JOHN MILTON

(16081674)
The great poet of the English Bourgeois Revolution John Milton was born in London on December
9, !"#$ The famil% had descended from English %eomen, the class that was to be the motive force during
the Revolution$ &et the% were not poor, Milton's father had received an education and was a prosperous
scrivener (a cler) who copied documents* in London$ +e was a great lover of music and also a composer
of the time$ The mother of the poet is said to have been ,a woman of incomparable virtue and goodness,$
Milton's childhood was ver% different from that of other children of his time$ +e was little interested
in games and outdoor amusements$ +is father too) care of his earl% education$ John learned to love music
and boo)s- he read and studied so intensel% that at the age of twelve he had alread% formed the habit of
wor)ing until midnight$
.t first Milton attended /t$ 0aul's school$ +is progress in ever% department of )nowledge was ver%
rapid, and at the age of ! he went to the 1niversit% of 2ambridge$ +e obtained his ,Bachelor, degree in
!39, and his ,Master of .rts, in !43$ 5n graduating Milton was as)ed to remain at the 1niversit% as an
instructor, but he refused because this meant he would have to ta)e +ol% 5rders (to become a clerg%man
of the 2hurch of England*$ +e left the 1niversit% and retired to his father's countr% place, +orton, in
Buc)inghamshire$ There he gave himself up to stud% and poetr%$
Man% of Milton's poems were written at +orton$ The% form the first period in his creative wor)$
Milton had long wished to complete his education b% travelling, as was the custom of the time$ +e
longed to visit 6tal%$ The death of his mother in !47 seems to have removed the strongest famil% tie he
had$ +aving obtained his father's consent, Milton left England for a European tour$ +e visited 0aris and
the cities of 8ice, 9enoa :'Genouq; and <lorence :'fOrqns;$ The latter won his enthusiastic
admiration- the cit% itself and the language fascinated him$ The man% interesting men of literature that he
met there, gave him much opportunit% to satisf% his thirst for )nowledge$ <rom <lorence he went to Rome
which produced a great impression upon him b% its monuments of the past$ Milton )new the 6talian
language to perfection$ +e spent much time in the librar% of the =atican :'vxtIkqn;$ 6n 6tal%, he visited
and tal)ed with the great 9alileo :"gxlI'leIou; who was no longer a prisoner in the 6n>uisition, but was
still watched b% 2atholic churchmen$ Milton succeeded in getting into the house where 9alileo was )ept$
+is meeting with the great Mart%r of science is mentioned in ,0aradise Lost, and in an article about the
freedom of the press$ .fter visiting 8aples he wanted to go to /icil% :'sIsIlI;, but news of the state of
affairs in England made him change his mind$ Milton considered it wrong to be travelling abroad for
personal en?o%ment while his countr%men were fighting for freedom$ +e returned to England in !49, ?ust
when the struggle between the )ing and the 0uritan bourgeoisie began$ <or some time Milton had to do
educational wor), and the result of his educational e@perience was a treatise

on education$
.t the age of 4A, Milton married Mar% 0owell :'pauql;$ the daughter of a wealth% ro%alist$ The
union proved unhapp%$ /he was a %oung and frivolous girl, little fitted to be the companion of such a
serious man$ The% had onl% been married a month, when the %oung bride sought permission to visit her
parents and did not return$ +er relatives had agreed to her marriage with the Bealous republican when
their part% seemed to be losing power, and apparentl% repented it when a temporar% success of the
Ro%alists revived their hopes$
Milton did not see his wife for four %ears$ During this time he reflected much on marriage and
divorce$ .s a result, a treatise on divorce appeared, in which, with no mention of his personal drama,
Milton regarded marriage and divorce as a social problem$ .n une@pected turn in the political situation of
the countr% brought about the reconciliation of the couple and Mar% returned$
Milton )ept a )een e%e on the public affairs of the time$ The %ears between !A" and !!" were the
period of his militant revolutionar% ?ournalism$ +is views on civil and religious libert% served the
revolutionar% part%, and Milton became the most prominent publicist of the 6ndependents$
Chen a Republican 9overnment was established in the %ear !A9, Milton was appointed Latin
/ecretar% of the 2ouncil of /tate$ The wor) consisted chiefl% of translating into Latin and from Latin
diplomatic government papers$ This was the time when man% Ro%alists went abroad and hired writers to
write against revolutionar% England$ 8ow came the tr%ing times when the 0uritan 9overnment had to
defend the Republic$ The first men of the 0uritan Revolution turned to Milton for help$ Milton did not

treatise :'trJtIz; D a literar% wor) dealing carefull% with a particular sub?ect

belong to an% of the 0uritan sects, but he agreed to write for the cause of the Revolution with heart and
soul, because he hated t%rann%$ 6n his e@cellent pamphletsE ,The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates,
(,tenure, means here ,right,*, ,Defence of the People of England, and the ,Image Breaker,
(imageFicon*, D Milton made Europe understand that the Revolution was not ?ust a great rebellion, as
the Ro%alists insisted, but that it was the onl% force which could give the people rights and freedom$ The
e@ecution of the )ing, he said, should not be regarded as the bloodshed of a cruel people, but as the onl%
means b% which the people could free themselves from the monarch%- and that the )ing was not a mart%r
but the worst of reactionaries in the cause of libert%$
Milton had had poor e%esight even as a child, and now his doctors warned him that unless he
stopped reading and writing entirel%, he would lose his sight$ To this Milton replied that he had alread%
sacrificed his poetr% and was willing to sacrifice his e%es, too, for the libert% of his people$ +e lost his
e%esight in !G3$ 6n the same %ear Milton's wife died in childHbirth$ Milton was left with three %oung
daughters$ <our %ears later he married 2atharine Coodcoc), the daughter of a republican, but their
happiness was not for long$ /he died within a %ear of their marriage$
During the %ears of his wor) as Latin /ecretar% and ?ournalist, Milton wrote onl% a few sonnets$
5ne of these sonnets was ,To the Lord General Cromwell,$
The death of 2romwell in !!" was followed b% the restoration of the monarch%$ The son of the
e@ecuted )ing, 2harles 66, was made Iing of England$ Cith the restoration of the monarch% Milton was
discharged from his office$ The wor) of all his lifetime was destro%ed$ .ll his famous pamphlets were
burnt b% the common hangmen$ But the poet's militant spirit was not crushed$ +e and his famil% moved to
a small house not far from London, and Milton again began to write poetr%$
The %ears of Milton's retirement became the third period in his literar% wor)$ During this period he
created wor)s that made him one of the greatest poets of England$ These were ,Paradise Lost, and
,Paradise egained,$ Milton's daughters could have been a comfort to him in his old age, but he found
his greatest sorrow in that his two eldest daughters refused to help him in his wor)$ 5nl% his %oungest
daughter Deborah was willing to read Latin boo)s to her blind father$ Cith the help of a few lo%al friends
Milton completed ,Paradise Lost, b% !!4$
Chen Milton's fame reached the 2ourt of 2harles 66, the brother of the )ing, Du)e James, desired to
see ,5ld Milton,$ James paid a visit to the blind poet$ The du)e as)ed Milton whether he did not regard
the loss of his e%esight as a ?udgement sent to him b% 9od for what he had written against the late )ing
(2harles 6*,$ Milton repliedE ,6f %our +ighness thin)s that the calamities which befall us here are
indications of the wrath of +eaven, in what manner are we to account for the fate of the )ing, %our fatherJ
The displeasure of +eaven must, upon this supposition, have been much greater against him than me, for
6 have onl% lost m% e%es, but he lost his head$,
Milton's third wife was EliBabeth Minshel$ /he was not ver% well educated but she willingl% wrote
for her blind husband, and he dictated his last great wor)s to her$ Milton died on 8ovember #, !7A, and
was buried in London$ Man% %ears afterwards a monument was erected to his memor% in Cestminster
.bbe%$
Milton's wor)s form a bridge between the poetr% of the Renaissance and the poetr% of the classicists
of a later period$ Milton was attracted b% the poetr% of ancient m%tholog% and drama because of the free
thought there e@pressed$ .lthough poetr% and drama were prohibited b% the 0uritans because it was the
amusement of the 2ourt, he nevertheless was a champion on the side of the 0uritans in so far as social and
religious problems were concerned, because he thought that onl% a republican government could provide
a foundation for freedom$
Milton's wor)s are characteriBed b% their dualit% (which means that two independent views go
together*$ +e chose his themes from the Bible, but in his epic poems the% became revolutionar% in spirit$
"PARADISE LOST"
,Paradise Lost, was written at the time when the bourgeois revolution had ended unsuccessfull%,
but the powerful voice of the poet declared that the spirit of the revolution was not bro)en, that it still
lived in the hearts of the people$ 6n his ,Paradise Lost, Milton shows revolt$ Being a puritan, Milton
wanted to portra% 9od as an almight% embodiment of Justice, and /atan as the villain, %et /atan becomes
the hero in this great wor)$
,Paradise Lost, is an epic poem written in 3 ,boo)s,$ The place of action is the universe$ The
characters areE /atan and his rebelHangels, 9od the .lmight%, three guardian angels D Raphael, 9abriel
and Michael, and the first man and woman D .dam and Eve$ The revolutionar% spirit is shown in /atan,
who revolts against 9od, draws to his side man% rebelHangels and is driven out of +eaven$ Down into
+ell the% fall$ But /atan is not to be overcome$ +e hates 9od who rules the universe autocraticall%E
+igh on a throne of ro%al state,
/ole
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reigning, holds the t%rann% of +eaven$
The ver% word ,t%rann%, ma)es 9od a despot and repulsive to the free mind$ Though banished from
+eaven, /atan is glad to have pained freedom$ +e possesses humane >ualities$ +e pities the rebelHangels
who have lost heavenl% life for his sa)e$ +e is determined to go on with the war against 9od$
.dam and Eve are allowed b% 9od to live in 0aradise, in the 9arden of Eden, as long as the% do not
eat the fruit that grows on the Tree of the Inowledge of good and evil$ /atan, who has been driven from
the 9arden of Eden b% the guardian angels, comes bac) at night as a mist, and then assumes the form of a
serpent$ 8e@t morning, while .dam and Eve wor) in different parts of the 9arden, the serpent rolls
towards Eve and persuades her to eat an apple from the Tree of Inowledge$ Eve eats an apple from the
forbidden tree and pluc)s another for .dam$ .s a punishment for the sin the% have committed, 9od the
.lmight% banishes them from 0aradise to the newl%Hcreated world, where the% are to face a life of toil
and woe$ The angel Michael leads them out of 0aradise, waving his fier% sword behind them$ <rom a hill,
before parting, Michael shows .dam a picture of the t%rann% and lawlessness which are to befall
man)ind$
Milton's s%mpathies are with .dam and Eve, and this shows his faith in man$ +is .dam and Eve are
full of energ%$ The% love each other and are read% to meet whatever the earth has in store for them rather
than part$
!dam to E"e#
5, fairest of creation, last and best
5f all 9od's wor)s, creature in whom e@celled
Chatever can to sight or thought be formed
4
,
+ol%, divine, amiable or sweet,
+ow can 6 live without thee, how forego
A
Th% sweet converse and love so dearl% ?o%edJ
Chen the% are driven out of Eden, Eve sa%s to .damE
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ but now lead on-
6n me is no dela%- with thee to go
6s to sta% here- without thee to sta%
6s to go hence
G
unwillingl%- thou to me
.rt all things under heaven, all place, thou
Cho for m% wilful crime art banished hence$
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
The revolutionar% poets of the 9th centur% said that in ,Paradise Lost, Milton refused to accept the
conventional BibleHstor%$ .dam and Eve are Man and Coman D the finest of all earthl%Hcreatures$
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sole D alone, autocraticall%
4
in whom ever%thing that can be seen or imagined is better than in others (to e@cel D to surpass others in >ualit%*
A
how (can 6* forego D how (can 6* do without, how (can 6* go on without
G
hence D from here