John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant whose life and work closely mirrored the political and religious upheavals of Stuart England. Educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, Milton began his career writing poetry for private circulation and publishing influential pamphlets during the reign of Charles I. As England descended into civil war, Milton aligned himself with the republican cause, eventually serving as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under the Council of State and Oliver Cromwell.
Milton's literary legacy is anchored by his 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost. Written in blank verse during a period of personal adversity—including his complete loss of vision and the restoration of the monarchy—the twelve-book epic explores the fall of man, the temptation of Adam and Eve, and the rebellion of Satan. Beyond his poetry, Milton was a fierce advocate for civil liberties. His 1644 tract Areopagitica remains one of history's most influential defenses of freedom of speech and the press, opposing pre-publication censorship.
A highly innovative writer, Milton introduced numerous words to the English language derived from Latin and Greek, and he was the first modern writer to employ unrhymed verse outside of theatrical works or translations. Although his republican politics made him a controversial figure both during his life and after his death in 1674, his immense influence on English literature is widely considered second only to William Shakespeare, earning him deep reverence from later Romantic poets like William Blake and William Wordsworth.
