Milton, John

John Milton (1608-1674, age 66). An English poet, religious thinker, and civil servant for the English Commonwealth Government. He is one of the most important figures in Western literature. He is most famous for his Christian epic poem Paradise Lost. His writing influenced both later poets and religious thinkers.

Milton’s father was a musician and composer. He hired a private tutor to teach his eldest son. Milton then went to St. Paul’s School where he studied Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Milton then studied at Christ’s College, Cambridge and graduated with a B.A. in 1629. In 1632, he received his M.A. degree there.

In 1638 he made an obligatory Tour of the Continent, spending time in France and Italy, where he learned about other authors such as Dante, Tasso, and Ariosto.

When he was 34, he married Mary Powell, who was 17. Until his marriage, Milton was involved in only one close relationship: his friendship with Charles Diodati (1608?–1638).

They were schoolboys together at St. Paul’s School and kept up a correspondence. This exchange prompted Milton’s Elegy 1. When Diodati died, Milton composed an elegy entitled Epitaphium Damonis in his friend’s memory, and included a headnote saying that they “had pursued the same studies” and that they were the “most intimate friends from childhood on.”

In 1645, during the English Civil War, he published Poems of Mr. John Milton, in which there were his famous poems “L’Allegro” and “Il’Penseroso,” which was mostly ignored. In 1649, during the trial of Charles I, Milton wrote Of the Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, arguing that kings can rule only when the people allow them to. He defended freedom of speech and freedom of press.

He then became secretary to the Council of State and wrote in Latin Eikonoklastes in 1649. That was the last big writing project he did before he began to become blind. In 1652, he became completely blind.

However, in 1667, he published his famous Paradise Lost, one of the greatest English-language epics. Four years later, he wrote Paradise Regained, a story about how men became sinful and how Jesus Christ won the battle with the devil.

The last work that was published while he was alive was Samson Agonistes. He died, possibly with gout, in 1674.