John Milton
(c. 1608-c. 1674)
John Milton was born on December 9 in London, England to a middle-class family. Milton’s father was banished from his home by his father for reading protestant books in a very Roman Catholic home. Milton too was very religious growing up, inspired to become a priest. He attended Christ’s School in Cambridge. His time spent in school was not pleasant. Being made fun of and called names was a common occurrence for his different skin complexion and odd manners he developed from his home growing up. Originally he planned to become a priest but instead, after school he went home for 6 years where he began to look into different languages and styles of writing. Also during his time at home he wrote a few of his well-known works such as “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity” and “On Shakespeare”. May of 1638 Milton began a 13 month journey to France and Italy. He eventually returned with his wife, Mary Powell, who bore him three daughters. During the civil war, Milton supported Oliver Cromwell in the cause of Puritans. During this he wrote pamphlets about radical politics. After the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Milton was arrested as a defender of the Commonwealth. When he was released he decided to live in seclusion which is where he wrote his most famous work, the epic poem “Paradise Lost” in 1667. Milton started to have more health issues as time went on and eventually passed away on November 8, 1674.
Interesting Facts
- John Milton is credited for inventing the word “pandemonium” (original meaning is “all demons” but today we use it mostly as an adjective for chaos or craziness)
- While Milton was on his journey to France and Italy, he met the famous astronomer, Galileo, the inventor of the telescope.
- In 1652, Milton’s eye sight had completely diminished. So when he was writing “Paradise Lost,” he was completely blind.
Works Cited
“John Milton.” Poets.org, Academy of American Poets, 30 Dec. 2014, www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/john-milton.
Milton, John. “On Shakespeare. 1630 by John Milton.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46453/on-shakespeare-1630.
Labriola, Albert C. “John Milton.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/John-Milton.
On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity: Text, www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/nativity/text.shtml.
“John Milton.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 5 Oct. 2016, www.biography.com/people/john-milton-9409395.
“John Milton.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-milton.
“Five Fascinating Facts about John Milton.” Interesting Literature, 11 May 2017, interestingliterature.com/2016/12/23/five-fascinating-facts-about-john-milton/.
“Little Known Facts About John Milton.” 100 Classics Challenge, 22 Aug. 2013, classicbookreader.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/little-known-facts-about-john-milton/.