JOHN MILTON

• Born in London on December 09, 1608 and died on November 08, 1674 because of
complications from a gout attack. Milton was buried in the church of St. Giles-without-
Cripplegate, Fore Street, London. He was 66 years old.
• John Milton was born of a well-off family in London. He was an English poet, pamphleteer
and historian, considered the most significant English author after William Shakespeare.
• His parents were John Milton Sr. and Sarah Jeffrey
Milton Sr. moved to London around 1583 after being disinherited by his devout
catholic father Richard Milton for embracing Protestantism.
• In London, Milton Sr. married Sarah Jeffrey and found lasting financial success as a
scrivener, an occupation that combined the duties of the modern banker and lawyer.

EDUCATION
• Milton attended St. Paul’s School in London. There he began the study of Latin and Greek,
and the classical languages left an imprint on both his poetry and prose in English.
He also wrote prose and poetry in Italian.
• Charles Diodati.
At St. Paul’s he met Charles Diodati who became his closest friend in his life.
• In 1625, Milton began attending Christ’s College, Cambridge.
But Milton was not pleased with the medieval scholastic curriculum that existed at
Christ’s College. This displeasure caused him to become involved in frequent
disputes including with his tutor William Chappell.
• In 1626, Milton was “rusticated” or suspended for a brief period.
Milton’s suspension was perhaps because of some other minor infraction, but
whatever the reason is, Milton did not seem to mind the respite from Christ’s, nor
did the rustication impede his progression through the school in any significant way.
EARLY LITERARY WORK
• After Milton’s graduation, he did not consider the ministry. Instead, he began a six year
stay at his father’s recently purchased country estate of Horton with the stated intention of
becoming a poet. Milton made his move to Horton, a village of about 300 people, in 1632,
saying that God had called him to be a poet. One of his great works, Comus A Masque, was
written around this time.
• In 1637, Milton’s mother died, possibly of the plague. That same year, one of his Cambridge
friends, Edward King, a young minister, drowned in a boating accident. Classmates at
Cambridge decided to create a memorial volume of poetry for their dead friend. Milton’s
poem, untitled in the volume but later called Lycidas, was the final poem. Whatever the
reasoning, the poem, signed simply J.M., has become one of the most recognized elegiac
poems in English.
INFLUENCES ABROAD
 • Having been through the years at Cambridge and six more at Horton, Milton took the
Grand Tour, an extended visit to continental Europe. Such a tour was viewed as the
culmination of the education of a cultivated young man. Milton as a true scholar and poet
wanted more from this tour than just a good time away from home. He wanted to visit
France and especially Italy. In Paris, in May of 1638, he met the famed Dutch legal scholar
and theologian Hugo Grotius. Grotius' ideas on natural and positive law worked their way
into many of Milton's political writings.
• In Italy, Milton met a number of important men who would have influence on his writing.
In Florence, he most likely met Galileo, who was under house arrest by the Inquisition for
his heliocentric views of the solar system. Milton had a lifelong fascination with science and
scientific discovery. Book VIII of Paradise Lost mentions the telescope and deals with
planetary motions. Also in Italy, Milton attended an operatic performance in the company
of Cardinal Francesco Barberino. The actual opera is not known but may have been one by
Museo Clemente, who was popular at the time. Milton's own knowledge of and love for
music shows up in much of his poetry, and, in some ways, Paradise Lost is operatic poetry.
Finally, in Italy, Milton met Giovanni Batista, Marquis of Manso, who was the biographer
of the great Italian epic poet, Torquato Tasso. Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered was obviously
an influence on Milton's own epic poetry. To what extent Batista was also an influence is
difficult to determine, but Milton did write the poem, Mansus, in his honor.
• At this point in his journey, Milton planned to go to Greece but had to cut his tour short.
Civil war was simmering in England; in addition, Milton learned that his old friend Charles
Diodati had died. Late in 1638, Milton returned to London, where in 1639, he settled down
as a schoolmaster for his nephews and other children from aristocratic families. For the first
time in his life, Milton was on his own, earning his own way in the world.
WRITING CAREER AND MARRIAGE
• The political climate was charged as Charles I invaded Scotland, and the Long Parliament
was convened. Milton wrote pamphlets entitled Of Reformation, Of Prelatical Episcopacy,
and Animadversions in 1641, and The Reason for Church Government in 1642. For the
young poet, the Puritan aspect of his work, at least in the public eye, began to take
precedence over his poetry.
At this time, Milton begun writing prose pamphlets on current controversies. Milton
sided more and more of the idea that the church needed purification and that sort of
reform could not come from a church so closely connected to the king.
• In 1642, the Civil War began, and its effects touched Milton directly. That same year, he
married Mary Powell, daughter of a Royalist family from Oxford. A month after the
marriage, Mary returned to Oxford to live with her family. Personal problems, political
differences, or simple safety may have motivated her.
The precise reason of Powell leaving Milton was not known. She chose Oxford
because Oxford was the headquarters for the Royalist army that time.

• On the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce in 1643

• On Education and Areopagitica in 1644.
 Each of these works centered on the need for individual liberty. The ideas that
Milton expressed in these writings are commonplace values today, but in the 1640s,
they were so radical that Milton acquired the nickname, "Milton the divorcer."
• Around 1645, Mary Powell returned to Milton. Charles I had lost the Battle of Naseby and
any hope for military victory. The Powell family, a vowed Royalists, were now in danger.
They were ejected from their home in Oxford as Charles' power waned. Within a year of
Mary's return to Milton, her entire family had moved in with the couple.
Once again, the reasons for Powell’s return are unclear. But with the return of Mary
and the arrival of her family, Milton was suddenly the head of a large household.
His first collection of poetry titled Poems was published in the year 1646.
• Poems published in 1646.
In July, seven months after Poems was published, Milton’s first daughter, Anne, was
born. The marriage that had begun inauspiciously now seemed if not perfect, at least
sound. The volume included Lycidas, Comus, and "On the Morning of Christ's
Nativity."
• Shortly after the reunion of Milton with his wife and the birth of his first child, both his
father-in-law, Richard Powell, and his own father died. Milton was left with a moderate
estate. He complained at this point that he was surrounded by "uncongenial people," a
problem that was resolved a few months later when all the Powell relatives moved back to
Oxford. Milton and his wife and daughter then moved into a smaller house in High
Holborn. For the first time, the couple had a reasonably normal life and family. In 1648, a
second daughter, Mary, was born.
• The year 1649 marked a decisive change in Milton's life. Charles I was executed, with
Milton probably in attendance. The murder of a king was shocking to the people of a
country that had always lived under a monarchy and for whom the king had an aura of
divinity. Milton attempted to justify the situation with his Tenure of Kings and
Magistrates.
This pamphlet, along with Milton's other work for the Puritans, resulted in his being
offered the position of Secretary for the Foreign Tongues. Milton now assumed full-
time political office, corresponding with heads of states or their secretaries in Latin,
the lingua franca of the day. Among other duties, he also responded to political
attacks on the new Cromwellian Government, particularly those attacking the
philosophy and morality behind the violent overthrow of the monarchy. To this end,
Milton wrote Eikonoklastesin response to Eikon Basilike, supposedly written by
Charles I the night before his execution, and Defensio pro populo Anglicano in
response to Salmatius' Defensio Regia. During this period, Milton worked out of
official lodgings in Scotland Yard.

• MARY POWELL (1642-1652)

 Milton and Powell got married in May of 1642. Their marriage only lasted until
1652. Powell died while giving birth to Deborah, their third daughter. Her death was
followed by their infant and only son, John.
• KATHERINE WOODCOCK (1656-1658)
In the year 1656, Milton married Katherine Woodcock. This marriage was far more
successful than Milton’s previous, but like his first wife, Woodcock died from
complications experienced while giving birth. By this time, Milton had fully
succumbed to blindness and had to raise his three daughters.
• ELIZABETH MYNSHULL (1662-1674)
On February 24, 1662, Milton got married for the third time and it was with
Elizabeth Mynshull. There was a 31 years age-gap between them. But in spite of this,
their marriage was incredibly happy. Elizabeth was described as Milton’s “third and
best wife", though some argued that she cheated his children and heirs out of their
money upon his death. After Milton’s death, Mynshull never remarried.
LAST YEARS OF MILTON
• During 1652, Milton suffered a number of traumatic events. First, his eyesight, which had
been growing weaker, gave out completely, probably because of glaucoma. By 1652, Milton
was totally blind. Second, his young son, John, died under mysterious circumstances.
Third, his wife died from complications in giving birth to the Milton's third daughter,
Deborah. And fourth, Pierre du Moulin published the pamphlet Regii Sanguinis Clamor
(Outcry of the King's Blood), a pro-Charles pamphlet to which Milton was ordered to reply.
Milton's reply was entitled Defensio Secunda, which was published in 1654. By that time,
Andrew Marvell, Milton's friend and fellow poet, was working as his assistant. Milton was
also allowed to cut back on his official labors and to use an amanuensis (akin to a secretary)
as an aide.
• Even with his personal and physical problems, Milton continued to write. His major
personal project in the 1650s was De Doctrina Christiana, a work in which he tried to state
formally all of his religious views.
• With the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658, Milton's political fortunes were reversed. As
Royalists gained power, Milton went into hiding at the home of a friend. During this time,
his Defensio pro populo Anglicano and Eikonoklastes were publicly burned. Milton stayed
in hiding until Parliament passed the Acts of Oblivion, pardoning most of those who had
opposed Charles II. Even so, Parliament considered arresting Milton, an act which was
carried out in October 1659. Fortunately for Milton, neither Charles nor his cohorts were
especially bloodthirsty or vindictive, and Milton was released in December.
• By the time of the actual restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Milton was hard at work on
Paradise Lost. Milton had long considered writing a major work on the grand themes of
Christianity. His familiarity with the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, and
Jerusalem Delivered inclined him to the epic format. His preparations for the ministry as
well as the natural bent of his Puritanism led him toward the subject of Man's fall. During
much of the early 1660s, he worked on his epic and, in 1667, finally published Paradise
Lost, an epic in ten books. He followed up his masterpiece with Paradise Regained and
Samson Agonistes in 1671. Milton is thus one of a relatively small group of creative
 geniuses whose greatest works were written after they turned 50. The years of essay and
pamphlet writing did not diminish his creative spark.
• In 1674, Milton published the second edition of Paradise Lost, revising it to make a total of
twelve books. Mostly he rearranged rather than rewrote. For example, he made what had
been Book X into Books XI and XII. After the publication of the second edition, his health
deteriorated. By 1700, Paradise Lost was recognized as one of the classics of English
literature.
THREE PHASES OF MILTON’S LITERARY CAREER
• THE FIRST PERIOD (1629-1640)
This period is also called Horton Period because Milton spent most of this
time as a student in the University of Horton. He composed many youthful
poems in Latin and English which show the young poet endeavoring to seek
his own work.
He was writing under the Renaissance author’s influence and so both the
renaissance exuberance and the reformist excitement are seen in his early
works.
His use of sensual language and tendency to perceive things in terms of
tangible imagery took him away from the prevailing metaphysical conventions.
• ON THE MORNING OF CHRIST’S NATIVITY (1629)
This is Milton’s first poem. The poem celebrates the Birth of Christ and it is
universally regarded as one of the most distinguished lyrics in English for its
splendid imagery and style that beautifully lead to the elevation of thought and
grandeur of conceptions.
• ON SHAKESPEARE (1630) and ON ARRIVING AT THE AGE OF TWENTY THREE
(1631)
These poems show Milton’s command of impressive diction and his high ideals both
in literary and religious aspects. On Shakespeare was printed on the second folio of
Shakepeare’s works.
• L’ALLEGRO AND IL PENSEROSO (1632)
L’Allegro symbolizes the Joyful man, expressing invocation to the goddess of Mirth
to allow the poet to live with her amidst delights of music senses.
Il Penseroso symbolizes the Thouthful man who invokes the Goddess of Melancholy
to bless him with peace, Quite and Leasure.
These poems embody Milton’s sense of music and his exceptional talent for
exploiting the rhythms and sonorous qualities of languge.
• COMUS (A MASQUE) (1634)
It contains the rich mythological elements, describing the magnificent scenes in
which the poet takes full delight. In this work we see Milton’s new-found
convictions in the strength of virtue, which going through several tests emerged
victorious and blessed.
• LYCIDAS (1637)
This is a pastoral elegy commemorating the death of his college friend Edward King
who was drowned on a voyage to Ireland. This poem has been universally
recognized as one among the most precious treasures of English Literature.
This poem is the finest example of how a great theme, poetic strength and complete
sincerity can transform a supposed dead conviction. Lycidas remains one of the best
poems ever written, embodying professed artistic assertions of Milton’s supreme
genius.

• THE SECOND PERIOD (1640-1660)

Most of Milton’s prose was written during this period when he was busy with
public affairs.
He has written 25 pamphlets of which 21 are in English and 4 in Latin.
Milton mostly dealt with political and social issues in England during those
times.
These serve to enlighten on the social, economic and political issues of
puritan age.
• OF REFORMATION, OF PRELATICAL EPISCOPASY (1641)
They speak of the changes in the Church of England and criticize the hierarchical
system in ecclesiastical government and the origins and authority of Episcopacy.
• DOCTRINE AND DISCIPLINE OF DIVORSE (1643)
When Milton was deserted by his wife Mary Powell, he composed two pamphlets on
divorce which scandalized the public by the freedom of their opinions and slashing
nature of their style.
• OF EDUCATION (1644)
It portrays his opinions concerning the best and the noblest way of education.
• AREOPAGITICA (1644)
It is a noble and impassioned plea for the liberty of press.
• THE TENNURE OF KINGS AND MAGISTRATES (1649)
In this he defends the right of people to execute a guilty sovereign. He gives a theory
of how people come into commonwealth and elect kings. He explain what the role of
a king should be and why it is necessary to limit a ruler’s power through laws and
oaths.

• THE THIRD PERIOD (1660-1674)

This poetry gives us the poetry of matured Milton. This was the period when Milton
suffered total blindness; but produced three great works Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained
 and Samson Agonistes that represent the pinnacle of his poetic attainment.
• PARADISE LOST (1667)
Here in Paradise Lost. Milton set forth the revolt of Satan against God, the war in
heaven, the fall of the rebel angels, the creation of the world and man, the temptation
of Eve and Adam, and their expulsion from Eden.
• PARADISE REGAINED (1671)
It is a sequel of Paradise Lost. It tells of Christ’s temptation and victory.
• SAMSON AGONISTES (1671)
Tells about Samson’s death while he was a prisoner of the Philistines. It has a
curious interest because in the Biblical hero, Milton saw more than one resemblance
to himhelf.

NOTABLE WORKS OF JOHN MILTON

 Paradise Lost (1667)  Epistolae Familiares (Letters to

 Paradise Regained (1671) Friends) and Prolusiones (College
 Samson Agonistes (1671) Exercises) (1674)
 Accidence Commenced Grammar  History of Britain (1670)
(1669)  Il Penseroso (1632)
 Animadversions (1641)  L’Allegro (1632)
 An Apology (1642)  Lycidas (1638)
 A Treatise of Civil Power in  Observations upon the Articles of
Ecclesiastical Causes (1659) Peace with the Irish Rebels (1649)
 A Treatise on Christian Doctrine  Of Education (1644)
 Areopagitica (1644)  Of Reformation Touching Church
 Artis Logicae Plenior Institutio (Art of Discipline in England (1641)
Logic) (1672)  Of Prelatical Episcopacy (1641)
 Brief Notes upon a Late Sermon (1660)  On Shakespeare (1632)
 Considerations Touching the Likeliest  On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity
Means to Remove Hirelings out of the (1629)
Church (1659)  Of True Religion (1673)
 Comus ( A Masque) (1637)  Tetrachordon and Colasterion (1645)
 Defensio pro populo Anglicano  The Tenure of the Kings and
(Defense of the English People) (1651) Magistrates (1649)
 Defensio Segunda (1654)  The Judgment of Martin Bucer
 Defensio Pro Se (Defense of Himself) Concerning Divorce (1644)
(1655)  The Reason of Church Government
 Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce Urged Against Prelaty (1642)
(1643)  The Ready and Easy Way to Establish
 Eikonoklastes (1649) a Free Commonwealth (1660)

PARADISE LOST
It is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th century English Poet John Milton. It is
considered to be Milton’s masterpiece and it helped solidify his reputation as one of the greatest
English poets of all time. The first version was published in the year 1667 that consists of ten
books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition was followed in 1674, arranged into
twelve books with minor revisions throughout. The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of
Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the
Garden of Eve. Milton stated his purpose in Book I is to “justify the ways of God to men”.

THE STORY OF TEMPTATION AND FALL OF MAN

The story of Adam and Eve's temptation and fall is a fundamentally different, new kind of epic: a
domestic one. Adam and Eve are presented as having a romantic and sexual relationship while
still being without sin. They have passions and distinct personalities. Satan, disguised in the form
of a serpent, successfully tempts Eve to eat from the Tree by preying on her vanity and tricking
her with rhetoric. Adam, learning that Eve has sinned, knowingly commits the same sin. He
declares to Eve that since she was made from his flesh, they are bound to one another – if she dies,
he must also die. In this manner, Milton portrays Adam as a heroic figure, but also as a greater
sinner than Eve, as he is aware that what he is doing is wrong.
After eating the fruit, Adam and Eve have lustful sex. At first, Adam is convinced that Eve was
right in thinking that eating the fruit would be beneficial. However, they soon fall asleep and have
terrible nightmares, and after they awake, they experience guilt and shame for the first time.
Realizing that they have committed a terrible act against God, they engage in mutual
recrimination blaming each other.
Meanwhile, Satan returns triumphantly to Hell, amid the praise of his fellow fallen angels. He tells
them about how their scheme worked and Mankind has fallen, giving them complete dominion
over Paradise. As he finishes his speech, however, the fallen angels around him become hideous
snakes, and soon enough, Satan himself turns into a snake, deprived of limbs and unable to talk.
Thus, they share the same punishment, as they shared the same guilt.
MAJOR THEMES OF PARADISE LOST
 Justifying the ways of God to Humanity
 Free Will, Fate, Predestination, and God’s Omnipotence and Ojmniscience
 Freedom and Responsibility
 Reason: Human and Divine

POINTS TO REMEMBER

 John Milton wrote the poem in blank verse.

 Paradise Lost was written on the biblical theme of the fall of man.
 Paradise Lost has two narrative arcs, one about Satan (Lucifer) and the following Adam
and Eve
 Book IV is the longest book in Milton’s Paradise Lost
 Book VII is the shortest book in Milton’s Paradise Lost
 10 books were included in the first edition of the poem Paradise Lost
 12 books were included in the second edition of the poem Paradise Lost
 The second edition of the poem Paradise Lost was published in 1674