John Milton

*Wanted to be a great poet. *Greatly indulged by parents and studied and travelled instead of working.

In the struggle between King Charles and Parliament, Milton joined the ‘paper’ war to support Parliament. He served under Oliver Cromwell after the ParliamentaryParty won the civil wars and King Charles was executed.

Was stripped of his possessions and arrested as a traitor when the English crowned King Charles II.

He was totally blind by the age of forty-four.

Milton thought the Bible alone contained everything people needed to know for the practice of true religion.

Best of Both Worlds… §Work embodies the traditions of both the Renaissance AND the Reformation. §Wanted to create an epic poem to match Virgil or Homer. §Decided that a fit topic for an English epic was the Biblical story of the fall of Satan which, ironically, is not actually IN the Bible.

Lit as Political Commentary §When the hated monarchy had been restored, Milton dictated his poem about the fall from Eden and the promise of a redeemer who would restore the human race to its rightful heritage.

Milton’s greatest work, his epic Paradise Lost, is based on Genesis and his most prominent character is Satan. Poet addresses audience as if he is an Old Testament prophet, reminding the nation of the path from which it has strayed.

New Word: Pandemonium §Pan is Greek for all §In Latin, daemonium means demons §Milton created this word to name Satan’s capitol city

Lasting Influence §Work had a strong influence on subsequent literature. §A Romantic poet, Wordsworth, despairing of the state of England in 1802 writes, “Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour / England hath need of thee.”