John Milton
Born in City, LondonBorn on 9th of December 1608
Died in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
Died on 8th of November 1674
Quotes from John Milton
'Who overcomes by force, hath o'... More
Author of the epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton is acknowledged as one of the greatest English poets. His rounded view of Satan led Blake to write Milton was: "a true Poet, and of the Devil's party without knowing it."
John Milton was born on Cheapside, London, December 9 1608. Aged 17 Milton entered Christ College, Cambridge where he studied and wrote in Latin, Greek, French and Italian while also assiduously acquiring an “insight into all seemly and generous arts and affairs.” By the end of his university education Milton had abandoned his intention to become a priest and had begun writing seriously, culminating in his first published poem - a sonnet on William Shakespeare (1632).
During the late 1630s Milton reputedly met Galileo while travelling through France and Italy and his conversation with the great scientist is recorded in Areopagitica (1644). A Puritan and supporter of Oliver Cromwell, Milton was appointed his Secretary for Foreign Languages in 1649. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 Milton’s republican sympathies went against him and he was arrested and although released was much impoverished.
Milton’s blindness from 1651 did not to diminish his literary powers and may well have stimulated his cosmic vision expressed in Paradise Lost. The fact that Milton composed the verses in his head and then dictated them from memory makes his achievement even more impressive. Paradise Lost was finally published to great acclaim in 1667, followed by Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes in 1671.
Married three times during his life John Milton died of gout November 8, 1674. There is a monument to him in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey.
Buried here
Married here
Married for the second time here
Paradise Lost was printed here
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