John Milton Life and Works

English Poet and Essayist Famous for Paradise Lost

May 23, 2009 Tel Asiado

A brief biography and overview of the key works of John Milton, English poet and prose writer.

Best known for Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Lycidas, John Milton was one of the greatest English poets with huge influence on English poetry.

John Milton's Life in a Nutshell

John Milton was born on December 9, 1698 in London. His father was a successful lawyer and composer. They had a second house in the country where Milton spent six years in private study after finishing education in Cambridge University in 1632.

Milton was a Puritan who gave up his original ambition to become a priest, instead, decided to devote his life to God as a poet.

Milton began to write poetry while he was at college. At the age of 29, he completed one of his first major works, Lycidas, regarded as perhaps the finest short poem in English. In 1642, the English Civil War broke as Oliver Cromwell fought to overthrow the king. Milton stopped writing poetry and wrote political essays in support of Cromwell. In the same period he was slowly losing his sight.

Paradise Lost and Blind Milton

The monarchy was restored in 1660. Milton retired to devote himself to poetry once again. His ambition had always been to compose an epic poem in comparison to the works of ancient writers like Homer and Virgil. By then completely blind, he began dictating to his wife and daughters his great poem, Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost was published when he was 55-years-old. It was instantly recognized as an outstanding achievement. It tells the story of how Satan was thrown out of Heaven and how he came to Earth to corrupt Adam and Eve. Further, it explores the themes of war and religious conflict reminding the reader of the troubled times Milton that lived through.

Milton traveled in Europe and served as Latin secretary to the Commonwealth government. In 1652, he became blind. He died at the age of 65, November 8, 1674.

"And all amid them stood the tree of life, High eminent, blooming ambrosial fruit Of vegetable gold; and next to life Our death the tree of knowledge grew fast by, Knowledge of good bought dear by knowing ill." ~John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book IV

Works by John Milton

• "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," 1629
• "L'Allegro," c. 1631
• "Il Penseroso," c. 1631
• Comus, 1634
• Lycidas, 1637
• Areopagitica, 1644
• Poems, 1645
• Paradise Lost, 1667
• Paradise Regained, 1671
• Samson Agonistes, 1671

Sources:

• Goring, Rosemary, Ed. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994.
• McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers / Harrap Publishers, 2002.
• Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
• Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.

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John Milton, English Poet and Essayist