The epic and dystopia : a comparison of ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ with a focus on power and feminism

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to compare the themes discussed in John Milton’s Paradise Lost with Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and highlight the similarities of the two texts. Despite being of a different genre, both of their foundational themes are relevant to today’s society; namely power and feminism through inequality, which are linked with each other. The first chapter focuses on the notion of power, which is a prominent theme in both Paradise Lost and The Handmaid’s Tale. Firstly, it explores how both of the texts have gained significance and became powerful sources of literature. It then moves on to discuss how different types of power are portrayed in said texts, looking at them through the writings of Michel Foucault. The second chapter, on the other hand, focuses on feminism and inequality between the sexes, evaluating how this is shown in both Paradise Lost and The Handmaid’s Tale. It also discusses different interpretations of critics who wrote about the subject. Finally, the conclusion focuses on the fact that despite being written three centuries apart, these texts address the same issues, showing what has changed in society and what has not. This thus demonstrates that literature is timeless.