John Milton was born on December 9, 1608 in England. He was born into a well off family. His grandfather was a rich landowner in Oxfordshire and his father was a successful scrivener. Brought up with strong religious faith, Milton’s grandfather disowned his father because his grandfather found an English Bible in his father’s possession.
Milton’s father encouraged Milton to write at a young age. In fact when Milton was only nine years old he had written some poetry. He attended the St. Paul’s School in London and then went to Christ’s College located in Cambridge. When Milton was at Cambridge he wrote many poems and received some recognition for his writing skills.
Milton was destined to become a minister. However, his independence had guided Milton onto another path. He was known while at school to have unusually long hair and known as a kind of rebel.
When Milton was 30 years old he toured the country. He met famous people like Galileo,Grotius and other but because of a threat of the English civil war, Milton returned home.
Once Milton returned home he concentrated on writing. He spent 1632 – 1642 in a small town near Windsor. He family had rented a home there and Milton stayed there and read and wrote. He wrote, “Arcaes”, “Comus” and “Lycidas” during this time. All of which reflect Milton’s strong religious faith.
Milton married Mary Powell when he was 34 years old. She was only 16 years old. One month after they married Powell took a trip home to visit her family and she never returned. For the next several years Milton spent writing and publishing a series of writings on the legality of divorce. The first writing was entitled, “The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce”.
Three years later Mary returned back to Milton. Her family was ejected from Oxford because they supported Charles I during the Civil Ware. Powell’s family moved in with Milton and his wife. Milton and Powell had four children; three daughters and a son. Powell died giving birth to their youngest daughter.
The death of his wife had caused Milton to go into a depression. His son had died at the age of 15 and it is unclear if any of his daughters made it into adulthood. Milton wrote a sonnet (his 23rd) after Powell died and it reflects the grief and pain that Milton suffered as a result of the loss.
Milton started writing prose work reflecting his religious beliefs. Some of his writings were unconventional for the times and were considered heresy. During this time he wrote several pieces that showed his disdain for the Church of England and the high-church party.
In 1644 he wrote a tract on Education, in which he discussed a reform of the school system including universities. Also in 1644 he wrote “Areopagitica, a Speech for the liberty of Unlicensed Printing”.
At the age of 48, Milton married once again. He married, Katherine Woodcock. She died two years later of complications after giving birth to their daughter who also ended up dying. Milton wrote “The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates in 1649 where he laid out his support of the Commonwealth. He became the Latin secretary. He continued to write as part of his duties and produced many fine writings. His great Latin style was great for producing state papers.
Milton’s strong religious convictions were brought out in his writings. One manuscript “De Doctrina Christiana” had been lost but had been found in 1823. Scholars poured over his work to try to discover what doctrines he believed and which ones he did not. They tried to compare this piece to his prior work “Artis Logicae” but because the manuscript was not completed they do not know what Milton would have deleted or modified.
If the “De Doctrina Christiana” did portray what Milton believed then we know that he did not prescribe to the accepted religious teaching taught of that day, but Milton had his own unique way of looking at the Trinity, predestination, baptism, marriage and Sunday observance.
Milton married Elizabeth Minshull when he was 55 years old. She cared for Milton and they were together until his death. Milton in his retirement, returned to poetry. He published “Paradise Lost” in 1667, which was successful. He was blind and had little money at the time and sold the copyright for 10 pounds. He then published “Paradise Regained”, and “Samson Agnistes” in 1671. The latter work was not all that well accepted.
Milton died on November 8, 1674. He left a legacy that provided care and guidance as well as religious literature for the deaf and blind. The John Milton Society for the Blind, which was founded by Helen Keller, was named after him.
