Dec 5, 2022 · John Milton, (born December 9, 1608, London, England—died November 8?, 1674, London?), English poet, pamphleteer, and historian, considered the most significant English author after William Shakespeare. Milton is best known for Paradise Lost, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in English.
- Albert C. Labriola
- Why is John Milton famous?John Milton (1608–74) is considered the most significant English writer after William Shakespeare. His epic Paradise Lost, classical tragedy Samson...
- Where was John Milton educated?When he was 11, John Milton entered St. Paul’s School, London, where he excelled in Greek, Latin, and Italian. He composed Latin verse and translat...
- How did John Milton influence others?When John Milton’s Paradise Lost appeared in 1667, only people close to him commended it. By the early 1700s, however, John Dryden had written an o...
- Synopsis
- Early Life & Education
- Poetry, Politics, and Personal Life
- Paradise Lost
John Milton is best known for Paradise Lost, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in English. Together with Paradise Regained, it formed his reputation as one of the greatest English writers. In his prose works he advocated the abolition of the Church of England. His influence extended through the English civil wars and also to the American an...
John Milton was born in London on December 9, 1608 to John and Sara Milton. He had an older sister Anne, and a younger brother Christopher, and several siblings who died before reaching adulthood. As a child, John Milton attended St. Paul’s School, and in his lifetime he learned Latin, Greek, Italian, Hebrew, French, and Spanish. He attended Christ...
After Cambridge, Milton spent six years living with his family in Buckinghamshire and studying independently. In that time, he wrote “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” “On Shakespeare,” “L’Allegro,” “Il Penseroso,” and "Lycidas," an elegy in memory of a friend who drowned. In 1638, John Milton went to Europe, where he probably met the astronome...
After his release from prison, Milton married for the third time, this time to Elizabeth Minsull. In 1667, he published Paradise Lost in 10 volumes. It is considered his greatest work and the greatest epic poem written in English. The free-verse poem tells the story of how Satan tempted Adam and Eve, and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. In ...
Apr 2, 2014 · John Milton was born in London on December 9, 1608 to John and Sara Milton. He had an older sister Anne, and a younger brother Christopher, and several siblings who died before reaching...
- Early Life
- Private Study and European Travel
- Political Posting and Pamphleteer
- The Restoration and Final Years
- Sources
Milton was born in London, the eldest son of John Milton, a skillful composer and professional scrivener (a professional who wrote and copied out documents, as literacy was not widespread), and his wife Sarah. Milton’s father was estranged from his own father, since the older generation was Catholic and Milton Sr. had become a Protestant. As a boy,...
After acquiring his M.A., Milton spent the next six years in self-guided study and, eventually, travel. He read extensively, both modern and ancient texts, studying literature, theology, philosophy, rhetoric, science, and more, mastering several languages (both ancient and modern) as well. During this time, he continued to write poetry, including t...
During the English Civil War, Milton was a pro-republican writer and defended the regicide of Charles I, the right of citizens to hold a monarchy accountable, and the principles of the Commonwealth in multiple books. He was hired by the government as Secretary for Foreign Tongues, ostensibly to compose government correspondence in Latin, but also t...
In 1658, Oliver Cromwell died and the English Republic fell into a mess of warring factions. Milton stubbornly defended his ideals of republicanism even as the country shifted back towards a monarchy, denouncing the concept of a church dominated by the government and the very concept of monarchy. With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Milton...
Campbell, Gordon and Corns, Thomas. John Milton: Life, Work, and Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.“John Milton.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-milton.Lewalski, Barbara K. The Life of John Milton. Oxford: Blackwells Publishers, 2003.- Assistant Editor
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost, written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political upheaval.
- Poet, Intellectual, Civil Servant
- Paradise Lost, Areopagitica, Lycidas
John Milton was born in London on December 9, 1608, into a middle-class family. He was educated at St. Paul’s School, then at Christ’s College, Cambridge, where he began to write poetry in Latin, Italian, and English, and prepared to enter the clergy.