Milton09

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John Milton was arguably one of the most prolific writers of his time. Milton wrote Paradise Lost, which is one of the greatest epic poems ever written. He also composed eloquent sonnents in the Petrarch style. "Came all in white, pure as her mind: her face was vail'd, yet to my fancied sight, l ove, sweetness, goodness, in her person shin'd so clear, as in no face with more delight." This passage from Milton's //Sonnet XIX// truly exemplifies the magnificent beauty present in his writing. The image sculpted by Milton's words is pristine. The aura of the woman is blindingly pure and bright.

Milton was born in 1608 to a prosperous money lender. His father, also named John played a big role in the writer that he became. The father of the future poet highly valued his son's education. At a young age Milton was taught by private tutors and was enrolled at St. Paul's School at age twelve. While there he was educated in Latin and Greek which helped him to become proficient in Italian, a language in which many of Milton's sonnets were written. He recieved religious influence from Thomas Young and the dean of St. Paul's cathedral, John Donne. These two figures helped shape his distinctive religious beliefs that frequently influenced his works. Milton also attended Christ's College in Cambridge. It was there that he wrote poetry in both Latin and English and published "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity."

While at Christ's College Milton had his sights set on becoming an Anglican priest. When he graduated he decided that he did not want to become a minister because of his disapproval of the increasing ritualism in the Church of England. Instead, he decided that he would write for a living. Milton, who now knew that to be successful he had to write exceptionally, decided to devote himself to his studies. He moved to his father's dwelling in Horton so he could focus on nothing but becoming the best writer he could be. While living with his father, Milton wrote the masque //Camos// and the song "Lycidas," considered to be two of his greatest poems. "Lycidas" was an elegy on the death of his friend Edward King.

Milton was outspoken, sometimes even blatant, in his opinions of the Church of England. He openly professed his desire for the abolition of the Church and even proposed the execution of King Charles I. Milton opposed tyranny and state-sanctioned religion, characteristics that the Church of England were proud of. He was so ruthless in criticizing the Church that he was considered a heretic and a warrant was put out for his arrest. Milton wrote of Scripture as a guide for faith and he valued liberty of conscience in a religion. In other words, he thought religion should be based on reading Scripture and the free choice to do right and wrong.

In 1674 John Milton died of kidney failure in Burnhill, London. He was blind for the last years of his life, but continued to publish literature through secretaries who wrote for him. He never wavered in his support for the Commonwealth. Milton will always be remembered for his works in literature, but should also be known for his strong opinions and controversial beliefs.

__John Milton- Notes__
 * born in 1608 in London
 * he was a poet
 * famous poems written by milton include //L'Allegro, II Penseroso, Comus, Lycidas, and Areopagitica// (History Study Center)
 * most famous poem: Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained; two epics about the fall of man (History Study Center)
 * challenged the church and a warrant was put out for his arrest (s9.com)
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 * ** "Milton's ** delight was to sport in the wide regions of possibility; reality was a scene too narrow for his mind." Samuel Johnson (HSC)
 * died in 1674 of kidney failure in Bunhill, London
 * in preparation for becoming an Anglican priest, stayed on to obtain his Master of Arts cum laude on the 3rd of July 1632 (s9.com)
 * married sixteen year old, Mary Powell in 1642; she left him after a month (s9.com)
 * after his wife left him he wrote pamphlets on the morality of divorce if the spouses are not compatible in 1643-1645 (infoplease.com)
 * in 1652 Milton published his Latin defense of the English People, Pro Populo Anglicano Defensio, also known as the First Defense (s9.com)
 * urged a reform in the national universities through his writing (s9.com)
 * he was an ameteur musician (Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance)
 * condemned censorship in Areopagitica
 * One can situate both Milton's poetry and his politics historically. The phases of his life closely parallel major historical divisions of [|Stuart] Britain. Under the increasingly personal rule of [|Charles I] and its breakdown in constitutional confusion and war, Milton studied hard, travelled, wrote poetry mostly for private circulation, and launched a career as pamphleteer and publicist; a more detailed treatment can be found at [|John Milton's early life]. Under the [|Commonwealth of England], from being thought dangerously radical and even heretical, the shift in accepted attitudes in government placed him in responsible public office, and he was acting as an official spokesman in certain of his publications. The [|Restoration] of 1660 deprived Milton, now completely blind, of his public platform, but this period saw him complete most of his major works of poetry.
 * In his prose works Milton advocated the abolition of the Church of England and the execution of King [|Charles I]. (biography.com)
 * strongly opposed tyranny and state-sanctioned religion (biography.com)
 * wrote about English Civil wars in 1642 (biography.com)
 * in terms of religion, he valued liberty of conscience, the main goal of Scripture as a guide for faith
 * worked as a civil servent
 * became voice of the English Commonwealth while he was a civil servent after 1649 through his handling of its international correspondence and his defense of the government against controversial attacks attacks from abroad
 * his father worked as a money lender
 * enrolled by his father at St. Paul in 1620
 * Milton was privately tutored by Thomas Young, a Scottish Presbyterian who may have influenced his gifted student in religion and politics while they maintained contact across subsequent decades
 * At St. Paul's Milton befriended Charles Diodati, a fellow student who would become his confidant through young adulthood
 * listened to sermons by the dean of St. Paul's cathedral, poet John Donne
 * Educated in Latin and Greek at St. Paul's, Milton in due course acquired proficiency in other languages, especially Italian, in which he composed some sonnets and which he spoke as proficiently as a native Italian
 * late in Milton's career, he became completely blind (infoplease.com)
 * carried on his work through secretaries such as Andrew Marvell
 * He married Catharine Woodcock in 1656, and she died two years later. She is the subject of one of his most famous sonnets, beginning, “Methought I saw my late espoused saint.”
 * Milton supported the Commonweatlh until he was dead
 * After the Restoration (1660) he was forced into hiding for a time, and some of his books were burned
 * also educated at Christs College, Cambridge
 * While Milton was at Cambridge he wrote poetry in both Latin and English, including the ode “On the Morning of Christ's Nativity” (1629).
 * His dislike of the increasing ritualism in the Church of England was the reason he later gave for not fulfilling his plans to become a minister
 * After he decided to become a poet, Milton retired to his father's estate at Horton after leaving Cambridge and devoted himself to his studies. There he wrote the masque //Comus// (1634) and “Lycidas” (1638), one of his greatest poems, an elegy on the death of his friend Edward King
 * met Galileo while in Italy during the late 1630s
 * in his attack of the episcopal church government, Milton wrote //Of Reformation in England// (1641) and //The Reason of Church Government Urged against Prelaty// (1642)
 * wrote pamphlets that secured Milton a position in Oliver [|Cromwell]'s government as Latin secretary for foreign affairs, and he continued to defend Cromwell and the Commonwealth government in his //Eikonoklastes//
 * Milton also wrote 18 sonnets in English and 5 in Italian, which generally follow the Petrarchan style and are accepted as among the greatest ever written
 * in 1640 Milton lived in London and began take in pupils
 * Milton's first song written with some experience was //Lycidas//

John Milton. (2009). //History Study Center// [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.historystudycenter.com/search/displayMultiResultReferenceItem.do?Multi=yes&ResultsID=1231F132DC2&fromPage=search&ItemNumber=1&QueryName=reference
 * References

John Milton Biography. (n.d.). //Biography.com// [Biography]. Retrieved from http:/www.biography.com/articles/John-Milton-9409395

Milton, John. (n.d.). //s9.com: Biographical dictionary// [Fact Sheet]. Retrieved from http://www.s9.com/Biography/Milton-John

Milton, John. (2007). //Infoplease// [Online Encyclopedia]. Retrieved from Columbia University Press website: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0833252.html Spender, S., & Hall, D. (Eds.). (1963). //The concise encyclopedia of english and american poets and poetry//. New York, New York: Hawthorn Books Inc.