2. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  Born December 9, 1608  1625, admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge  He was a hardworking student, but argumentative. Later in 1626, he was suspended after a dispute with his tutor, William Chappell.

3. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  At his return to Cambridge, he was assigned a new tutor, Nathaniel Tovey.  Life at Cambridge was not easy; he felt he was disliked by many of his fellow students and was dissatisfied with the curriculum.  1632, he had an M.A. cum laude from Cambridge, and after did years of private study and literary composition.

4. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  April 1637, he was nearing the end of his studies when his mother died.  A few months later, in August, his friend Edward King died by drowning.  As customary for young gentlemen of means, he set out for a tour of Europe in the spring of 1638  His trip was cut short due to rumors of a civil war in England, and returned home in July 1639.

5. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  In the spring of 1642, he married Mary Powell, 17 years old to his 34.  The relationship was an unhappy one, and Mary left him to visit her family at home and did not return.  He had made plans to remarry, when Mary returned.  The two reconciled, and their daughter Anne was born to 1646

6. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  The whole Powell clan moved in with the Milton’s.  1674, Milton’s father and father-in-law died.  Powell’s finally moved out, and their daughter Mary was born in 1648  Their first son, John, was born in March 1651

7. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  The year 1652, was one of many personal losses for Milton.  In February, he lost his sight.  In May, Mary gave birth to their third daughter, Deborah, and died a few days later.  In June, one year-old John died

8. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  1656, Milton married Katherine Woodcock, but the happiness was short lived.  His daughter Katherine was born in late 1657, but early 1658, both mother and daughter had passed away.

9. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  In 1663, Milton remarried again to Elizabeth Minshull, a match his daughter Mary opposed.  He spent his time tutoring students and finishing his life’s work, the epic, Paradise Lost.

10. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  Paradise Lost is among the greatest works ever to be written in English  The feat is all more remarkable because of Milton’s blindness  He would compose verse upon verse at night in his head, and then dictate them from memory to his aides in the morning  Paradise Lost was published in 1667, in 10 books. It was reissued in 1668 with a new title page and additional materials.

11. Life of John Milton (1608-1674)  In the summer 1674, the second edition of Paradise Lost was published in 12 books.  Milton died peacefully of gout in November, 1674  A monument to Milton rests in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey.

12. John Milton Monument, Westminster Abbey