Concetti Chiave
- John Milton, born in London in 1608, was a prominent Puritan writer known for his sensitivity and love for learning, art, and music.
- Milton's education included reading extensively, which weakened his eyes, and studying at Cambridge, where he began writing poetry.
- His travels to France and Italy, where he met figures like Galileo, influenced his literary work, although he returned to London due to the impending Civil War.
- Milton's personal life was marked by his marriage to Mary Powell and his eventual political involvement as Latin Secretary to Cromwell, despite facing blindness in 1652.
- In his later years, despite personal and political challenges, Milton wrote his major works: "Paradise Lost," "Paradise Regained," and "Samson Agonistes."
Milton's early life and education
John Milton was surely the most important Puritan writer and representative of his historical period.
He was born in London in 1608. Gifted with a sensitive nature, like his father, who was a scrivener, he had a great love for learning, the arts and music.
Milton received a good education. Since he was very young, he used to read and read at night to the light of a candle. This habit weakened his eyes.
Once grown up, Milton attended Cambridge university and, when he quitted his studies, he studied the most famous Latin and English writers, and started to write poems himself.
He knew Latin, Greek, Italian and French very well.
Milton's travels and teaching career
He moved to Horton, living in his family’s country house for six years. There he wrote lots of poems (in fact we can say that poetry was his real vocation).
Then we visited France and Italy (there he met Galileo and joined literary cicles), but, when he knew the Civil War was going to break out in England, he decided to go back to London.
There he became a teacher but he didn’t gained great popularity with this job, because of his strict and cold way to deal with children.
Milton's personal life and political involvement
In the same period, he sided with Cromwell, and he also took part in the numerous religious debates of the time.
When he was 32, he married Mary Powell, that soon left him.
Even if this fact made him very sad, some years later he married another woman.
When king Charles I was killed, Milton became “Latin Secretary to Cromwell’s Council State”.
Unfortunately, in 1652, because of his weak eyes, he became blind.
Milton's later years and literary achievements
When Cromwell died and there was the restoration of monarchy, his life was in danger, and he was also imprisoned for a little time.
He lived his last years in London with his three daughters.
It will seem a paradox but, even if he was old, blind and had seen the failure of all his hopes, this was Milton’s most creative period, during which he wrote his three masterpieces: “Paradise Lost”, “Paradise Regained” and “Samson Agonistes”.
Domande da interrogazione
- What were the key influences in John Milton's early education and literary development?
- How did Milton's travels and experiences abroad impact his literary career?
- How did Milton's political involvement and personal challenges shape his later works?
John Milton's early education was marked by a strong love for learning, arts, and music, influenced by his father. He received a good education, reading extensively from a young age, which weakened his eyes. He attended Cambridge University and studied Latin and English writers, which laid the foundation for his poetry.
Milton's travels to France and Italy enriched his literary career by exposing him to new ideas and literary circles, including meeting Galileo. These experiences, combined with his time in Horton writing poetry, solidified his vocation as a poet.
Milton's political involvement with Cromwell and his role as "Latin Secretary to Cromwell’s Council State" influenced his writings. Despite personal challenges, including blindness and imprisonment, his later years were his most creative, producing masterpieces like "Paradise Lost," "Paradise Regained," and "Samson Agonistes."
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