John Milton

When he was 34 years old, John Milton married Mary Powell who was 17 years old in May 1642. She separated from him for some years because of his financial problems. They were united later and had four children named Anne, Mary, John and Deborah. Mary died in 1652 from complications during the birth of Deborah.

After his first wife’s death he married Katherine Woodcock in 1656 who also died two years later while giving birth to a daughter who also died.

He became completely blind in 1652 after losing his eyesight gradually over a few years.

John Milton was born in Cheapside in London, United Kingdom, on December 9, 1608. His father John Milton Sr. was a scrivener who prepared wills and deeds for others and his mother was Sarah Jeffrey, the daughter of a wealthy merchant.

He had an elder sister named Anne and a younger brother named Christopher. He also had other siblings who had died in their infancy.

John was a good student and loved poetry from a very young age. His father also composed music from whom he got his love for music.

He received private tuitions at home initially from a Scottish tutor named Thomas young who held an M.A. degree from the ‘University of St. Andrews’ and probably infused radical ideas into the young Milton.

After being tutored by Thomas Young, John joined the ‘St. Paul’s School’ in London in 1620 to study Greek, Latin and classical languages.

John Milton wrote his first serious poem in 1628 titled ‘On the Death of a Fair Infant, Dying of the Cough’ which was based on the sadness caused by the death of his sister’s baby.

In 1629 he wrote the poem on divine love titled ‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity’. He started to write verses more and more in English rather than in Latin.

In 1632 after getting his M.A. degree he shifted to Hammersmith where his family home was situated. Later he moved to his family’s country estate in Horton, Buckinghamshire, where he continued to study mathematics, history, literature and theology.

During these six years he got involved in the cultural and social life of the city and its suburbs and wrote some sonnets and lyrics which includes ‘A Mask’ which was a mixture of poetry, dances and songs.

In 1637 he wrote the poem ‘Lycidas’ which dealt with the reason why good people normally died at a young age.

John Milton wrote hundreds of leaflets urging the Catholic bishops to release their hold on religious thoughts and practices during 1641 and 1642 when a civil war broke out in England between the Protestants and the Catholics led by King Charles. The war went on till 1649 when King Charles was defeated and executed.

In 1644 Milton came out with his work ‘Of Education’ which dealt with the topic of the development of discipline, ability, judgment and other traits in young boys.

He also wrote ‘Areopagitica’ in the same year which championed the freedom of speech and discussion for men so that truth could prevail.

In 1649, after the war had ended, Milton wrote ‘The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates’ in which he condemned the tyranny perpetuated by kings and monarchs on their subjects who had the right to be free to decide their own fates.

Very soon after this, he was appointed as the secretary for foreign languages by the Cromwell government which had come to power. He held this post for a decade and translated state letters from English to Latin.