John Milton Popular Books
John Milton Biography & Facts
John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost, written in blank verse and including twelve books, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political upheaval. It addressed the fall of man, including the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and God's expulsion of them from the Garden of Eden. Paradise Lost elevated Milton's reputation as one of history's greatest poets. He also served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. Milton achieved fame and recognition during his lifetime; his celebrated Areopagitica (1644), written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship, is among history's most influential and impassioned defences of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. His desire for freedom extended beyond his philosophy and was reflected in his style, which included his introduction of new words (coined from Latin and Ancient Greek) to the English language. He was the first modern writer to employ unrhymed verse outside of the theatre or translations. Milton is described as the "greatest English author" by his biographer William Hayley, and he remains generally regarded "as one of the preeminent writers in the English language", though critical reception has oscillated in the centuries since his death, often on account of his republicanism. Samuel Johnson praised Paradise Lost as "a poem which ... with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the human mind", though he (a Tory) described Milton's politics as those of an "acrimonious and surly republican". Milton was revered by poets such as William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Hardy. Phases of Milton's life parallel the major historical and political divisions in Stuart England at the time. In his early years, Milton studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, and then travelled, wrote poetry mostly for private circulation, and launched a career as pamphleteer and publicist under Charles I's increasingly autocratic rule and Britain's breakdown into constitutional confusion and ultimately civil war. While once considered dangerously radical and heretical, Milton contributed to a seismic shift in accepted public opinions during his life that ultimately elevated him to public office in England. The Restoration of 1660 and his loss of vision later deprived Milton much of his public platform, but he used the period to develop many of his major works. Milton's views developed from extensive reading, travel, and experience that began with his days as a student at Cambridge in the 1620s and continued through the English Civil War, which started in 1642 and continued until 1651. By the time of his death in 1674, Milton was impoverished and on the margins of English intellectual life but famous throughout Europe and unrepentant for political choices that placed him at odds with governing authorities. Early life and education John Milton was born in Bread Street, London, on 9 December 1608, the son of composer John Milton and his wife Sarah Jeffrey. The senior John Milton (1562–1647) moved to London around 1583 after being disinherited by his devout Catholic father Richard "the Ranger" Milton for embracing Protestantism. In London, the senior John Milton married Sarah Jeffrey (1572–1637) and found lasting financial success as a scrivener. He lived in and worked from a house in Cheapside at Bread Street, where the Mermaid Tavern was located. The elder Milton was noted for his skill as a composer of music, and this talent left his son with a lifelong appreciation for music and friendships with musicians such as Henry Lawes. The prosperity of Milton's father allowed his eldest son to obtain a private tutor, Thomas Young, a Scottish Presbyterian with an MA from the University of St Andrews. Young's influence also served as the poet's introduction to religious radicalism. After Young's tutorship, Milton attended St Paul's School in London, where he began the study of Latin and Greek; the classical languages left an imprint on both his poetry and prose in English (he also wrote in Latin and Italian). Milton's first datable compositions are two psalms written at age 15 at Long Bennington. One contemporary source is Brief Lives of John Aubrey, an uneven compilation including first-hand reports. In the work, Aubrey quotes Christopher, Milton's younger brother: "When he was young, he studied very hard and sat up very late, commonly till twelve or one o'clock at night". Aubrey adds, "His complexion exceeding faire—he was so faire that they called him the Lady of Christ's College." In 1625, Milton gained entry to Christ's College at the University of Cambridge, where he graduated with a BA in 1629, ranking fourth of 24 honours graduates that year in the University of Cambridge. Preparing, at that time, to become an Anglican priest, he stayed on at Cambridge where he received his MA on 3 July 1632. Milton may have been rusticated (suspended) in his first year at Cambridge for quarrelling with his tutor, Bishop William Chappell. He was certainly at home in London in the Lent Term 1626; there he wrote Elegia Prima, his first Latin elegy, to Charles Diodati, a friend from St Paul's. Based on remarks of John Aubrey, Chappell "whipt" Milton. This story is now disputed, though certainly Milton disliked Chappell. Historian Christopher Hill notes that Milton was apparently rusticated, and that the differences between Chappell and Milton may have been either religious or personal. It is also possible that, like Isaac Newton four decades later, Milton was sent home from Cambridge because of the plague, which impacted Cambridge significantly in 1625. At Cambridge, Milton was on good terms with Edward King; he later dedicated "Lycidas" to him. Milton also befriended theologian Roger Williams, tutoring Williams in Hebrew in exchange for lessons in Dutch. Despite developing a reputation for poetic skill and general erudition, Milton suffered from alienation among his peers during his time at Cambridge. Having once watched his fellow students attempting comedy upon the college stage, he later observed, "they thought themselves gallant men, and I thought them fools". Milton also was disdainful of the university curriculum, which consisted of stilted formal debates conducted in Latin on abstruse topics. His own corpus is not devoid of humour, notably his sixth prolusion and his epitaphs on the death of Thomas Hobson. While at Cambridge, he wrote a number of his well-known shorter English poems, including "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity", "Epitaph on the admirable Dramaticke Poet, W. Shakespeare" (his first poem to appear in print), L'Allegro, and Il Penseroso. Study, poetry, and travel After receiving his MA, Milton moved to Hammersmith, his father's new home since the prev.... Discover the John Milton popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John Milton books.
Best Seller John Milton Books of 2024
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John Milton
Gordon Campbell & Thomas N. CornsThe first biography of Milton based on original research for 40 years, and first to take account of new thinking about 17thcentury England. Milton is seen here as flawed, passionat...
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THE COMPLETE POETICAL WORKS OF JOHN KEATS
John KeatsThis unique eBook edition of John Keats' complete poetry has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards. John Keats (17951821) was an English Romantic poet. T...
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John Milton
John T. ShawcrossThe facts of John Milton's life are well documented, but what of the person Miltonthe man whose poetic and prose works have been deeply influential and are still the subject of opp...
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The Complete Poems
William Blake & Alicia OstrikerOne of the great English Romantic poets, William Blake (17571827) was an artist, poet, mystic and visionary. His work ranges from the deceptively simple and lyrical Songs of Innoce...
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An Apology for Raymond Sebond
Michel MontaigneAn Apology for Raymond Sebond is widely regarded as the greatest of Montaigne's essays: a supremely eloquent expression of Christian scepticism. An empassioned defence of Sebond's ...
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The Price of Peace
Zachary D. CarterNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An “outstanding new intellectual biography of John Maynard Keynes [that moves] swiftly along currents of lucidity and wit” (The New York Times), illumina...
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The Complete Poetry of John Milton
John Milton & John T. ShawcrossThe first complete annotated edition of Milton's poetry available in a onevolume paperback. The text is established from original sources, with collations of all known manuscripts,...
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The Essential Prose of John Milton
John Milton, William Kerrigan, John Rumrich & Stephen M. FallonEdited by William Kerrigan, John Rumrich, and Stephen M. Fallon The legendary author of Paradise Lost and other poems was also a superb and provocative prose writer. Culled f...
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Shakespeare, With Introductory Matter on Poetry, The Drama, and The Stage by S.T. Coleridge
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeThis carefully crafted ebook: "Shakespeare, With Introductory Matter on Poetry, The Drama, and The Stage by S.T. Coleridge" is formatted for your eReader with a functional ...
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John Milton
Richard BradfordThere is a crying need for an accessible, comprehensive guide to John Milton for the thousands of students who make their way through his poetry every year on literary survey and s...
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John Milton
Annabel M. PattersonThis collection of selected writings represents the best of recent critical work on Milton. The essays cover all stages of his career, from the early poems through to the later poe...
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The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse
Kaveh Akbar'A profoundly valuable collection, full of fresh perspective, and opening doors into all kinds of material that has been routinely neglected or patronized' Rowan Williams, TLSThis ...
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John Milton
John T. ShawcrossThe Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling...
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Life of St Columba
Adomnan Of IonaFounding father of the famous monastery on the island of Iona, a site of pilgrimage ever since his death in 597, St Columba was born into one of the ruling families in Ireland at a...
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JFK and the Reagan Revolution
Lawrence Kudlow & Brian DomitrovicThe fascinating, suppressed history of how JFK pioneered supplyside economics. John F. Kennedy was the first president since the 1920s to slash tax rates acrosstheboard, bec...
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The Rig Veda
Wendy DonigerThe earliest of the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas, and the first extensive composition to survive in any IndoEuropean language, the Rig Veda (c. 1200900 BC) is...
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The Complete Poetry of John Keats
John KeatsThis carefully crafted ebook: "The Complete Poetry of John Keats" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. John Keats (17951821) was ...
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Study Guide to Paradise Lost and Other Works by John Milton
Intelligent EducationA comprehensive study guide offering indepth explanation, essay, and test prep for selected works by John Milton, who decided at a young age that God had called him to be a poet. T...
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Paradise Lost and Other Poems
John Milton, Edward Le Comte, Edward M. Cifelli & Regina MarlerWith the three works included in this volumeParadise Lost, Samson Agonistes, and LycidasMilton placed himself next to Shakespeare, Dante, and Homer as one of the greatest literary ...
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John Milton
David HawkesJohn Milton poet, polemicist, public servant, and author of one of the greatest masterpieces in English literature, Paradise Lost is revered today as a great writer and a propone...
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A Day with John Milton
May Clarissa Gillington Byron & John MiltonMay Byron recounts a fictional autumn day in the life of poet John Milton. The book also includes selections of poetry and color illustrations.
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The Complete Poetry and Essential Prose of John Milton
John Milton, William Kerrigan, John Rumrich & Stephen M. FallonJohn Milton is, next to William Shakespeare, the most influential English poet, a writer whose work spans an incredible breadth of forms and subject matter. The Complete Poetry and...
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Lyrical Ballads and other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge & William WordsworthThis carefully crafted ebook: "Lyrical Ballads and other Poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth (Including Their Thoughts On Poetry Principles and Secrets)"...
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The Poetical Works of John Milton
John MiltonThe Poetical Works of John Milton is a collection of most popular poems of the English poet John Milton, remembered for his epic poem Paradise lost. Among his numerous works of poe...
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Rest in Pieces
Bess LovejoyA “marvelously macabre” (Kirkus Reviews) history of the bizarre afterlives of corpses of the celebrated and notorious dead.For some of the most influential figures in history, deat...
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John Milton
John T. ShawcrossThe Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling stu...
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Faust, Part II
Goethe & David ConstantineIn this sequel to Faust, Mephistopheles takes Faust on a journey through ancient Greek mythology, conjuring for him the insurpassably beautiful Helen of Troy, as well as the classi...
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The Complete Poetical Works of John Milton
John MiltonJohn Milton was a poet of many interests and he wrote on various topics, but he was the most famous for his poems on Christian themes. His poetic style was a highly influential poe...
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Delphi Complete Works of John Milton
John MiltonThis is the fourth volume of a new series of publications by Delphi Classics, the bestselling publisher of classical works. Many poetry collections are often poorly formatted and d...
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The Complete English Poems
John DonneNo poet has been more wilfully contradictory than John Donne, whose works forge unforgettable connections between extremes of passion and mental energy. From satire to tender elegy...
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Anarchy, State, and Utopia
Robert NozickThe foundational text of libertarian thought, named one of the 100 Most Influential Books since World War II (Times Literary Supplement) First published in response to John Rawls'&...
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John Milton
John Milton & Tony DaviesAn edition of Milton's later work rk includes the text of six books of Paradise Lost, The History of Britain and the whole of Samson Agonistes. Through his introduction, commmentar...
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Life of John Milton
Richard GarnettThe number of miniature Lives of Milton is great; great also is the merit of some of them. With one exception, nevertheless, they are all dismissed to the shelf by the publication ...
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John Milton
Walter BagehotIllustrated Includes Table of Contents Includes Introductory Note from Harvard Classics Volume 28 In 1796, William Hayley named John Milton the “greatest English author,” high prai...
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Works of John Milton
John MiltonThis collection was designed for optimal navigation on iPad and other electronic devices. It is indexed chronologically and by category, making it easier to access individual books...
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The Regiment
Michael AsherFrom the bestselling author of The Real Bravo Two Zero comes the definitive history of the world's most elite fighting force the SAS'Breathtaking bravery, astonishing feats of end...
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John Milton
Neil ForsythJohn Milton has usually been regarded as 'the other great poet' in English literature, after Shakespeare. He is the only one of the world's great poets also to have bee...