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Lecture_Milton.pptxJohn Milton
Life
John Milton was born in 1608 in London.
His family was Protestant, though his father was a recent convert from a family of Catholics.
Milton received tutoring as a child, and matriculated at Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1625, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 1629.
Milton received his Master’s degree in 1632, and then spent several years individually studying, writing, and traveling.
Upon his return to England in 1639, Milton took up the Puritan and Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War, writing pamphlets in support.
He was married in 1642 to 16-year old Mary Powell, who stayed with her family for most of the first three years of their marriage. It is telling that Milton wrote several pro-divorce tracts during this period.
Due to his consistent support of the Parliamentary cause through his writings, Milton was appointed Secretary of Foreign Tongues in 1649.
In this role he produced a great deal of propaganda on behalf of Cromwell, the ruler of England after the execution of Charles I, including a defense of regicide and a defense of popular rule.
During this time Milton was going blind, and was completely blind by 1654.
The death of Cromwell in 1658 meant a fall from favor for Milton.
He went into hiding as old political factions vied for power, and a warrant was issued for his arrest upon the Restoration of 1660.
After a pardon was issued, Milton was still briefly imprisoned.
After his wife Mary’s death in 1652, Milton married two more times.
He continued writing political tracts for the rest of his life, and he died from an illness in 1674.
The English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642-1651) was a long series of conflicts fought over monarchical authority and religion in England.
It pitted the Royalists (loyal to the monarch, Charles I, and later Charles II) against the Parliamentarians (those who supported a popular government).
John Milton was a Parliamentarian.
Leading the Parliamentarians was Oliver Cromwell.
Some of the central concerns of the Parliamentarians were Charles I’s disuse of Parliament (not calling it into session and usurping its powers), and Charles’s marriage to Catholic Henrietta-Maria, which caused English people to fear a return to Catholicism.
Ultimately, war broke out over the division of power; Parliament viewed the crown as attempting to seize all authority, and the crown viewed Parliament as usurping on the divine right of kings.
After 8 years of warring, Charles I was tried for treason by Parliament, and unprecedented process challenging absolute rule.
The king was found guilty, and beheaded publicly at Whitehall.
Charles’s son, Charles II, attempted to retake the throne in 1650 but was defeated.
For nearly a decade, Oliver Cromwell essentially ruled as Lord Protector, installing a more Puritan form of Protestantism and embracing the authority of a king.
Upon Cromwell’s death in 1658, the Parliamentarians dissolved into factions and anarchy broke out.
In 1660 Charles II returned to England from exile, promising a better rule and to unite the kingdom. He was crowned in 1661.
Charles II returned the country’s religion to its pre-Puritan doctrine, and he ruled until 1685.
Milton’s Writings
For most of his life, Milton wrote political tracts such as “On True Religion” (1673), “The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates” (1649), and “Of Reformation” (1641).
His later life was devoted more to poetry, including his most famous poetic works, “Samson Agonistes” (1671) and Paradise Lost (1667).
Paradise Lost is the poetic narrative of Satan’s fall from Heaven and his tempting of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Conclusions
John Milton was a radical reformer in England, both in terms of governmental authority and religion.
He also survived a great deal of hardship in his life, including post-war persecution and blindness.
His copious writings demonstrate a great deal of resolve and conviction, and in that way portray a strong sense of identity.
With Milton’s poetic works, we get a different point of access into his identity, and that is part of what makes Paradise Lost so interesting. It is a unique take on the biblical story through the eyes of a seventeenth-century revolutionary.
