John Milton

425 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reflection on john milton

John Milton was born in London, England (1608), to Sarah Jeffrey and his father, who was also named John. His mother was the daughter of a merchant sailor. His father was a law writer and also composed music. He inherited a love for art and music from his father.

By the time he was twelve he entered Christ’s college, Cambridge, where he wrote much religious poetry in Latin, Italian, and English. Milton was picked on often in the University, and he was expelled after starting a fist fight with his tutor. After that he spent six years at his father’s home, spending his days writing. During those six years he wrote: L'ALLEGRO, IL PENSEROSO (1632), COMUS (1634), and LYCIDAS (1637).

In 1635, John Milton and his family moved to Horton, Buckinghamshire, where he continued his studies in Greek, Latin, and Italian. He traveled to France and Italy in the late 1630s, meeting the theologian Hugo Grotius in Paris, France, and the astronomer Galileo in Florence, Italy. Milton returned to London in 1639, where he set up a school for his nephews. He did not write much, for he was silenced by the civil war for twenty long years.

Milton was concerned for the puritan cause, so during the civil war, he wrote a series of pamphlets against episcopacy (1642), on divorce (1643), in defense of the liberty of the press (1644), and in support of the regicides (1649). After the death of King Charles, Milton published THE TENURE OF KINGS AND MAGISTRATES (1649) sustaining the view that the citizens had the right to overthrow and punish tyrants. In 1951, he was faced with several unpleasant occurrences. He lost his eyesight for one, but even after that was put on trial for his controversial writings and political opinions. After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Milton was arrested as a noted defender of the Commonwealth, but was soon released. Milton paid a massive fine for his opposition.

Besides the publicly setting fire to his works EIKONKLASTES (1649) and the first DEFENSIO (1651) in Paris and Toulouse, Milton escaped from further penalty following Restoration, but he lost much of his money and became a reasonably poor man, although Paradise lost sold over 1,800 copies.

Show More
Related

  • Women in the Enlightenment

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Enlightenment is known as the revolution that brought to question the traditional political and social structures. This included the question of the woman’s traditional roles in society. As the public sphere relied more and more ?? and the advances in scientific and educated thinking, women sought to join in with the ranks of their male counterparts. Women held gatherings known as salons where they organized intellectual conversations with their distinguished male guests. Seeking to further their status, enlightened women published pamphlets and other works advocating for educational rights and political recognition. Even with this evolution of woman in society, many still clung to the belief that the role of the woman was solely domestic. The females that spoke up were usually deemed unnatural. However these women used the time period of reason and science that allowed them the opportunity to break away from their domestic roles and alter the view of women in society.

    Read More

  • The Mask You Live In Research Paper

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. Children may be more fearful of the world around them. Children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others. If a boy was weak, skinny or a different race he would be bullied. 1 out of 4 boys are bullied in schools. Young men think there is no one there to converse with or hear you out in light of the fact that they are embarrassed to request for help. They think people will judge them and are insecure with themselves. Fewer than 50 percent of boys and men with mental health challenges seek help. This leads to drinking, doing drugs, and suicide. By age 12, 34 percent of boys have started drinking. The average boys tries drugs at age 13. 1 in 4 boys binge drink (consume 5 or more drinks in a row). According to the Centers for Disease Control, men are more likely to drink to excess than women, leading to “higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations.” Everyday 3 or more boys commit suicide. For boys, suicide is the third leading cause of death. Studies have shown that “males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and comprise approximately 80 percent of all suicides and suicide attempts among women are estimated to be three to four times higher than that of their male

    Read More

  • The Justifications Of Social Inequalities In Jean-Jean Rousseau

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is a declaration for the equal rights of man and women. The political significance of Mary Wollstonecraft cannot be overstated—her work is regarded as one of the first greatest feminist treatises in history and is also seen as the first step towards liberal feminism. She fought equality for women in the political sphere, but she also addressed the need for equality in the social, private realm. She emphasized the need for reform in women’s status, education, and maternal duties. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Wollstonecraft argues that men and women are born with the same ability to reason. Therefore, men and woman should equally be able to exercise reason and attain knowledge. And conclusively, educated women would ultimately improve society; they would become better wives and mothers (72, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman). She argues that the current education system (i.e. Rousseau’s ideas of women education) restricts women and subjects them into passivity. Women are not perceivably “smart” as men because they have not been given the opportunity to be; women receive a “disorderly kind of education” (46, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman). Women are kept in passivity, forced to superficiality and shallowness. She derides these traits that are seen as inherent to a woman’s nature and asks the powerful question: how are women supposed to contribute to society if they have been reduced to their appearance and bodily function? For a thriving, modern and true civilization to succeed, each and every individual must be encouraged to seek moral and intellectual development, including

    Read More

  • Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft

    403 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mary Wollstonecraft was as revolutionary in her writings as Thomas Paine. They were both very effective writers and conveyed the messages of their ideas quite well even though both only had only the most basic education. Wollstonecraft was a woman writing about women's rights at a time when these rights were simply non-existent and this made her different from Paine because she was breaking new ground, thus making her unique. Throughout her lifetime, Wollstonecraft wrote about the misconception that women did not need an education, but were only meant to be submissive to man. Women were treated like a decoration that had no real function except to amuse and beguile. Wollstonecraft was the true leader in women's rights, advocating a partnership in relationships and marriage rather than a dictatorship. She was firm in her conviction that education would give women the ability to take a more active role in life itself.

    Read More

  • Enlightenment DBQ

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Enlightenment took place in Europe. This era was also known as the "Age of Reason". It was a new intellectual movement that consisted of reason and the power of individual thought brought up by philosophers: John Locke, Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), and Mary Wollstonecraft. Since every philosopher had a main idea, what was theirs'? The three philosophers' main idea was to improve society by bringing forward the ideas of freedom in government, religion, and gender roles.

    Read More

  • Thomas Hobbes Research Paper

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Thomas Hobbes was born in Westport now part of Malmesbury in Wiltshire on April 5, 1588. He was born prematurely at the time when England was filled with rumors of the Spanish Armada. He would compare himself to fear so he would characterize himself with peace. He was named after his father whose name was also Thomas Hobbes. When Thomas Hobbes was very young his father caused a scandal by engaging in a brawl at the door of his church and as a result was forced to flee. Thomas, his brother, and his sister were raised up by the elder brother Francis Hobbes which was known to be a prosperous glover and alderman. Hobbes was well educated by his uncles at churches and private schools. When he was fifteen he went to Magdalen Hall in Oxford but he took little interest in the logic and scholastic philosophy, which formed the bulk of the curriculum.

    Read More

  • The Titleist Brand And Marketing Mix Strategy

    1662 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...vive, profit, and grow.  Marketing contributes to all of these categories.  A companywide strategy designed to optimize profitability within Titleist comes from their media outlets.  This ties in with Big Data.  Titleist has jumped into the world of Twitter and is heavily involved with those who play golf.  They respond to most questions giving feedback to all that they can.  Their Twitter page has over “three hundred thousand followers”, and is steadily growing (By Rick V., Team Titleist Staff on Yesterday. (2016).  With this page they are able to keep track of their daily interactions and page visits.  Titleist has driven up their overall interaction with the public by “78 percent” (SAUERHAFT, R., & Chwasky, M. (2014).  Social media has grown tremendously over the past decade and is a vital component to many company’s successes within their customer relationship.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Mask You Live In

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Be a man”, is on of the most destructive phrases to tell boys and men. The Mask You Live In explains the struggles boys and men have growing up in a patriarchal society. I chose to watch this to understand how men feel oppressed. All year, I became aware of females and their struggles in the patriarchy. It is interesting to see that men are affected too. The documentary should have had more personal stories because it allows the audience to connect with and have empathy for men. On the other hand, the movie thoroughly demonstrated the inner conflict boys and men face in society. Men feel they must be strong and dominate. They feel they need to hide emotion and empathy in order to fit in. They must be manly in order to

    Read More

  • Satan: The Adversary

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...say the truth because his natural language is lying. Milton dramatizes the power possessed by Satan, and how he takes advantage of this power in order to satisfy his own causes, which is to disobey and attack God.

    Read More

  • The Power of Milton’s Paradise Lost

    2224 Words  | 5 Pages

    Paradise Lost is an epic poem portraying John Milton’s theological standpoints. The theme is knowledge and the fall of man. Milton uses his poem to state some of his theological beliefs and his personal reflections. Milton wrote Paradise Lost in the 17th century but uses influence from classic poets. Milton’s epic is an extremely important piece of literature. The excerpt used in this commentary takes on the subjects of sin and the punishment with regards to the atonement from God’s point of view. Milton’s states many of his own theological opinions but wants the reader to know that God is justified in everything that he does, and also wants them to know that man has free will.

    Read More

  • Comparing Truth in The Education of Children, Paradise Lost and Hamlet

    3130 Words  | 7 Pages

    As a result of Milton's failed political aspirations, he believes that individuals do not construct truth, or decide for themselves what the truth is; instead, individuals receive the truth directly or indirectly from God. Conversely, deception comes from Satan. In Paradise Lost, Milton sets up this idea by forcing good to result only from obedience to God's will and evil to result whenever God is disobeyed. Dr. Evans' argument that Milton's ultimate point in all this is to express a moral position that is very extreme, that no quality or action can be innately good or evil, is firmly rooted in this model. What determines the morality of anything we do is in whose service we do it. Since Raphael was sent from God, his warning is true and divine. Since Satan disobeyed God, his ideas are all false lies. Part of Milton's ideology may have come from his own life experiences. After the restorat...

    Read More

  • Lycidas: Poetry and Death

    3790 Words  | 8 Pages

    Living in a period of important religious and cultural flux, John Milton's poetry reflects the many influences he found both in history and in the contemporary world. With a vast knowledge of literature from the classical world of Greek and Roman culture, Milton often looked back to more ancient times as a means of enriching his works. At other times, however, he relies on his strong Christian beliefs for creating spiritually compelling themes and deeply religious imagery. Despite the seemingly conflicting nature of these two polarized sources of inspiration, Milton somehow found a way of bridging the gap between a pagan and a Christian world, often weaving them together into one overpowering story. The pastoral elegy Lycidas, written after the death of a fellow student at Cambridge, exemplifies this mastery over ancient and contemporary traditions in its transition from a pagan to a Christian context. Opening the poem in a setting rich with mythological figures and scenery, then deliberately moving into a distinctly Christian setting, Milton touches upon two personally relevant issues: poetry and Christian redemption. In this way, Lycidas both addresses the subject of being a poet in a life doomed by death and at the same time shows the triumphant glory of a Christian life, one in which even the demise of the poet himself holds brighter promises of eternal heavenly joy.

    Read More

  • The Son of God in Milton’s Paradise Lost: Taking One for the Team

    1753 Words  | 4 Pages

    Among those familiar with the Judeo-Christian belief system, Jesus is normally accepted as a selfless figure, one who became human, suffered, and was put to death out of divine love for humanity. In his portrayal of the Son of God in Paradise Lost, John Milton does not necessarily disagree with the devotion or love present in the Son. His

    Read More

  • John Milton

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    Satan, as a character, has been satirized, mocked and made foolish in our modern world. John Milton, however, presents quite a different Satan from the devil-on-your-shoulder image people are used to seeing. In Paradise Lost, Milton draws on the Bible for his source of Satan’s character, thereby creating a horrifyingly corrupt Satan. Despite this portrayal, readers often find themselves sympathizing with Satan’s cause, and his determination, viewing him as a hero for his cause, as evidenced by his long, brave speeches. Later, however Satan’s speeches begin to show signs of regret, making the reader question their initial reaction to him. In the end the image of Satan is further skewed by his own incriminating speech. Thus, the speeches of Satan, which initially draw readers to be supportive of his plight, later reveal his truly destructive character, resulting in the reader disliking Satan more than if he initially presented himself as a coward.

    Read More

  • John Milton's Paradise Lost as Christian Epic

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Milton's great epic poem, Paradise Lost, was written between the 1640's and 1665 in England, at a time of rapid change in the western world. Milton, a Puritan, clung to traditional Christian beliefs throughout his epic, but he also combined signs of the changing modern era with ancient epic style to craft a masterpiece. He chose as the subject of his great work the fall of man, from Genesis, which was a very popular story to discuss and retell at the time. His whole life had led up to the completion of this greatest work; he put over twenty years of time and almost as many years of study and travel to build a timeless classic. The success of his poem lies in the fact that he skillfully combined classic epic tradition with strongly held Puritan Christian beliefs.

    Read More

More about John Milton

Open Document