Milton is widely considered to be one of the five greatest poets in the English language and Paradise Lost, a religious epic, is his greatest masterpiece. As stated in the beginning of the first book of Paradise Lost, Milton's intention for writing his religious epic is, among some other things, to justify the ways of God to men. Milton's audience, of course, is a fallen audience, like the narrator of the epic. Some may think Satan is the hero of the epic; Milton has been blamed for making Satan too heroic a character. Others may blame God fo ....