Milton: A Cocky Author

I got the sense that Milton is a rather prideful author due to many of his assertions made in the beginning of Book I of Paradise Lost. This is supposed to be a Christian epic, however, Milton's lack of humility is contradictory to a common Christian demeanor. He states that "with no middle flight intends to soar above th' Aonian mount, while in pursues things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme." Milton will to something never done before, in the footnotes, the text explains that he desires to surpass Homer and Virgil. These are all rather presumptuous claims Milton is making. Paradise Lost is one of the greatest written works ever created, so maybe Milton deserved to be a little cocky. As a reader, I couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at his boldness... after finishing Book I, I wondered why someone didn't serve him up a nice big slice of humble pie as he was dictating his great epic.