He fought against autocracy and censorship, smashed political opponents with caustic pamphlets. At home, the people's stands scandalized with his wife and tyrannized the grandchildren.
His name could be on the list of great poets in England, but the turbulent time of revolutions attracted Milton to social activities. He never received high government ranks, but it was his ideas that inspired supporters of parliamentarism. Even banal household chores could inspire him to work.
Childhood
In the vicinity of London was the estate of a small nobleman Richard Milton. He sent his son John to study at Oxford, and then was able to forgive him for a change of religion from Catholicism to Protestantism and the preference for the arts to military service. The spoiled aristocrat grew up and became a father himself. In December 1608, the heir to a noble family, the younger John, was born. He already had an older sister, Anna, and his brother soon increased.
John Milton at the age of 10. Artist Cornelius Johnson
The father raised the boy. Being grateful to his dad for giving him an excellent education and freedom of choice, he hired several teachers for the kid and spent a lot of time with him. In 1615, Milton Jr. came to the school of St. Paul, being able to read and write, knowing several languages. The teachers could not hold this child prodigy for a long time, therefore, as soon as the boy was 16 years old, they gave him a document confirming the end of their institution and sent him to Cambridge University.
Youth
Student Milton did not seem to be a miracle child to university teachers. The guys came to Cambridge much younger than him. Only most teenagers didn’t want to study, but this young man was drawn to knowledge. For 6 years, John gnawed at the granite of science. Having received a diploma, he returned to his father’s house and found out that his sister was married, and she had already managed to give her husband the firstborn.
Portrait of John Milton (1629). Unknown artist
For several years, a Cambridge graduate was engaged in self-education and practiced versification. Parents were happy watching their child sit at the books. Peers John preferred a more eventful life. In 1637, the homebody decided to see the world and show himself - he went on a trip to Europe. There Milton met the famous scientist Galileo Galilei.
Homecoming
During wanderings, our hero realized that he knew practically nothing about life. He did not want to return to the family nest, because he settled in his sister’s house in London. To make a contribution to the economy of Anna, John began raising her children. The result of hard work was the publication of the book "On Education".
With such a wealth of knowledge, yesterday's book boy became an enviable groom. In 1642, he went to the altar with Mary Powell. A talented teacher and thinker in everyday life turned out to be a helpless man, and his wife, disappointed in him, fled to her parents. John sincerely loved her, he managed to save the marriage and achieve her return, but he published a treatise "On Divorce", which described all the "charms" of living together with scandalous persons.
Politics
Difficulties in his personal life tempered the character of John Milton. He decided to participate in a grand squabble, which in those days swept the political elite. The people and the Parliament rose against the absolutist monarchy. The army intervened in the conflict, which wanted to see a dictator at the head of state. Milton chose the side of the Independents - parliamentarians, who demanded that all parties to the conflict abide by the laws and declare the country a republic, or at worst a constitutional monarchy.
John Milton Engraving
For a man who came to politics at a very mature age and did not have an influential family behind him, John Milton made a good career in Parliament - he took the post of government secretary for Latin correspondence. His work was connected with diplomatic correspondence, he accepted, including angry statements from Rome and from the monarchs, condemning the British renounced Catholicism. Our hero always answered directly and sharply, not limited to the strict framework of a formal dialogue.
Influence
On the basis of polemics with ideological opponents, Milton wrote pamphlets. His most famous work was Areopagitics. In this work, the author opposed censorship and forceful methods of combating dissent. His style and thoughts fascinated readers, and the party of independents became more and more radical. Nobody wanted to put up with the monarchy.
Cromwell dissolves the Long Parliament in 1653. Engraving
In 1652, the ruler of the doom became blind. This heavy blow of fate was received by him with amazing persistence - Milton did not lose heart, he dictated texts where he condemned the king and the clergy, spoke to the public. However, the treatment and increase in the number of servants seriously hit the wallet of an already not wealthy aristocrat.
