The invocation is requisite for the creation of an epic, but just as authors can tailor the epic to suit their themes and needs, so too can the invocation be modified to suit the style and needs of the author. Vergil serves as the model for epic poetry and invocations with his Aeneid, and Lucan follows him with his own subtle changes to the invocation in The Civil War. Milton, however, completely transforms the core purpose of the epic with his invocations in Paradise Lost. He combines elements from both Vergil and Lucan while molding the invocation into a form best suited to the theme of the epic and to his purposes in writing it. Vergil and Lucan present a conflict-resolution pattern surrounding the resolution of a great event, which is the subject of the epic, but Milton’s resolution is much different as his work has implications for mankind as a whole.
