Paradise Lost 7

Milton calls upon the Muse, paying tribute to older epics, but also making it relevant by invoking the Holy Spirit. It serves to tie this epic to the past epics while also establishing it as something distinct. The accounts of Genesis are related and expanded upon. The extensiveness of the backstory in Paradise Lost also distinguishes it from the older epics, which have backstories but do not necessarily go so far in telling them in the main narrative.