Dec 23, 2009

Paradise Lost | Style

Subject Matter
The standard definition of an epic, or heroic poem, is that it is a ''noble story told in noble verse'' (Hutson and McCoy, Epics of the Western World, p. 7), a continuous narrative concerning a heroic person from history or tradition. The epic uses historical and mythological material to exemplify a truth which is greater than both. The subject of an epic poem is to be a story which both delights and instructs, embodying the cultural and moral ideals of its time but with universal implications.

Milton chooses an unusual subject...