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1. Milton's Life and Work John Milton was born into a family with a history of religious controversy. His father, John Milton, Sr., had been kicked out of his own father's house after converting to Protestantism, and John, Jr. would, in his turn, support civil and religious reform in England. The senior Milton was a scrivener, a combination of notary public and moneylender. He was also a musician, and he instilled his love of the arts in his son. Young Milton received his early education at St. Paul's School in London, and was privately tutored by Thomas Young, a radical clergyman who became an important friend and mentor. Among his academic achievements, Milton mastered several languages, including Latin, Greek, Italian, and Hebrew. Milton attended Christ's Church College at Cambridge University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1629. In that same year, he wrote his first major poem, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." Milton remained at Cambridge until 1632, eventually receiving a Master of Arts degree. He then spent six years at Horton, a country house owned by his father, continuing his studies and accruing the fund of knowledge that served him well in his later political and poetic careers. Touring Europe in 1638, Milton traveled through France, Italy, and other continental locations. He cut his tour short, as he says in his 1654 tract The Second Defense of the English People, because of "the melancholy intelligence which [he] received of the civil commotions in England," which made him think it "base to be traveling for amusement abroad, while my fellow-citizens were fighting for liberty at home." The commotion referred to here was the early manifestation of what would become the English Civil War. By the time Milton had returned to England in 1638, it had already begun. Working as a tutor, Milton eventually entered the contemporary debate over the proper form of church government. His tracts Of Reformation, The Reason of Church Government, and An Apology Against a Pamphlet launched Milton's public career. In them, he argued against a church government based on bishops, and, generally, for a less Catholic form of church organization. Milton's personal life had its ups and downs. He married three times. His first wife, Mary Powell, was the daughter of a staunch Royalist whose politics were in direct opposition to Milton's own. The young Mrs. Milton was only about half her husband's age and used to a boisterous, active household, whereas Milton's home was a quiet place devoted to the kind of study he had made a lifetime's habit. Very soon after her marriage in 1643, Mrs. Milton left her new husband to see her family; she refused to return from her visit. In response to his young wife's recalcitrance, Milton wrote four tracts arguing for the right of divorce, a position so radical in his day that he was vilified by the very clergymen whose side he had so energetically supported in earlier church government debates. These pamphlets earned Milton the reputation of a libertine. Finally reconciled in 1645, the Miltons had four children, one of whom, the only son, died in infancy. Mrs. Milton died in 1652 while giving birth to their third daughter. In 1656, Milton married Katherine Woodcock, who, fifteen months later, also died in childbirth. His third wife, Elizabeth Minshull, whom Milton married in 1663, remained with and cared for Milton until his death eleven years later. Milton's first book of poetry was published in 1645. The volume included "A Masque . . . Presented at Ludlow Castle" (often referred to as "Comus"), "Lycidas," and the companion pieces "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso." During the next fifteen years, however, Milton wrote very little poetry, as his time was consumed by political matters. He served as Latin Secretary to the Council of State in the government of Oliver Cromwell, who had replaced the deposed (and beheaded) King Charles I. In this position, Milton undertook all foreign correspondence and a good deal of international propaganda for the Cromwell regime. Milton's eloquent defense of the Commonwealth against Royalist accusations earned him international fame. He was so essential to the government that an effort to resign, due to increasing blindness, was refused; Milton continued to serve the Commonwealth until it was dissolved. The monarchy was reinstated with the return of Charles II in 1660. Some weeks before the Restoration began, Milton had published The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, a move that put him in jeopardy. He went into hiding and, after intervention from powerful friends, and perhaps due to the desire of the new monarch to avoid making a martyr of an author now internationally famous, Milton was pardoned. He spent the remainder of his life writing the poetry for which he is remembered. 2. Paradise Lost Book I. The poet, invoking the "Heav'nly Muse", states his theme, the Fall of Man through disobedience, and his aim, which is no less than to "justifie the wayes of God to men". He then presents the defeated archangel Satan, with Beelzebub, his second-in-command, and his rebellious angels, lying on the burning lake of hell. Satan awakens his legions, rouses their spirits, and summons a council. The palace of Satan, Pandemonium, is built. Book II. The council debates whether another battle for the recovery of Heaven be hazarded. Satan undertakes to visit it alone, and passes through Hell-gates, guarded by Sin and Death, and passes upward through the realm of Chaos. Book III. Milton invokes celestial light to illumine the "ever-during dark" of his own blindness, then describes God, who sees Satan's flight towards our world, and foretells his success and the fall and punishment of man. The Son of God offers himself as a ransom, is accepted, and exalted as the Saviour. Satan alights on the outer convex of our universe, "a Limbo large and broad, since call'd | The Paradise of Fools". He finds the stairs leading up to Heaven, descends to the Sun, disguises himself as "a stripling Cherube", and in this shape is directed to Earth by Uriel, where he alights on Mount Niphates in Armenia. Book IV. Satan journeys on towards the Garden of Eden, where he first sees Adam and Eve "in naked Majestie", and overhears their discourse about the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. He resolves to tempt them to disobey the prohibition but is discovered by the guardian angels and expelled from the garden by their commander, Gabriel. Book V. Eve relates to Adam the disquieting dream of temptation which Satan had inspired. Raphael, sent by God, comes to Paradise, warns Adam, and enjoins obedience. Raphael, at Adam's request, relates how Satan, inspired by hatred and envy of the newly anointed Messiah, inspired his legions to revolt. Book VI. Raphael continues his narrative, telling how Michael and Gabriel were sent to fight against Satan. After indecisive battles the Son of God himself, alone, attacked the hosts of Satan, and, driving them to the verge of Heaven, forced them to leap down through Chaos into the deep. Book VII. Raphael gives an account of God's decision to send his Son to create another world from the vast abyss. He describes the six days of creation, ending with the creation of man. Book VIII. Adam inquires concerning the motions of the heavenly bodies, and is answered "doubtfully". Adam relates what he remembers since his own creation and with Raphael talks of the relations between the sexes, then, with a final warning to "take heed least Passion sway | Thy Judgment", Raphael departs. Book IX. Milton describes Satan's entry into the body of the serpent, in which form he finds Eve, she having insisted, despite Adam's warnings, on pursuing her labours alone. He persuades her to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. Eve relates to Adam what has passed and brings him of the fruit. Adam, recognizing that she is doomed, resolves to perish with her and eats the fruit, and after initial intoxication in their lost innocence, they cover their nakedness and fall to mutual accusation. Book X. God sends his Son to judge the transgressors and he pronounces his sentence. Sin and Death resolve to come to this world, and make a broad highway thither from Hell. Satan returns to Hell and announces his victory, whereupon he and his angels are temporarily transformed into serpents. Adam at first reproaches Eve, but then, reconciled, they together resolve to seek mercy from the Son of God. Book XI. The Son of God, seeing their penitence, intercedes. God decrees that they must leave Paradise, and sends down Michael to carry out his command. Eve laments; Adam pleads not to be banished but Michael reassures him that God is omnipresent, then unfolds to him the future, revealing to him the consequences of his original sin in the death of Abel and the future miseries of mankind, ending with the Flood and the new Covenant. Book XII. Michael relates the subsequent history of the Old Testament, then describes the coming of the Messiah, his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, which leads Adam to rejoice over so much good sprung from his own sin. Michael also foretells the corrupt state of the Church until the Second Coming. Resolved on obedience and submission, and assured that they may possess "a Paradise within", they are led out of the Garden. |
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1. Milton's Life and Work John Milton was born into a family with a history of religious controversy. His father, John Milton, Sr., had been kicked out of his own father's house after converting to Protestantism, and John, Jr. would, in his turn, support civil and religious reform in England. The senior Milton was a scrivener, a combination of notary public and moneylender. He was also a musician, and he instilled his love of the arts in his son. Young Milton received his early education at St. Paul's School in London, and was privately tutored by Thomas Young, a radical clergyman who became an important friend and mentor. Among his academic achievements, Milton mastered several languages, including Latin, Greek, Italian, and Hebrew. Milton attended Christ's Church College at Cambridge University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1629. In that same year, he wrote his first major poem, "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity." Milton remained at Cambridge until 1632, eventually receiving a Master of Arts degree. He then spent six years at Horton, a country house owned by his father, continuing his studies and accruing the fund of knowledge that served him well in his later political and poetic careers. Touring Europe in 1638, Milton traveled through France, Italy, and other continental locations. He cut his tour short, as he says in his 1654 tract The Second Defense of the English People, because of "the melancholy intelligence which [he] received of the civil commotions in England," which made him think it "base to be traveling for amusement abroad, while my fellow-citizens were fighting for liberty at home." The commotion referred to here was the early manifestation of what would become the English Civil War. By the time Milton had returned to England in 1638, it had already begun. Working as a tutor, Milton eventually entered the contemporary debate over the proper form of church government. His tracts Of Reformation, The Reason of Church Government, and An Apology Against a Pamphlet launched Milton's public career. In them, he argued against a church government based on bishops, and, generally, for a less Catholic form of church organization. Milton's personal life had its ups and downs. He married three times. His first wife, Mary Powell, was the daughter of a staunch Royalist whose politics were in direct opposition to Milton's own. The young Mrs. Milton was only about half her husband's age and used to a boisterous, active household, whereas Milton's home was a quiet place devoted to the kind of study he had made a lifetime's habit. Very soon after her marriage in 1643, Mrs. Milton left her new husband to see her family; she refused to return from her visit. In response to his young wife's recalcitrance, Milton wrote four tracts arguing for the right of divorce, a position so radical in his day that he was vilified by the very clergymen whose side he had so energetically supported in earlier church government debates. These pamphlets earned Milton the reputation of a libertine. Finally reconciled in 1645, the Miltons had four children, one of whom, the only son, died in infancy. Mrs. Milton died in 1652 while giving birth to their third daughter. In 1656, Milton married Katherine Woodcock, who, fifteen months later, also died in childbirth. His third wife, Elizabeth Minshull, whom Milton married in 1663, remained with and cared for Milton until his death eleven years later. Milton's first book of poetry was published in 1645. The volume included "A Masque . . . Presented at Ludlow Castle" (often referred to as "Comus"), "Lycidas," and the companion pieces "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso." During the next fifteen years, however, Milton wrote very little poetry, as his time was consumed by political matters. He served as Latin Secretary to the Council of State in the government of Oliver Cromwell, who had replaced the deposed (and beheaded) King Charles I. In this position, Milton undertook all foreign correspondence and a good deal of international propaganda for the Cromwell regime. Milton's eloquent defense of the Commonwealth against Royalist accusations earned him international fame. He was so essential to the government that an effort to resign, due to increasing blindness, was refused; Milton continued to serve the Commonwealth until it was dissolved. The monarchy was reinstated with the return of Charles II in 1660. Some weeks before the Restoration began, Milton had published The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, a move that put him in jeopardy. He went into hiding and, after intervention from powerful friends, and perhaps due to the desire of the new monarch to avoid making a martyr of an author now internationally famous, Milton was pardoned. He spent the remainder of his life writing the poetry for which he is remembered. 2. Paradise Lost Book I. The poet, invoking the "Heav'nly Muse", states his theme, the Fall of Man through disobedience, and his aim, which is no less than to "justifie the wayes of God to men". He then presents the defeated archangel Satan, with Beelzebub, his second-in-command, and his rebellious angels, lying on the burning lake of hell. Satan awakens his legions, rouses their spirits, and summons a council. The palace of Satan, Pandemonium, is built. Book II. The council debates whether another battle for the recovery of Heaven be hazarded. Satan undertakes to visit it alone, and passes through Hell-gates, guarded by Sin and Death, and passes upward through the realm of Chaos. Book III. Milton invokes celestial light to illumine the "ever-during dark" of his own blindness, then describes God, who sees Satan's flight towards our world, and foretells his success and the fall and punishment of man. The Son of God offers himself as a ransom, is accepted, and exalted as the Saviour. Satan alights on the outer convex of our universe, "a Limbo large and broad, since call'd | The Paradise of Fools". He finds the stairs leading up to Heaven, descends to the Sun, disguises himself as "a stripling Cherube", and in this shape is directed to Earth by Uriel, where he alights on Mount Niphates in Armenia. Book IV. Satan journeys on towards the Garden of Eden, where he first sees Adam and Eve "in naked Majestie", and overhears their discourse about the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. He resolves to tempt them to disobey the prohibition but is discovered by the guardian angels and expelled from the garden by their commander, Gabriel. Book V. Eve relates to Adam the disquieting dream of temptation which Satan had inspired. Raphael, sent by God, comes to Paradise, warns Adam, and enjoins obedience. Raphael, at Adam's request, relates how Satan, inspired by hatred and envy of the newly anointed Messiah, inspired his legions to revolt. Book VI. Raphael continues his narrative, telling how Michael and Gabriel were sent to fight against Satan. After indecisive battles the Son of God himself, alone, attacked the hosts of Satan, and, driving them to the verge of Heaven, forced them to leap down through Chaos into the deep. Book VII. Raphael gives an account of God's decision to send his Son to create another world from the vast abyss. He describes the six days of creation, ending with the creation of man. Book VIII. Adam inquires concerning the motions of the heavenly bodies, and is answered "doubtfully". Adam relates what he remembers since his own creation and with Raphael talks of the relations between the sexes, then, with a final warning to "take heed least Passion sway | Thy Judgment", Raphael departs. Book IX. Milton describes Satan's entry into the body of the serpent, in which form he finds Eve, she having insisted, despite Adam's warnings, on pursuing her labours alone. He persuades her to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. Eve relates to Adam what has passed and brings him of the fruit. Adam, recognizing that she is doomed, resolves to perish with her and eats the fruit, and after initial intoxication in their lost innocence, they cover their nakedness and fall to mutual accusation. Book X. God sends his Son to judge the transgressors and he pronounces his sentence. Sin and Death resolve to come to this world, and make a broad highway thither from Hell. Satan returns to Hell and announces his victory, whereupon he and his angels are temporarily transformed into serpents. Adam at first reproaches Eve, but then, reconciled, they together resolve to seek mercy from the Son of God. Book XI. The Son of God, seeing their penitence, intercedes. God decrees that they must leave Paradise, and sends down Michael to carry out his command. Eve laments; Adam pleads not to be banished but Michael reassures him that God is omnipresent, then unfolds to him the future, revealing to him the consequences of his original sin in the death of Abel and the future miseries of mankind, ending with the Flood and the new Covenant. Book XII. Michael relates the subsequent history of the Old Testament, then describes the coming of the Messiah, his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, which leads Adam to rejoice over so much good sprung from his own sin. Michael also foretells the corrupt state of the Church until the Second Coming. Resolved on obedience and submission, and assured that they may possess "a Paradise within", they are led out of the Garden.
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