Of Verses and Rhymes: John Milton

9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674
Condensed from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Milton

John Milton is an English poet, author, polemicist and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He is popular for his epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.

Milton composed the blank-verse epic poem Paradise Lost when he was already blind somewhere between the years 1658 to 1664 through dictation that he gave to his assistants. The epic poem then appeared in a quarto edition in 1667. Critics said that the poem reflected his personal despair at the failure of the Revolution, yet affirmed an ultimate optimism in human potential.

When Paradise Lost was published, Milton's stature as an epic poet was immediately recognized. He made an undeniable influence over English poetry in the 18th and 19th centuries. Writers and critics considered him equal or superior to all other English poets, including Shakespeare. A writer said that Milton sold the copyright of his monumental work to his publisher for £10 although such was not strange in those times according to the writer.

Milton followed up Paradise Lost with its sequel, Paradise Regained in 1671. Both these works echo with Milton’s post-Restoration political situation. Just before his death in 1674, Milton supervised a second edition of Paradise Lost, which accompanied an explanation of "why the poem rhymes not". Milton republished his 1645 Poems in 1673, as well as a collection of his letters and the Latin prolusions from his Cambridge days. A 1668 edition of Paradise Lost, reported to have been Milton's personal copy, had been in the archives of the University of Western Ontario.

Some of John Milton’s works were (Just click the links to view)