Introduction to the Poet- John Milton is considered only second to Shakespeare in English literature. He is one of the greatest literary giants of the world of literature too. He was born in bread street, cheapside, London on 9th December 1608. Although his father was a strong puritan in sympathies, yet he was a great lover of literature and art, and thus Milton got all the advantages of cultured and library background. He was educated at st. Paul’s school and at Christ’s college of Cambridge university. H took the degree of B.A.. in 1629 and of M.A.. in 1632. His mother was the daughter of a welsh gentleman named Caston, and his father was a prosperous and well- to do man. John Milton was the third child of his parents, and extraordinarily beautiful. He was nick named as the ‘lady of the college’ during his university days. He earned proficiency in many languages and also composed some poems during his student life. After leaving Cambridge, he took up his abode in a country house at Horton, Buckingham shire-where he devoted himself in seclusion to learning. H was known even in his school days never to retire to bad before midnight. These six years of uninterrupted studies made his\m a learned man and a great scholar. He wanted to complete his education by the travel-experiences, and he went Italy via Paris 1638, but he was called home due to the sad news of civil wars. H became an active supporter of the puritans as against the royalists and wrote pamphlets in the cause of puritans. In 1643, h married Mary Powell, the young daughter of a royalist, but the marriage proved to be an unhappy one.
Although he was a declared puritan, he had no aversion to art and beauty. His early poems include ‘L Allegro.’ IL Penseroso’ ‘Comus’ and ‘Lycidas’. His sonnets are by themselves a class in themselves. His great epics, ‘Paradise Lost’, ‘Paradise Regained’ and his dramatic poem ‘Samson and Agonistes’ were all written in his seclusion and blindness. They are an evidence of his ‘moral values,’ ‘vast learning ‘delicate sensibility’ and ‘rich imagination’. He is famous and known for his lofty, majestic and grand style. Milton is a unique figure in English literature and he will ever be known for his erudition and sincerity of purpose. He stands head and shoulders above all other pots except Shakespeare.
