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John Milton: the story on HearLore | HearLore
John Milton
John Milton, the blind poet, dictated his greatest work to amanuenses while living in a small house in Petty France, Westminster, during the darkest years of the English Commonwealth. Born on the 9th of December 1608 in Bread Street, London, to a wealthy scrivener and composer named John Milton and his wife Sarah Jeffrey, he was destined to become one of the most influential figures in English literature. His father, a man who had been disinherited by his own Catholic father for embracing Protestantism, provided the financial means for Milton to receive an exceptional education. This early exposure to music and the arts fostered a lifelong appreciation for composition, leading to friendships with musicians like Henry Lawes. Milton's intellectual journey began at St Paul's School, where he mastered Latin and Greek, languages that would leave an indelible mark on his poetry and prose. By the time he entered Christ's College at the University of Cambridge in 1625, he was already a prodigy, graduating fourth out of twenty-four honours graduates in 1629. His time at Cambridge was marked by both academic brilliance and personal alienation, as he clashed with tutors and dismissed the stilted formal debates that dominated the curriculum. Despite these challenges, he formed lasting friendships with figures like Edward King and Roger Williams, and began to cultivate a reputation as a poet of extraordinary skill and erudition.
The Grand Tour of Ideas
In May 1638, Milton embarked on a fifteen-month tour of France and Italy, a journey that would profoundly shape his political and intellectual worldview. Accompanied only by a manservant, he traveled from Calais to Paris, then south to Genoa, Livorno, and Pisa, eventually reaching Florence in July 1638. In Florence, his candour and neo-Latin poetry earned him entry into intellectual circles, where he met the astronomer Galileo, who was under house arrest at Arcetri. Milton's travels were not merely sightseeing; they were an immersion in the artistic and religious traditions of Europe, particularly Roman Catholicism. He attended musical events, including oratorios and operas, and dined with English Catholics in Rome, despite his dislike for the Society of Jesus. His journey took him through Naples, Venice, and Geneva, where he encountered models of republicanism that would later inform his political writings. The trip was cut short by the news of civil war in England and the death of his childhood friend Charles Diodati. Upon returning to England in the summer of 1639, Milton found a nation on the brink of conflict, a situation that would soon draw him into the heart of political and religious controversy.
When was John Milton born and where did he grow up?
John Milton was born on the 9th of December 1608 in Bread Street, London. He grew up in a household where his father, a wealthy scrivener and composer, provided the financial means for his exceptional education at St Paul's School and Christ's College at the University of Cambridge.
What happened during John Milton's tour of France and Italy in 1638?
John Milton traveled to France and Italy from May 1638 to the summer of 1639, meeting figures like Galileo in Florence and engaging with European intellectual circles. The journey was cut short by news of civil war in England and the death of his childhood friend Charles Diodati, prompting his return to a nation on the brink of conflict.
Why did John Milton write Areopagitica in 1644?
John Milton wrote Areopagitica in 1644 as a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing following a hostile response to his pamphlets on divorce. The work aligned him with the parliamentary cause and synthesized the ideals of neo-Roman liberty with Christian liberty to defend freedom of speech and the press.
How did John Milton compose Paradise Lost after losing his sight?
John Milton composed Paradise Lost between 1658 and 1664 while totally blind, dictating his verse and prose to amanuenses including the poet Andrew Marvell. He lived in a garden house in Petty France, Westminster, during this period and sold the publication rights to publisher Samuel Simmons for £5.
When did John Milton die and where is he buried?
John Milton died on the 8th of November 1674, just a month before his 66th birthday. He was buried in the church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate, Fore Street, London, and a monument was added in 1737 on Westminster Abbey in London, UK, to commemorate his life and work.
Milton's return to England coincided with the outbreak of the English Civil War, and he immediately began to write prose tracts against episcopacy, aligning himself with the Puritan and Parliamentary cause. His first major polemical work, Of Reformation touching Church Discipline in England, was published in 1641, followed by a series of defenses of Smectymnuus, a group of Presbyterian divines. In 1642, at the age of thirty-four, he married Mary Powell, a union that quickly soured due to their ideological differences and her royalist sympathies. Her desertion of him prompted Milton to publish a series of pamphlets arguing for the legality and morality of divorce, a stance that brought him into conflict with the authorities. The hostile response to these writings spurred him to compose Areopagitica, a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing, which remains one of history's most impassioned defenses of freedom of speech and the press. Written in 1644, Areopagitica aligned Milton with the parliamentary cause and synthesized the ideals of neo-Roman liberty with Christian liberty. His marriage to Mary eventually reconciled, and they had two daughters, but the experience of divorce and the political turmoil of the time deeply influenced his later works.
The Secretary of State
Following the Parliamentary victory in the Civil War, Milton's political reputation led to his appointment as Secretary for Foreign Tongues by the Council of State in March 1649. In this role, he composed the English Republic's foreign correspondence in Latin and other languages, produced propaganda for the regime, and served as a censor. His tenure was marked by intense intellectual labor, as he defended the regicide and the Commonwealth in works such as The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates and Eikonoklastes. In 1651, Milton moved into a garden house in Petty France, Westminster, where he lived until the Restoration. By this time, he had become totally blind, likely due to bilateral retinal detachment or glaucoma, forcing him to dictate his verse and prose to amanuenses, including the poet Andrew Marvell. His blindness did not diminish his productivity; instead, it fueled the creation of his magnum opus, Paradise Lost, which he began composing in 1658. Milton's political views evolved during this period, as he grew increasingly critical of Oliver Cromwell's leadership and the direction of the Commonwealth. Despite his growing isolation, he remained a steadfast advocate for republican principles, even as the political landscape shifted around him.
The Restoration's Shadow
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660 marked a dramatic turning point in Milton's life. Fearing for his safety, he went into hiding, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, with his writings ordered to be burned. He re-emerged after a general pardon was issued but was briefly imprisoned before influential friends, including Andrew Marvell, intervened. Milton married for a third and final time on the 24th of February 1663, to Elizabeth Minshull, a woman thirty years his junior, with whom he lived quietly in London for the remainder of his life. During this period, he published several minor prose works, including a grammar textbook and a History of Britain, but his focus shifted to poetry. He completed Paradise Regained and the tragedy Samson Agonistes in 1671, works that reflected his post-Restoration political situation and personal despair. Milton's views became more elitist in his later years, as he lost faith in popular democracy and began to favor government by a minority of competent citizens. Despite the Restoration, he did not lose his personal faith, and his works continued to explore themes of individual salvation and the promise of Christian redemption.
The Epic of Paradise
Milton's magnum opus, Paradise Lost, was composed between 1658 and 1664, and published in 1667 as a blank-verse epic in twelve books. Written while he was blind and impoverished, the poem was dictated to a series of aides and addressed the fall of man, including the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and God's expulsion of them from the Garden of Eden. Milton sold the publication rights to publisher Samuel Simmons for £5, with an additional £5 to be paid if each print run sold out of between 1,300 and 1,500 copies. The first edition, a quarto priced at three shillings per copy, sold out in eighteen months. Paradise Lost elevated Milton's reputation as one of history's greatest poets, though it also drew criticism from notable figures such as T. S. Eliot and Joseph Addison. The poem reflects Milton's personal despair at the failure of the Revolution while affirming an ultimate optimism in human potential. He followed up Paradise Lost with its sequel, Paradise Regained, and the tragedy Samson Agonistes, both published in 1671. Just before his death in 1674, Milton supervised a second edition of Paradise Lost, accompanied by an explanation of why the poem rhymes not, and prefatory verses by Andrew Marvell.
The Legacy of Liberty
Milton's influence on English literature and political thought has been profound and enduring. His use of blank verse, in addition to his stylistic innovations, influenced later poets from Alexander Pope to John Keats. Milton's pursuit of liberty extended into his vocabulary, as he introduced many Latinate neologisms and revived obsolete words, creating a distinctive 'Miltonian dialect' that was emulated by later poets. His Areopagitica remains a cornerstone of free speech advocacy, and his political ideas influenced the Radical Whigs, whose ideology was central to the American Revolution. Milton's theological views, including his alleged Arianism and sympathy for Socinianism, continue to be the subject of debate and controversy. Despite the Restoration, he did not lose his personal faith, and his works continue to explore themes of individual salvation and the promise of Christian redemption. Milton died on the 8th of November 1674, just a month before his 66th birthday, and was buried in the church of St Giles-without-Cripplegate, Fore Street, London. A monument was added in 1737 on Westminster Abbey in London, UK, commemorating his life and work. His legacy as one of the greatest poets in English literature remains unchallenged, and his influence continues to resonate in the works of modern writers and thinkers.