 Born in London in 1608 (7 ½ years before the death of Shakespeare)  Grandfather was a Roman Catholic who disowned Milton’s father when he became a Protestant  Educated at St. Paul’s school  Learned Latin, Greek, & Hebrew  Enrolled in Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1625  Father wanted him to be a lawyer; chose poetry instead

 Between 1641 & 1660 spent most of career writing pamphlets in support of the Puritan cause (The English Puritans were attempting to overthrow the English monarchy and the English church)  Never published De Doctrina Christiana (“On Christian Doctrine”)  Essentially Protestant theology, although Milton believed that the Father and the Son were not “co- equal” or “co-eternal,” but that the Son was created by God and therefore second greatest. Believers in this divergence from traditional Trinitarian doctrine are called “Arians.”

 Married Mary Powell, a royalist, in 1642  They were complete opposites  Months later she left him and returned to her family  In response, Milton wrote “On the Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce,” arguing that incompatibility was a sufficient reason to end a marriage.  Both Royalists and Puritans disagreed with this statement  In 1645, friends convinced the pair to reconcile  They had 3 daughters; Mary died in 1652.

 In 1644, published “Of Education,” which declared that to produce an enlightened society students must study the Bible, the classics (Latin and Greek epics), and science  Also wrote Areopagetica, which protested the Cromwell government’s board of Censorship for printed works  Milton began to recognize that the Protestant revolution was producing a culture that was equally as controlling as the Catholic one that proceeded it.

 In early 1649, after the beheading of King Charles I, Milton published “The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates”  Argued that power belonged to the people, who gave it to their government leaders and could take it back at any time if it was misused  Became Secretary for Foreign Languages in Cromwell’s Council of State  In this role, wrote pamphlets defending the Republic, the assassination of the King, and Cromwell’s rule.

 In 1660 the monarchy was restored; Milton had continued to write in support of the Puritan Republic even though it was clear King Charles II was to be reinstated.  Went blind while working under Cromwell; returned to writing poetry by dictating his lines to his daughters, who wrote them for him.  At this time composed Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes  Died November 8 th, 1674