Background to John Milton and Paradise Lost

Last book, folks, and this one is a great book; it's the epitome of an epic.  John Milton was born during the time Shakespeare was writing, in 1608.  An important aspect of Milton's life was the fact that his father was a devout Puritan.  He had been shunned by his Roman Catholic family once he turned Protestant.  Milton (the one we really care about) was an excellent student. 

He had private tutors as a child--despite being disowned by his family, his father was a rich merchant.  As a teenager, he went to an affluent, private school, which helped him gain entrance into Christ's College at Cambridge University.  At college, he excelled in writing.  He read classic texts in Greek and in Latin.  Milton became fluent in many languages including Latin, Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, and others.  As a student, his prowess in poetry flourished as he wrote many sonnets.

As for political ideals, Milton voiced his opinions in pamphlets.  He distrusted institutions, which he believed the power of them led to the corruption of humans.  During his lifetime, he challenged the rule of King Charles I.  He believed that the king was not fit to lead the people because he was not apt nor virtuous enough.

As for Paradise Lost, his religious views are important.  In his lifetime, the Anglican Church, or Church or England, had split into high Anglican sects and Presbyterian.  Milton was a Presbyterian.  They called for getting rid of bishops, but Milton felt there needed to be more changes.  He believed that priests should be done away with as well.  The corruption in the Church was a problem for Milton (obviously).  Paradise Lost incorporate many Protestant ideals.

Now, to the good part:  the epic.  At the age of 16, Milton had already been ambitious enough to want to become a great writer like the likes of Homer or Virgil.  He wanted to bring such epics to the English language.  There were earlier ideas:  perhaps using King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, or about Oliver Cromwell executing King Charles.  He wanted to write an epic with a distinctly British topic to unite the people and be a national pride.  In the mid-1650s, Milton had written a drama about Adam and Eve, but decided it wasn't write in play format.  He thought it would be excellent as an epic.  In 1656, Milton (being blind) began reciting the verses to his two daughters.  He dictated the poem and finished it in 1667.  He soon went to revising the poem, splitting it into 12 books, finally publishing it in 1671.  He later made a sequel, Paradise Regained, and to Milton, it was better than the first text, but many scholars disagree.    

The following video is a short summary of Paradise Lost.  Watch it.  Get excited for the week.

Cassy