socratic seminar. One of the questions was “Who, if anyone, is the hero in the book? Why?” Well my answer to the question was Satan. Is this possible? Was the first thing I thought to myself. I had never considered that Satan could be a hero. When we did the seminar there were other students who agreed with me. If you look at the character, it does seem like he is the hero, and because Paradise Lost is an epic this make Satan an epic hero. I have never heard of an evil epic hero, or for that matter any evil hero. According to my literary criticism, and spark notes Adam and Eve are the heroes of the book. My problem with that, is they aren’t the main characters, and don’t do anything heroic. My teacher said something along the lines of “Milton was on Satan’s side without knowing it,” and I would have to agree. I believe that Milton meant for Adam and Eve to be the heroes, but that is not how the book turned out. Well I just thought that Satan being a hero was an ironic concept. If anyone else has some insight into the book, feel free to share it. And don’t fill this up with a lot of religious stuff, that is not what this post is about. I simply want people’s reaction to this book, and not your personal faith.