Wordsworth, for example, in The Prelude often alludes to Milton's Paradise Lost and by doing so invites us to compare the two. The general rule is to make the comparison thorough and orderly, so the reader can clearly see all the lines of similarity and difference. Your essay should ask an important question related to the work and then answer it using supporting evidence such as quotes from the text. But this definition is too simple. A more complete and accurate definition, then, of plot is a pattern of carefully selected, causally related events that contains conflict.
Internal conflicts take place within the minds of characters.
An example is the good person who wrestles inwardly with temptation. External conflicts take place between individuals or between individuals and the forces of nature. The forces in a conflict are usually embodied by characters, the most relevant being the protagonist and the antagonist. Usually, we empathize with the protagonist, whereas we do not feel sympathetic towards the antagonist. Analyzing the story's conflict in this way helps to reveal several important things about it.