Paradise Lost Lesson Plan

Although Paradise Lost can be classified overall as an epic poem, Book IX is often framed by readers as a "tragedy.". What exactly is a "tragedy," and what are the conventions of "tragic" stories as they are usually told by playwrights and poets?

Traditionally speaking, the aim of a "tragic" play is to provide what in Ancient Greece was called "catharsis" – that is to say, the "purgation" of negative emotions through a sympathetic report with the play's characters and plot. In Milton's time, however, tragedy had become a genre of artwork that did not provide a happy ending for audiences (everything else was covered under the rubric of "comedy"). As a result of this, some...