Early Modern Europe, Paradise Lost by Charles Milton Essay

Early Modern Europe, Paradise Lost by Charles Milton - Essay Example ddle of the action, telling the tale about how Satan fell, and then proceeding on to recreating different components of epic action such as the recollection of a previous golden world and the fantastic depiction of a battle, which in itself is an epic on its own. In Book IX, the epic tragedy is recounted. It is in this part wherein epic components are reordered (as what happened in many parts of the tale to suit specific thematic requirements) in such a way that underscores the Christian cultural purposes, specifically about transcendental concerns instead of the secular. For example, the reader is made to â€Å"listen† to Satan’s famous monologue. The soliloquy reflected clearly his state of mind and provided for an excellent prelude to an extensive discourse on the religious theme of man’s fall from grace and universality of such condition as demonstrated in the manner which angel fell as well. This device – the lyric and discursive genres - has been emb edded in various parts of the narrative and engages the reader when Milton wanted to depict a religious point such as an individual’s personal struggle. Milton used tragedy to underscore Christian purposes as well. For instance, the reactions to the Fall reflected the Aristotelian conception of classical tragedy wherein the plot involved a drastic change in the protagonists fate from happiness to misery. This device is particularly effective in Milton’s depiction of a Christian heroic protagonist. In lines 13 through 48 of Book IX, for instance, it was stated that true heroism is not about military greatness or some courtly grandeur. The Fall provided an excellent backdrop to underscore the idea that heroism can be had in man’s spiritual struggle. There is the Christian reference to the phrase â€Å"of patience and heroic martyrdom,† [32] which would be repeated through Books X-XII. Milton rejected the well-beaten path in epic narration by celebrating the ideal individual as well as his relations with