John Milton
Born	December 9, 1608(1608-12-09) Bread Street, Cheapside, London, England
Died	November 8, 1674 (aged 65) Bunhill, London, England
Occupation	Poet, prose polemicist, civil servant
Notable work(s)	Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes

John Milton (December 9, 1608 – November 8, 1674) was an English poet, prose polemicist and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Paradise Regain'd is a Poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671 Samson Agonistes ( Greek: "Samson the agonist " is a tragic Closet drama by John Milton. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" For the Wikipedia guideline regarding editing articles see WikipediaManual of Style. Polemics (pəˈlɛmɪks/ /poʊ- is the practice of disputing or controverting religious, philosophical, or political matters The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland Most famed for his epic poem Paradise Lost, Milton is celebrated as well for his treatise condemning censorship, Areopagitica. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Areopagitica A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England is a Prose tract or Polemic by Long considered the supreme English poet, Milton experienced a dip in popularity after attacks by T. S. Eliot and F. R. Leavis in the mid 20th century; but with multiple societies and scholarly journals devoted to his study, Milton's reputation remains as strong as ever in the 21st century. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Frank Raymond Leavis CH ( 14 July 1895 - 14 April 1978) was an influential British Literary critic of the early-to-mid-twentieth

Very soon after his death (and continuing to the present day) Milton became the subject of partisan biographies, confirming T. S. Eliot's belief that "of no other poet is it so difficult to consider the poetry simply as poetry, without our theological and political dispositions. . . making unlawful entry". ^[1] Milton's radical, republican politics and heretical religious views, coupled with the perceived artificiality of his complicated Latinate verse, alienated Eliot and other readers; yet by dint of the overriding influence of his poetry and personality on subsequent generations (particularly the Romantic movement) the man whom Samuel Johnson disparaged as "an acrimonious and surly republican" must be counted one of the most significant writers and thinkers of all time. A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its Heresy, as a blanket term describes a practice or belief that is labeled as unorthodox Romanticism is a complex artistic literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Samuel Johnson (often referred to as Dr Johnson) (18 September

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Family life and childhood 1.2 Cambridge years 1.3 Study, poetry and travel 1.4 Civil war, prose tracts, and marriage 1.5 Secretary of Foreign Tongues 1.6 Milton and the Restoration 1.7 Paradise Lost 2 Philosophical, political, and religious views 2.1 Philosophy 2.2 Politics 2.3 Religion 3 Legacy and influence 4 See also 5 Poetic and dramatic works 6 Political, philosophical and religious prose 7 Trivia 8 References 9 External links

Biography

The phases of Milton's life closely parallel the major historical divisions of Stuart Britain - the Caroline ancien régime, the Commonwealth of England and the Restoration - and it is important to situate his poetry and politics historically in order to see how both spring from the philosophical and religious beliefs Milton developed during the English Revolution. The House of Stuart or Stewart was a Royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ancien Régime ( pronounced: /ɑ̃sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim/ refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored The term " English Revolution " refers to the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period 1640-1660 in which Parliament challenged King Charles ^[2] At his death in 1674, blind, impoverished and yet unrepentant for his political choices, Milton had attained Europe-wide notoriety for his radical political and religious beliefs. Especially after the Glorious Revolution, Paradise Lost and his political writings would bring him lasting fame as the greatest poet of the sublime and an unalloyed champion of liberty. The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union In Aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublimis ( up from under the lintel high lofty elevated exalted is the quality of greatness or vast Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force

Family life and childhood

John Milton's father, also named John Milton (1562 - 1647), moved to London around 1583 after being disinherited by his devout Catholic father, Richard Milton, for embracing Protestantism. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. In London, Milton senior married Sarah Jeffrey (1572 - 1637), the poet's mother, and found lasting financial success as a scrivener (a profession that combined the functions of solicitor, realtor, public notary and moneylender), where he lived and worked out of a house on Bread Street^[3] in Cheapside. A scrivener (or scribe) was traditionally a person who could read and write. Cheapside is a street in Cheap ward of the City of London that links Newgate Street with the junction of Queen Victoria Street Cornhill The elder Milton was noted for his skill as a musical composer, and this talent left Milton with a lifetime appreciation for music and friendship with musicians like Henry Lawes. Henry Lawes ( 5 December 1595 - 21 October 1662) was an English Musician and Composer. ^[4]

After Milton was born on 9 December 1608, his father's prosperity provided his eldest son with private tutoring, and a place at St. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Paul's School in London, where he began the study of Latin and Greek that would leave such an imprint on his poetry. The fledgling poet, whose first datable compositions are two psalms done at age 15 at Long Bennington, was remarkable for his work ethic: "When he was young", recalled Christopher, his younger brother, "he studied very hard and sat up very late, commonly till twelve or one o'clock at night". Milton was born on Bread Street, the same road where The Mermaid Tavern was located, where legend has it that Ben Jonson and other poets often caroused. Bread Street is a ward of the City of London and is named from its principal street which was antiently (anciently the bread market for by the records it appears that in 1302 The Mermaid Tavern was a Tavern on Cheapside in London during the Elizabethan era, located east of St Benjamin Jonson ( c 11 June 1572 &ndash 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance Dramatist

Cambridge years

John Milton matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1625 and, in preparation for becoming an Anglican priest, stayed on to obtain his Master of Arts degree on 3 July 1632. Christ’s College is one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts ( MA) is awarded to Bachelors Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. At Cambridge Milton befriended Anglo-American dissident and theologian, Roger Williams. Roger Williams ( December 21, 1603 &ndash April 1, 1683) was an English theologian, a notable proponent of Religious Milton tutored Williams in Hebrew in exchange for lessons in Dutch. ^[5] Though at Cambridge he developed a reputation for poetic skill and general erudition, Milton experienced alienation from his peers and university life as a whole. Watching his fellow students attempting comedy upon the college stage, he later observed that 'they thought themselves gallant men, and I thought them fools'. ^[6] The feeling it seems was mutual; Milton, due to his hair, which he wore long, and his general delicacy of manner, was known as the "Lady of Christ's", an epithet probably applied with some degree of scorn. At some point Milton was probably rusticated for quarrelling with his tutor, which reflects the general disdain in which he held the university curriculum, consisting of stilted formal debates on abstruse topics conducted in Latin. Use in the United Kingdom Rustication (temporary expulsion is a term used at some British academic institutions for a disciplinary action Yet his corpus is not devoid of "quips, and cranks, and jollities", notably his sixth prolusion and his jocular epitaphs on the death of Hobson, the driver of a coach between Cambridge and London. [1] While at Cambridge he wrote a number of his well-known shorter English poems, among them Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity, [2] his Epitaph on the admirable Dramatick Poet, W. Shakespeare, [3] his first poem to appear in print, L'Allegro [4] and Il Penseroso. L'Allegro (1631 is a famous Pastoral poem by John Milton. The verses banish "loathèd Melancholy" invoke Euphrosyne and other allegorical Il Penseroso is a Pastoral poem by John Milton, written in 1631. [5]

Study, poetry and travel

Upon receiving his MA in 1632, Milton retired to his father’s country homes at Hammersmith and Horton and undertook six years of self-directed private study by reading both ancient and modern works of theology, philosophy, history, politics, literature and science, in preparation for his prospective poetical career. Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, approximately 5 miles (8km west of Charing Cross on Horton is a Village in Berkshire, England. It is located between Windsor and Staines. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Milton’s intellectual development can be charted via entries in his commonplace book, now in the British Library. Commonplace books (or commonplaces) emerged in the 15th century with the availability of cheap paper for Writing, mainly in England. The British Library ( BL) is the National library of the United Kingdom. As a result of such intensive study, Milton is considered to be among the most learned of all English poets; in addition to his six years of private study, Milton had command of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Italian from his school and undergraduate days; he also added Old English to his linguistic repertoire in the 1650s while researching his History of Britain, and probably acquired proficiency in Dutch soon after. ^[7]

Milton continued to write poetry during this period of study: his masques Arcades[6] and Comus[7] were composed for noble patrons, and he contributed his pastoral elegy Lycidas[8] to a memorial collection for one of his Cambridge classmates in 1638. The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe though it was developed earlier in Italy Comus ( A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle 1634) is a Masque in honour of chastity written by John Milton and first presented on Pastoral, as an adjective refers to the lifestyle of Shepherds and Pastoralists moving livestock around larger areas of land according to seasons and availability The term " elegy " was originally used for a type of poetic meter ( Elegiac metre but is also used for a Poem of mourning from the Greek "Lycidas" is a poem by John Milton, written in 1637 as a Pastoral Elegy, first appearing in a 1638 collection of elegies entitled Drafts of these poems are preserved in Milton’s poetry notebook, known as the Trinity Manuscript because it is now kept at Trinity College, Cambridge. Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.

After completing his course of private study in early 1638, Milton embarked upon a tour of France and Italy in May of the same year that was cut short 13 months later by what he later termed ‘sad tidings of civil war in England. ’^[8] Moving quickly through France, where he met Hugo Grotius, Milton sailed to Genoa, and quickly took in Pisa before he arrived in Florence around June. Hugo Grotius or Huig de Groot, or Hugo de Groot; ( Delft, 10 April 1583 Rostock, 28 August 1645 Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany Florence, Rome, Naples, and Venice were Milton’s primary stops on his lengthy Italian visit, during which his candor of manner and erudite neo-Latin poetry made him many friends in intellectual circles. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the The term New Latin or Neo-Latin is used to describe a form the Latin language used between the end of the Medieval Latin period (c Milton met a number of famous and influential people through these connections, ranging from the astronomer Galileo to the nobleman Giovanni Battista Manso, patron of Torquato Tasso, to Cardinal Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII. Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 &ndash 8 January 1642 was a Tuscan ( Italian) Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher Torquato Tasso ( 11 March 1544 &ndash 25 April 1595) was an Italian Poet of the 16th century best known for his poem Francesco Barberini seniore ( September 23, 1597 - December 10, 1679) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Pope After some time spent in Venice and other northern Italian cities, Milton returned to England in July via Switzerland and France.

Overall, in Italy Milton rejoiced in discovering the intellectual community he had missed at Cambridge—he even altered his handwriting and pronunciation of Latin to make them more Italian. At the same time, his firsthand observation of what he viewed as the superstitious tyranny of Catholicism increased his hatred for absolutist confessional states. Absolute monarchy is a monarchical Form of government where the king and queen have absolute power over everything A confessional state is a state which officially practices a particular religion, and at least encourages its citizens to do likewise

Civil war, prose tracts, and marriage

Upon returning to England, where the Bishops' Wars suggested that armed conflict between King Charles and his parliamentary opponents was imminent, Milton put poetry aside and began to write anti-episcopal prose tracts in the service of the Puritan and Parliamentary cause. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, The Long Parliament is the name of the English Parliament called by Charles I, on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. Milton’s first foray into polemics was Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England (1641), followed by Of Prelatical Episcopacy, the two defences of Smectymnuus (an organization of Protestant divines named from their initials: the "TY" belonged to Milton's favorite teacher from St Paul's, Thomas Young), and The Reason of Church Government Urged against Prelaty. Smectymnuus was the name of a Presbyterian group active in the early 1640s Thomas Young refers to Thomas Young (American Revolutionary (1732 – 1777 a member of the Sons of Liberty Thomas Young (scientist (1773 With frequent passages of real eloquence lighting up the rough controversial style of the period, and with a wide knowledge of ecclesiastical antiquity, he vigorously attacked the High-church party of the Church of England and their leader, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop William Laud (7 October 1573 - 10 January 1645 was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645 The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the

Though supported by his father’s investments, at this time Milton also became a private schoolmaster, educating his nephews and other children of the well-to-do. This experience, and discussions with educational reformer Samuel Hartlib, led him to write in 1644 his short tract, Of Education, urging a reform of the national universities. Samuel Hartli(eb (ca 1600 &ndash 1662 was a German Briton Polymath, an expert in many subjects called "the Great Intelligencer of Europe" The tractate Of Education was published in 1644 first appearing anonymously as a single eight-page quarto sheet (Ainsworth 6

In June 1642, Milton took a mysterious trip into the countryside and returned with a 16-year-old bride, Mary Powell. A month later, finding life difficult with the severe 33-year-old schoolmaster and pamphleteer, Mary returned to her family. Because of the outbreak of the Civil War, she did not return until 1645; in the meantime her desertion prompted Milton, over the next three years, to publish a series of pamphlets arguing for the legality and morality of divorce. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Milton's divorce tracts refer to the four interlinked polemical pamphlets-- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, The Judgment of Martin Bucer, Tetrachordon It was the hostile response accorded the divorce tracts that spurred Milton to write Areopagitica, his celebrated attack on censorship. Areopagitica A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England is a Prose tract or Polemic by Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable harmful or sensitive as determined by a censor In the midst of the excitement attending the possibility of establishing a new English government, Milton published his 1645 Poems—the only poetry of his to see print until Paradise Lost appeared in 1667. Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton.

Secretary of Foreign Tongues

With the parliamentary victory in the Civil War, Milton used his pen in defence of the republican principles represented by the Commonwealth. The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649) defended popular government and implicitly sanctioned the regicide; Milton’s political reputation got him appointed Secretary for Foreign Tongues by the Council of State in March 1649. In The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, John Milton defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign Populism is a discourse which supports "the people" versus "the Elites " Populism may involve either a political philosophy urging social and political For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a Monarch, or the person responsible for it Though Milton's main job description was to compose the English Republic's foreign correspondence in Latin, he also was called upon to produce propaganda for the regime and to serve as a censor. In October 1649 he published Eikonoklastes, an explicit defence of the regicide, in response to the Eikon Basilike, a phenomenal best-seller popularly attributed to Charles I that portrayed the King as an innocent Christian martyr. The Eikon Basilike ( Greek: Εἰκὼν Βασιλική the "Royal Portrait" The Pourtrature of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom

A month after Milton had tried to break this powerful image of Charles I (the literal translation of Eikonklastes is 'the image breaker'), the exiled Charles II and his party published a defence of monarchy, Defensio Regia Pro Carolo Primo, written by one of Europe's most renowned orators and scholars, Claudius Salmasius. Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Claudius Salmasius is the Latin name of Claude Saumaise ( April 15, 1588 - September 3, 1653) a French classical By January of the following year, Milton was ordered to write a defence of the English people by the Council of State. Given the European audience and the English Republic's desire to establish diplomatic and cultural legitimacy, Milton worked much slower than usual, as he drew upon the vast array of learning marshalled throughout his years of study to compose a suitably withering riposte. On 24 February 1652 Milton published his Latin defence of the English People, Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio, also known as the First Defence. Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Milton's pure Latin prose and evident learning, exemplified in the First Defence, quickly made him the toast of all Europe. In 1654, in response to a Royalist tract, Regii sanguinis clamor, that made many personal attacks on Milton, he completed a second defence of the English nation, Defensio secunda, which praised Oliver Cromwell, now Lord Protector, while exhorting him to remain true to the principles of the Revolution. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Alexander More, to whom Milton wrongly attributed the Clamor, published an attack on Milton, in response to which Milton published the autobiographical Defensio pro se in 1655. Alexander Morus (or Moir or More was a Calvinist preacher of Scottish extraction working in the Netherlands in the 1650s In addition to these literary defences of the Commonwealth and his character, Milton continued to translate official correspondence into Latin. The probable onset of glaucoma finally resulted by 1654 in total blindness, forcing him to dictate his verse and prose to amanuenses, one of whom was the poet Andrew Marvell. Glaucoma is a group of diseases of the Optic nerve involving loss of retinal ganglion cells in a characteristic pattern of optic neuropathy. Blindness is the condition of lacking Visual perception due to Physiological or Neurological factors A verse is generally considered to be a single line in a metrical composition e Amanuensis əˌmænjuˈɛnsɪs is a Latin word adopted in various languages including English for certain persons performing a function by hand either writing down the words of another Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of

After bearing him four children—Anne, Mary, John, and Deborah—Milton’s wife, Mary, died on May 5, 1652 from complications following Deborah's birth on May 2. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. In June, John died at age 15 months; Milton’s daughters survived to adulthood, but he always had a strained relationship with them. On November 12, 1656, Milton remarried, this time to Katherine Woodcock. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Her death on February 3, 1658, less than four months after giving birth to their daughter, Katherine, who also died, prompted one of Milton’s most moving sonnets. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states [9]

Milton and the Restoration

Though Cromwell’s death in 1658 caused the English Republic to collapse into feuding military and political factions, Milton stubbornly clung to the beliefs which had originally inspired him to write for the Commonwealth. In 1659 he published A Treatise of Civil Power, attacking the concept of a state church (known as Erastianism), as well as Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove hirelings, denouncing corrupt practises in church governance. Thomas Erastus ( September 7, 1524 &ndash December 31, 1583) was a Swiss theologian best known for a posthumously As the Republic disintegrated Milton wrote several proposals to retain parliamentary supremacy over the army: A Letter to a Friend, Concerning the Ruptures of the Commonwealth, written in October 1659 in response to General Lambert’s recent dissolution of the Rump Parliament; Proposals of certain expedients for the preventing of a civil war now feared in November; and finally, as General Monck marched toward London to restore the Stuart monarchy, two editions of The Ready and Easy Way to Establishing a Free Commonwealth, an impassioned, bitter, and futile jeremiad damning the English people for backsliding from the cause of liberty. John Lambert (Autumn 1619 - March 1684 served as an English Parliamentary general in the English Civil War. The Rump Parliament was the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride on December 6 1648 had purged Long Parliament of those George Monck 1st Duke of Albemarle, KG ( 6 December 1608 &ndash 3 January 1670) was an English soldier and politician The House of Stuart or Stewart was a Royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of A Jeremiad is a long literary work usually in Prose, but sometimes in Poetry, in which the author bitterly laments the state of society and its morals in a serious Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force

Upon the Restoration in May 1660, Milton went into hiding for his life as a warrant was issued for his arrest and his writings burnt. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Re-emerging after a general pardon was issued, he was nevertheless arrested and briefly imprisoned before influential friends, such as Marvell, now an MP, intervened. On February 24, 1663 Milton remarried, for a third and final time, a Wistaston, Cheshire-born woman Elizabeth (Betty) Minshull, then aged 24, and spent the remaining decade of his life living quietly in London, with the exception of retiring to a cottage in Chalfont St. Giles (his only extant home) during the Great Plague. Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Wistaston is a Civil parish and Village in the Borough of Crewe and Nantwich, Cheshire Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county in North West England. Milton's Cottage is a timber framed 16th century building located in the Buckinghamshire village of Chalfont St Giles. Chalfont St Giles is a Village and Civil parish within Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England, on the edge In human history the term plague refers to an Epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality i Milton died of kidney failure on 8 November 1674 and was buried in the church of St Giles Cripplegate; according to an early biographer, his funeral was attended by “his learned and great Friends in London, not without a friendly concourse of the Vulgar. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located within the modern Barbican complex. ”^[9]

Paradise Lost

Main article: Paradise Lost

Milton’s magnum opus, the blank-verse epic poem Paradise Lost, which appeared in a quarto edition in 1667, was composed by the blind Milton from 1658-1664. Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Magnum opus (sometimes Opus magnum, plural magna opera) from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the best the greatest Blank verse is a type of Poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no Rhyme. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a Book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of Paper or other material It reflects his personal despair at the failure of the Revolution, yet affirms an ultimate optimism in human potential. Milton encoded many references to his unyielding support for the “Good Old Cause. The Good Old Cause was the name given by the soldiers of the New Model Army for the reasons they fought for the Parliament of England against King Charles I ”^[10] Though Milton notoriously sold the copyright of this monumental work to his publisher for a seemingly trifling £10, this was not a particularly outlandish deal at the time. ^[11] Milton followed up Paradise Lost with its sequel, Paradise Regained, published alongside the tragedy Samson Agonistes, in 1671. Paradise Regain'd is a Poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671 Samson Agonistes ( Greek: "Samson the agonist " is a tragic Closet drama by John Milton. Both these works also resonate with Milton’s post-Restoration political situation. Just before his death in 1674, Milton supervised the release of a second edition of Paradise Lost, accompanied by an explanation of “why the poem rhymes not” and prefatory verses by Marvell. Milton republished his 1645 Poems in 1673, as well a collection of his letters and the Latin prolusions from his Cambridge days. A 1668 edition of Paradise Lost, reported to have been Milton's personal copy, is now housed in the archives of the University of Western Ontario. The University of Western Ontario (known as Western, as well as UWO or Western Ontario) is a public research University located in London

During the Restoration Milton also published several minor prose works, such as a grammar textbook, his Art of Logic, and his History of Britain. His only explicitly political tracts were the 1672 Of True Religion, arguing for toleration (except for Catholics), and a translation of a Polish tract advocating an elective monarchy. Both these works participated in the Exclusion debate that would preoccupy politics in the 1670s and 80s and precipitate the formation of the Whig party and the Glorious Revolution. The Exclusion Bill Crisis ran from 1678 through 1681 in the reign of Charles II of England. The Whigs (with the Tories) are often described as one of two political parties in England and later the United Kingdom from the late 17th to The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland in 1688 by a union Milton's unfinished religious manifesto, De doctrina christiana, in which he laid out many of his heretical views, was not discovered and published until 1823.

Philosophical, political, and religious views

In all of his strongly held opinions, Milton can generally be called a "party of one" for going well beyond the orthodoxy of the time. Milton's idiosyncratic beliefs stemmed from the Puritan mandate emphasis on the centrality and inviolability of conscience. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, ^[12]

Philosophy

By the late 1650s, Milton was a proponent of monism or animist materialism, the notion that a single material substance which is "animate, self-active, and free" composes everything in the universe: from stones and trees and bodies to minds, souls, angels, and God. Monism is the metaphysical and Theological view that all is one that all reality is subsumed under the most fundamental category of being or existence ^[13] Milton devised this position to avoid the mind-body dualism of Plato and Descartes as well as the mechanistic determinism of Hobbes. In Philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter which begins with the claim that mental phenomena are in some Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece In Philosophy, mechanism is a Theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes Determinism is the philosophical Proposition that every event including human cognition and behaviour decision and action is causally determined Thomas Hobbes (born 5 April 1588died 4 December 1679 was an English philosopher, whose famous 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation Milton's monism is most notably reflected in Paradise Lost when he has angels eat (5. 433-39) and have sex (8. 622-29).

Politics

Milton's fervent commitment to republicanism in an age of absolute monarchies was both unpopular and dangerous. Republicanism is the Ideology of governing a nation as a Republic, with an emphasis on Liberty, Rule of law, Popular sovereignty Absolute monarchy is a monarchical Form of government where the king and queen have absolute power over everything In coming centuries, Milton would be claimed as an early apostle of liberalism. Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal ^[14]

Religion

Milton was writing at a time of religious and political flux in England. His poetry and prose reflect deep convictions, often reacting to contemporary circumstances, but it is not always easy to locate the writer in any obvious religious category. His views may be described as broadly Protestant. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. As an accomplished artist and an official in the government of Oliver Cromwell, it is not always easy to distinguish where artistic licence and polemical intent overshadow Milton's personal views. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known

Milton embraced many theological views that put him outside of contemporary Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings A prime example is Milton's rejection of the Trinity in the belief that the Son was subordinate to the Father, a position known as Arianism; and his probable sympathy with Socinianism (modern-day Unitarianism), which held that Jesus was not divine. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. Socinianism is a form of Antitrinitarianism, named for Laelius Socinus (died 1562 in Zürich) and of his nephew Faustus Socinus Unitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God Another controversial view Milton subscribed to, illustrated by Paradise Lost, is mortalism, the belief that the soul dies with the body. See also Intermediate state In Christian theology, soul sleep is a belief that the Soul sleeps unconsciously between the Death of the ^[15] Milton abandoned his campaign to legitimize divorce after 1645, but he expressed support for polygamy in the De doctrina christiana, the unpublished theological treatise that provides evidence for his heretical views. The term polygamy (a Greek word meaning "the practice of multiple marriage" is used in related ways in Social anthropology, Sociobiology, and ^[16]

Like many Renaissance artists before him, Milton integrated Christian theology into classical modes. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere In his early poems, the poet narrator express a tension between vice and virtue, the latter invariably related to Protestantism. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. In Comus Milton may make ironic use of the Caroline court masque by elevating notions of purity and virtue over the conventions of court revelry and superstition. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe though it was developed earlier in Italy In his later poems, Milton's theological concerns become more explicit. In his 1641 treatise, Of Reformation, Milton expressed his dislike for Catholicism and episcopacy, presenting Rome as a modern Babylon, and bishops as Egyptian taskmasters. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described Episcopal polity is a form of church governance which is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a Bishop (Greek Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq These analogies conform to Milton's puritanical preference for Old Testament imagery. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Through the Interregnum, Milton often presents England, rescued from the trappings of a worldly monarchy, as an elect nation akin to the Old Testament Israel, and shows its leader, Oliver Cromwell, as a latter-day Moses. An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity of a government organization or social order An election is a Decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ These views were bound up in Protestant views of the Millennium, which some sects, such as the Fifth Monarchists predicted would arrive in England. A millennium (pl millennia) is a period of Time equal to one thousand Years (from Latin la mille, thousand and la annum The Fifth Monarchists or Fifth Monarchy Men were active from 1649 to 1661 during the Interregnum, following the English Civil Wars of the 17th century The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660 began a new phase in Milton's work. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored The House of Stuart or Stewart was a Royal house of the Kingdom of Scotland, later also of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of In Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes Milton mourns the end of the godly Commonwealth. Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Paradise Regain'd is a Poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671 Samson Agonistes ( Greek: "Samson the agonist " is a tragic Closet drama by John Milton. The Commonwealth of England was the Republican government which ruled first England (including Wales) and then Ireland and Scotland The Garden of Eden allegory reflects Milton's view of England's recent Fall from Grace, while Samson's blindness and captivity – mirroring Milton's own failing sight – is a metaphor for England's blind acceptance of Charles II as king. Not to be confused with Eden Gardens.The Garden of Eden ( Hebrew "pleasure" גַּן עֵדֶן Arabic: جنات عدن, The Fall of Man, or simply the Fall, in Christian doctrine refers to the transition of the first humans from a state of innocent obedience to God, Samson, Shimshon ( Hebrew: שמשון, Standard Šimšon Tiberian Šimšôn; meaning Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. However, despite the Restoration of the monarchy Milton did not lose his own faith; Samson shows how the loss of national salvation did not necessarily preclude the salvation of the individual, while Paradise Regained expresses Milton's continuing belief in the promise of Christian salvation through Jesus Christ. In Theology, salvation can mean three related things being saved from or Liberation from something such as Suffering or the punishment of In Theology, salvation can mean three related things being saved from or Liberation from something such as Suffering or the punishment of Paradise Regain'd is a Poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671 Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

Though he may have maintained his personal faith in spite of the defeats suffered by his cause, the Dictionary of National Biography recounts how he had been alienated from the Church of England by Archbishop William Laud, and then moved similarly from the Dissenters by their denunciation of religious tolerance in England. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Archbishop William Laud (7 October 1573 - 10 January 1645 was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1633 to 1645 The term dissenter (from the Latin dissentire, “to disagree” labels one who dissents or disagrees in matters of opinion belief etc England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland "Milton had come to stand apart from all sects, though apparently finding the Quakers most congenial. He never went to any religious services in his later years. When a servant brought back accounts of sermons from nonconformist meetings, Milton became so sarcastic that the man at last gave up his place". Nonconformism is the refusal to conform to common standards conventions rules customs traditions norms or laws

Legacy and influence

Milton's literary career cast a formidable shadow over English poetry in the 18th and 19th centuries; he was often judged equal or superior to all other English poets, including Shakespeare. William Shakespeare ( baptised We can point to Lucy Hutchinson's epic poem about the fall of Humanity, Order and Disorder (1679), and John Dryden's The State of Innocence and the Fall of Man: an Opera (1677) as evidence of an immediate cultural influence. John Dryden (– was an influential English poet Literary critic, Translator and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England

The influence of Milton's poetry and personality on the literature of the Romantic era was profound: the relationship is a quintessential example of Harold Bloom's "anxiety of influence. Harold Bloom' (born July 11, 1930) is a Literary critic. Bloom defended 19th-century Romantic poets at a time when their reputations The Anxiety of Influence A Theory of Poetry (ISBN 0-19-511221-0 is a book by Harold Bloom, published in 1973. " William Wordsworth began his sonnet "London, 1802" with "Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour" [10] and modeled The Prelude, his own blank verse epic, on Paradise Lost. The Prelude is an autobiographical "philosophical" Poem in Blank verse by the English poet William Wordsworth. John Keats found the yoke of Milton's style debilitating; he exclaimed that "Miltonic verse cannot be written but in an artful or rather artist's humour. " Keats felt that Paradise Lost was a "beautiful and grand curiosity," but his own unfinished attempt at epic poetry, Hyperion, is said to have suffered from Keats's failed attempt to cultivate a distinct epic voice. "Hyperion" can also refer to the Epistolary novel Hyperion by the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein draws heavily on Paradise Lost. Mary Shelley ( Née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; 30 August Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, generally known as Frankenstein, is a Novel written by the British author Mary Shelley The novel begins with a quotation from Paradise Lost, and the relationship between the Creature and Frankenstein is often seen as a metaphor for the relationship between God and Adam in Paradise Lost.

The Victorian age witnessed a continuation of Milton's influence; George Eliot^[17] and Thomas Hardy being particularly inspired by Milton's poetry and biography. Mary Ann (Marian Evans ( 22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880) better known by her Pen name George Eliot, was an Thomas Hardy OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928 was an English novelist Short story writer and poet of the naturalist movement though he saw By contrast, the early 20th century, owing to the critical efforts of T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, witnessed a reduction in Milton's stature. Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Ezra Weston Loomis Pound ( Hailey, Idaho Territory, United States October 30 1885 – Venice, Italy November 1 1972 was an American Expatriate

Aside from his importance to literary history, Milton's career has influenced the modern world in other ways. Milton coined many words that are now familiar; in Paradise Lost readers were confronted by neologisms like dreary, pandæmonium, acclaim, rebuff, self-esteem, unaided, impassive, enslaved, jubilant, serried, solaced, and satanic. Pandæmonium is the capital of Hell in the Epic poem Paradise Lost by the 17th century English poet John Milton.

In the political arena, Milton's Areopagitica and republican writings were consulted during the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America. Areopagitica A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England is a Prose tract or Polemic by Also, the quotation from Areopagitica – "A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life" – is seen in many public libraries, including the New York Public Library. Areopagitica A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England is a Prose tract or Polemic by The New York Public Library ( NYPL) is one of the leading public libraries of the world and is one of America's most significant Research libraries.

The John Milton Society for the Blind was founded in 1928 by Helen Keller to develop an interdenominational ministry that would bring spiritual guidance and religious literature to deaf and blind persons. Helen Adams Keller (June 27 1880 – June 1 1968 was an American Author, Activist and lecturer

See also

• Robert Overton
• Milton's Cottage

Poetic and dramatic works

• L'Allegro (1631)
• Il Penseroso (1633)
• Comus (a masque)(1634)
• Lycidas (1638)
• Poems of Mr John Milton, Both English and Latin (1645)
• Paradise Lost (1667)
• Paradise Regained (1671)
• Samson Agonistes (1671)
• Poems, &c, Upon Several Occasions (1673)

Political, philosophical and religious prose

• Of Reformation (1641)
• Of Prelatical Episcopacy (1641)
• Animadversions (1641)
• The Reason of Church Government (1642)
• Apology for Smectymnuus (1642)
• Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643)
• Judgement of Martin Bucer Concerning Divorce (1644)
• Of Education (1644)
• Areopagitica (1644)
• Tetrachordon (1645)
• Colasterion (1645)
• The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates (1649)
• Eikonoklastes (1649)
• Defensio pro Populo Anglicano [First Defense] (1651)
• Defensio Secunda [Second Defense] (1654)
• A treatise of Civil Power (1659)
• The Likeliest Means to Remove Hirelings from the Church (1659)
• The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth (1660)
• Brief Notes Upon a Late Sermon (1660)
• Accedence Commenced Grammar (1669)
• History of Britain (1670)
• Artis logicae plenior institutio [Art of Logic] (1672)
• Of True Religion (1673)
• Epistolae Familiaries (1674)
• Prolusiones (1674)
• A brief History of Moscovia, and other less known Countries lying Eastward of Russia as far as Cathay, gathered from the writings of several Eye-witnesses (1682) [11]
• De Doctrina Christiana (1823)

Trivia

• Singer/Songwriter Tom Milton from the Punk Rock band Super Games is a direct descendant of John Milton. Major-General Robert Overton (about 1609&ndash1678 was prominent soldier and scholar who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, and was imprisoned Milton's Cottage is a timber framed 16th century building located in the Buckinghamshire village of Chalfont St Giles. L'Allegro (1631 is a famous Pastoral poem by John Milton. The verses banish "loathèd Melancholy" invoke Euphrosyne and other allegorical Il Penseroso is a Pastoral poem by John Milton, written in 1631. Comus ( A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle 1634) is a Masque in honour of chastity written by John Milton and first presented on The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe though it was developed earlier in Italy "Lycidas" is a poem by John Milton, written in 1637 as a Pastoral Elegy, first appearing in a 1638 collection of elegies entitled Milton's 1645 Poems is a collection divided into separate English and Latin sections of the poet's youthful poetry in a variety of genres including Paradise Lost is an Epic poem in Blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. Paradise Regain'd is a Poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton, published in 1671 Samson Agonistes ( Greek: "Samson the agonist " is a tragic Closet drama by John Milton. Milton's 1645 Poems is a collection divided into separate English and Latin sections of the poet's youthful poetry in a variety of genres including Milton's divorce tracts refer to the four interlinked polemical pamphlets-- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, The Judgment of Martin Bucer, Tetrachordon Milton's divorce tracts refer to the four interlinked polemical pamphlets-- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, The Judgment of Martin Bucer, Tetrachordon The tractate Of Education was published in 1644 first appearing anonymously as a single eight-page quarto sheet (Ainsworth 6 Areopagitica A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England is a Prose tract or Polemic by Milton's divorce tracts refer to the four interlinked polemical pamphlets-- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, The Judgment of Martin Bucer, Tetrachordon Milton's divorce tracts refer to the four interlinked polemical pamphlets-- The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, The Judgment of Martin Bucer, Tetrachordon In The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, John Milton defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign Defensio pro Populo Anglicano is a Latin Polemic by John Milton, published in 1651. The History of Britain that Part especially now called England from the first traditional Beginning continued to the Norman Conquest De doctrina Christiana ( Christian Doctrine) is a Latin manuscript found in 1823 and is attributed to John Milton, who died 148 years prior
• Al Pacino's character in the movie The Devil's Advocate is named John Milton. In the movie Milton is Satan, in the guise of a lawyer.

References

External links

• Works by John Milton at Project Gutenberg
• Milton Reading Room – online, almost fully annotated, collection of all of Milton's poetry and selections of his prose
• The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton from Random House
• Milton 400th Anniversary – lots of Milton material and details of the Milton 400th Anniversary Celebrations, from Christ's College, Cambridge, where Milton studied
• "Milton and De Doctrina Christiana" by Gordon Campbell et al. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Random House Inc is the world's largest English-language general trade book publisher Christ’s College is one of the colleges of the University of Cambridge. , 1996
• "The masque in Milton's Arcades and Comus" by Gilbert McInnis
• History of the John Milton Society for the Blind in Canada
• How Milton Works by Stanley Fish
• Milton's cottage
• Paradise Lost by John Milton, Introduction and Notes by David Hawkes
• A common-place book of John Milton, and a Latin essay and Latin verses presumed to be by Milton Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection. {Reprinted by} Cornell University Library Digital Collections
• "John Milton-poet or politician?" on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, featuring John Carey, Lisa Jardine, Blair Worden
• Famous Quotes by John Milton
• [12]

Persondata
NAME	Milton, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	English poet and prose polemicist
DATE OF BIRTH	December 9, 1608(1608-12-09)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bread Street, Cheapside, London
DATE OF DEATH	November 8, 1674
PLACE OF DEATH	Bunhill, London

In Our Time is a discussion programme hosted by Melvyn Bragg on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration

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