2. JOHN MILTON
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8
November 1674) was an English
poet and intellectual who served as
a civil servant for
the Commonwealth of
England under its Council of State
and later under Oliver Cromwell.
He wrote at a time of religious flux
and political upheaval, and is best
known for his epic poem Paradise
Lost (1667), written in blank verse,
and widely considered to be one of
the greatest works of literature
ever written.
3. EARLY LIFE
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.
His extensive reading included both classical
and modern works of religion, science,
philosophy, history, politics, and literature.
In addition, Milton was proficient in Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Italian,
and obtained a familiarity with Old English
and Dutch as well.
4. In May of 1638, Milton began a 13-month
tour of France and Italy, during which he
met many important intellectuals and
influential people,
In 1642, Milton returned from a trip into
the countryside with a 16-year-old bride,
Mary Powell. Even though they were
estranged for most of their marriage, she
bore him three daughters and a son
before her death in 1652. Milton later
married twice more: Katherine Woodcock
in 1656, who died giving birth in 1658,
and Elizabeth Minshull in 1662.
Milton steadily lost his eyesight, and was
completely blind by 1651.
5. Milton and his first wife Mary Powell
(1625–1652) had four children:
Anne (born 7 July 1646)
Mary (born 25 October 1648)
John (16 March 1651 – June 1652)
Deborah (2 May 1652 – 10 August 1727[
On 12 November 1656, Milton was married
to Katherine Woodcock at St Margaret's,
Westminster. She died on 3 February 1658,
less than four months after giving birth to
her daughter Katherine, who also died.
Milton married for a third time on 24
February 1663 to Elizabeth Mynshull
He died shortly afterwards, on November
8, 1674, in Buckinghamshire, England.
6. MILTON’S EARLY POETRY
His first work, the ode “On the Morning of Christ’s
Nativity” approaches the high- water mark of lyric
poetry in England.
“L’ Allegro” and “II Penseroso” are twin poems.
The “Masque of Comus” is in many respects the most
perfect of Milton’s poems. It was written in 1634.
The next poem, “Lycidas” a pastoral elegy written in
1637.
Some of his best known sonnets are “On His Deceased
Wife,” “To the Nightingale,” etc.
7. MILTON’S LATER POETRY
The noblest of Milton’s works, written when he
was blind and suffering, are Paradise Lost,
Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.
So, let’s know in detail about The Paradise Lost,
a famous epic poem.
8. PARADISE LOST
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank
verse by the 17th-century English
poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first
version, published in 1667, consists of ten
books with over ten thousand lines
of verse. A second edition followed in
1674, arranged into twelve books with
minor revisions throughout. It is
considered to be Milton's major work, and
it helped solidify his reputation as one of
the greatest English poets of his time. 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 Eden.
