Milton's Desire to be the Best

Based on the first line of book one, we know that this poem will deal with man and his inability to obey the rules as well as God’s wishes. Milton then proceeds to further build his claim of disobedience throughout the first several books. However, while he plants these seeds of the plot and conflict, he also incorporates information about himself and his mentality on how he views his epic.

From the very beginning of the poem, we see Milton not only make big claims but also provide you with many ideas of what the poem is going to discuss and examine. He states that this will be the best epic poem ever written and even creates a double lineage between himself and Moses. Milton also immediately introduces to the audience that the spirit he is invoking is bisexual. This is not a common idea nor have we seen this in the previous epics of Homer and Virgil. We also know that Milton is attempting to exceed these poets and their poems because he takes it one step further and doesn’t call for the same type of muse used in these previous poems; instead, he calls for a muse that helped inspire Moses to write Genesis.

“Sing, Heavenly Muse, that on the secret top / Of Oreb or of Sinai didst
inspire / That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed / In the beginning
how the heavens and earth / Rose out of Chaos; or, if Sion hill / Delight
thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed / Fast by the oracle of God, I
thence / Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song,” (I. 6-13).

The muse he desires also lives in Oreb which is considered to be “the mountain of God.” By not having one of the traditional/classical nine muses and requesting one who assisted Moses further emphasizes Milton’s desire to be the best. Milton also declares that this will be an “adventurous” epic right from the start which assists in engaging the audience. He then states that this poem will deal with “things unattempted yet in pose or rhyme” (I. 16). This line is a direct reference to Homer and Virgil. Milton will use some of the same ideas from the previous epic poets but in the end, his epic will surpass all of them.

From the first twenty-six lines of the poem, we are left wondering if Milton will be able to establish himself as the best epic poet and if so what he will do differently to accomplish this glorious task. I guess only time will tell…