Paradise Lost by John Milton Book 1 Theme, Summary, Analysis

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Paradise Lost was the first epic poem that was written in Blank Verse. The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The book was first published in 1667 and it was revised and reprinted again in 1674. It was arranged in 12 parts in the manner of Virgil’s Aeneid and it contained more than 10,000 lines of verses. John Milton had gone completely blind in 1652 while he started writing Paradise Lost in 1658 with the help of amanuenses and scribes.

Paradise Lost is based on the biblical theory of Fall of Man and the central character of the story is Satan, formerly known as Lucifer in Heaven. Lucifer was an Angel closest to God. When Lucifer realized that he isn’t the second in the hierarchy and he will have to follow the commands of the Son of God (Christ), he revolted and many other Angels joined his rebellion.

On many accounts, Satan appears to be the tragic hero of the epic Paradise Lost because Milton has presented him in such a manner. The poem begins with the Fall of Lucifer from Heaven. There was no Hell before it. As he revolted, he was thrown out of heaven to a palace recently invented by the Almighty. To punish Lucifer, who is now Satan, this new place is ornamented with some dreadful and frightening aspects. Satan still has the angelic glow that makes him appear charismatic and attractive. However, he continues to disobey God and engages in evil activities which further pushes him away from God and he continuously becomes more unattractive, frightening, and disgusting.

Milton mentioned in the first lines of Paradise Lost that the main theme of the epic will be Man’s first disobedience, which resulted in his fall. Obedience to God is thus the central theme of the poem. Lucifer disobeys and revolts against the Almighty and he continues to follow the downward spiraling path of sin and degradation. Adam and Eve also disobey God, but they realize their fault and chose the path of redemption that leads to betterment.

Another major theme of Paradise Lost is the Hierarchy based on the proximity of God. Heaven is above the earth, and Hell is below it. Son of God is closest to God, a high position that Lucifer once enjoyed. Then comes Angels, Archangels, Cherubs, and others. Adam, Eve and other Earth-dwelling animals come next, and then comes Satan and other fallen angels. To obey God is to accept and follow this hierarchy. Eve comes next to Adam in this hierarchy. The Fall of Man also depicts the breach of this hierarchy. Raphael suggests to Adam that Eve is a little away from God as she was created to serve both Adam and God. Thus, Adam is superior and Eve is naturally his subservient. However, Adam gets trapped in his passion for Eve and heeds to her whims while ignoring God and reason. That leads Adam to eat the Apple and cause his fall. As Adam breaches the hierarchy and allows Eve to lead him while she should have been his subservient, it results in the disobedience of God.

Another important theme of Paradise Lost is the Design of God that always brings good. As Satan falls, he creates Sin and Death. As Adam and Eve Fall, they suffer the terror of death. But this also offers God a way to show his temperance and mercy. The Son of God appears as a gift to humankind who leads humankind to its prior pure state. While the man is forced to suffer pain and death, he also becomes able to feel the salvation, mercy, and grace of God. Thus, sin and death can lead to the good of humankind.

Summary of Paradise Lost Book 1

Book 1 contains 722 lines of verse of Milton’s magnum opus. The opening 16 lines of Paradise Lost are comprised of a Single Sentence.

Milton was influenced by Ancient Greek and Roman poets and he took inspiration from Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene too. Just like in Lycidas, Milton again offers a prologue (Lines 1-26) before beginning his epic. In these lines, Milton not only announces the main subjects of his epic poem but also offers his intention. He also continues the age-old tradition of pleasing the Muses and seeking their mercy and help for the creation of creative artwork, his epic poem. However, Milton doesn’t invoke any of the nine Greek Muse or goddesses of Art, rather he invokes, the Holy Spirit, representing the Trinity and thus, following the norms of Christian Protestantism. He specifies that his Muse is the same that inspired Moses to receive the Ten Commandments and write Genesis. Milton then describes the topics of his epic: the story of Man's first disobedience and the "loss of Eden," subjects which have been "unattempted yet in prose or rhyme."

The next section begins as Milton raises the question of what led Adam and Eve to disobey God? He then suggests that their disobedience was partly instigated by a serpent. This serpent is Satan.

Milton then introduces his central character Satan who has just fallen from Heaven. There was no hell before this, God invented Hell where Lucifer could be thrown. Satan is chained to a fiery, yet dark lake of hell. Satan is coming to his conscious and he sees himself chained to hell. Satan raises his head and finds Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies next to him. In Heaven, Beelzebub used to be a beautiful archangel who has now been turned into a horrible, ugly fallen angel. Beelzebub is a closed confidante of Satan. Satan gathers his guts and calls Beelzebub, telling him how God never showed his actual power to them before the war. He bemoans his loss as he remembers how he presumed himself equal to God and denied obeying the Son of God. As he declared war against the Almighty, many angels and archangels joined him in opposition to the hierarchy suggested by God. A cosmic war began that shook the throne of God. However, God exercised his enormous power, and Satan and his cohorts were thrown out of Heaven by the Son of God to "nine times the space that measures day and night,” that is hell.

Satan raises his voice and vows to raise his power again for the second attack. Beelzebub is not that enthusiastic as he now believes that God cannot be defeated. Satan doesn’t contradict Beelzebub and hence accepts the insurmountable power of God. Yet, he devises a plan and says that they should at least prevent God’s good works to evil purpose as this will reduce the power of God making him vulnerable. The two fallen angels rise again and fly off to a nearby land which is firmer than the lake yet, is fiery, brazen, and dark. They can do so because God allows them to break off the chains as the almighty intends to bring good out of their evil plans.

Beelzebub asks why the Almighty let them live? What plan did he have for them as the god could easily kill them forever? Satan says that God definitely wanted to punish them for eternity but now when they know the real power of God they can better plan how to continue fighting against God and making him weaker. Satan is not willing to change his ways and determines to pervert the good ways of God to evil. He calls Twelve angels closest to him and then raises his huge army and calls them to raise his cause. As he observes the dark, brazen, fiery surroundings, Satan declares, "Better to reign in hell, then serve in heaven."

The rebels gather their energy and find new strength in Satan’s call. Satan’s soldiers start playing music and beating drums, they are beaten, vanquished, tired, yet, loyal to their general. Satan then reveals his plan. He has heard about a new creation of God which is the man. He declares that they will continue their war against Heaven but their pawn will be mankind. God will make Man for doing good but they will force mankind towards evil. Satan’s soldiers respond to his roar by digging up a nearby mountain. As they continue to dig more, they find gems, gold, and other precious metals. Mammon, another fallen Angel takes the lead. He suggests that he will now make the marvelous palace of hell with the help of another architect angel Mulciber. Mammon and Mulciber declare that "Hell is bad, but with a few improvements we can make it lots better, even attractive."With the help of other fallen angels, they soon raise a great temple which they name Pandemonium. This word was invented by Milton. Pan in Greek means All, and thus, Pandemonium is the place where all demons prevail. All the demons and fallen angels enter the Pandemonium. While Satan and his twelve close associates maintain their structure, all the other fallen angels shrink and reduce their size to have a proper place in the newly erected palace to hold a summit. These demons have special powers as they can easily change their shape from huge winged demons to the smallest creatures as they wish.

Analysis of Paradise Lost Book 1

Milton presented Satan in a specific manner that renders him a shadow of a tragic hero. He is the central character of the first few books. In the first book, Milton shows his struggle and how he bravely gathers his strength to fight against the odds. Milton invested the first three books of his epic in developing and expressing the Antagonist so that when he introduces the protagonists, Adam and Eve, the reader may have a good idea of what foes they are going to face.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss Paradiz Lost as we intend to cover all 12 books of this epic poem by Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse, thanks, and regards!

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Edith Wharton was a popular American novelist and short story writer who took birth on January 24, 1862, and died on August 11, 1937. She was the first woman to attain the Pulitzer Prize for literature that she won for her fiction novel The Age of Innocence in 1921.

Her other major works include the novels The House of Mirth (1905), The Custom of the Country (1913), and the short story or the novella, Ethan Frome (1911). The Age of Innocence was published in 1920.

Themes of Age of Innocence

The major theme of the novel is the vanity and hypocrisy of the rich upper-class of American society during the Gilded Age (1870-1900). Another theme of the novel is the difference between sexes. In Wharton’s novel, women are sexually innocent, not expected to have extramarital affairs, and divorce is not considered appropriate. Women may employ the power of duty, loyalty and, motherhood. Duty is the main theme of the novel as Wharton tries to clarify that a person needs to sacrifice his or her personal freedom to fulfill his or her duties, specifically, duties as a parent. Victorian American women were considered beautiful trophies but innocent brides. Another important theme is how society forces the hypocritical social code.

Characters of Age of Innocence

Newland Archer is a young lawyer working in New York. He is engaged to May Welland and he is very happy about it as this marriage will secure his position in the higher upper-class society of New York. Soon he meets Countess Ellen Olenska, a cousin of May Welland and he realizes that he is falling in love with her. Throughout the novel, Newland Archer struggles between integrity and individual freedom. He sacrifices his passion for his duties.

May Welland Archer is a young socialite belonging to a rich family. She marries Newland Archer and settles in a conventional life. She is totally controlled by her mother and family values. She realizes that Newland doesn’t love her. At first, she decides to release Newland from his engagement, however, Newland assures her that he loves her and she trusts him. After marriage, she realizes that Newland is in love with her cousin Ellen but she pretends innocent about it. She pretends that she and Newport are leading a perfectly happy married life. But within, she is unhappy and frustrated. Her frustration leads her to acquire a manipulative nature. She is not willing to give up her marriage and is ready to do anything to keep Newland away from Ellen.

Ellen Olenska

Ellen is a cousin of May Welland. She is a married woman. Her husband was abusive and cruel who stole her fortune and had affairs with many women. Ellen decides to leave her husband and gets separation. She is planning to divorce her husband but her family and society aren’t ready to support her. She is a free spirit. When she comes to know how Newport feels for her, she realizes that she also has feelings for him. Yet, she is not willing to ruin her cousin’s marriage. When she comes to know about the pregnancy of May, she decides to sacrifice her feelings for Newland and go back to Europe.

Mrs. Manason Mignotte

She is the grandmother of May and Ellen. She is a matriarch of a powerful rich family. She holds complete financial control over the family. She was widowed at an early age of 28 and since then she continued to safeguard her family’s social position with her shrewdness and force of character.

Mrs. Augusta Welland

She is the mother of May. She is also a strong lady who controls her weak-willed husband Mr. Welland and her daughter May. She has raised May to be a proper society lady. However, her upbringing has turned May into a dull woman with rigid views of appropriate and inappropriate. May lacks imagination and is ruled by societal conventions. Like her mother, May ends up manipulating, forcing, and rulling over her husband in a dull, passionless marriage.

There are many other minor characters describing the social ruin of the Gilded Age.

Summary of The Age of Innocence

Newland Archer is a young lawyer working in New York. He is engaged to May Welland, a young socialite belonging to a rich powerful upper-class family. Newland is happy about this relationship as his marriage will confirm his position in the upper class of New York. However, he finds May as a dull, uninteresting girl. May’s Aunt Augusta Welland has manipulated the delay in their marriage and has forced a long engagement period.

May’s cousin Countess Ellen Olenski has decided to return from Europe to her family in New York. She is married to Polish Count Olenski. Count Olenski is an abusive husband who has snatched the fortunes of his wife Ellen and continues to torture her. Olenski has many extramarital affairs and since he isn’t willing to change his ways, Ellen has decided to leave him and come back to her home in New York.

Mrs. Manson Mignotte suggests that the family should support Ellen and tells everyone in the family to treat her well. Mrs. Manson tells Newland to receive Ellen when she arrives. Newland is not too enthusiastic about Ellen as he feels that her tainted marriage will ruin his family’s social position. When Newland meets Ellen, he finds her exotically beautiful, full of enthusiasm, passion, and happiness. He feels that, unlike May, Ellen is a free spirit with an open mind. Gradually, he finds himself intrigued and attracted towards Ellen. Ellen continues to brazenly flout the fastidious rules of society of New York.

The more time Newland spends with Ellen, the more attracted towards her he finds himself. Gradually, he starts doubting his relationship with May Welland though she is the perfect girl to let him have a secured position in Old New York society. He starts feeling troubled within himself and decides to persuade May to marry him soon or to elope with him as he doesn’t want to breach his engagement with her.

Ellen finally decides to file a divorce from her husband Count Olenski but her family members do not agree with her as they are terrified of the scandal and disgrace that this divorce will bring to the family. Living apart can be tolerated, but divorce is unacceptable. One of the law partners of Newland suggests Newland talk to Ellen and persuade her not to divorce Count Olenski so that the Archer family can be saved from the ignominy that the divorce will bring. Newlands talks with Ellen and succeeds in persuading her not to divorce. However, his passion towards Ellen increases to limits and he decides to confront May and begs her to elope with him to accelerate their marriage date. May refuses his proposal. May feels that Newland is romantically attached with someone else and she offers him a release from the engagement, but Newland says that he truly loves her and wants to marry her as soon as possible. May trust him.

After some days, Newland finally expresses his love for Ellen. Ellen is also impressed by Newland but she is horrified by the thought that she will be ruining her cousin’s engagement. She tells Newland that she doesn’t want him to leave May for her. At the same time, Newland receives a letter from May. May wrote to Newland that she has talked with her mother and her mother is ready to let them marry soon.

Newland and May get married and Ellen decides to live in Washington, away from Newland. Newland finds his society's marriage boring. May is a dull and uninterested person and she lacks the vividity that Ellen possesses. Newland tries to forget Ellen but is unable to do so. Newland and May visit Newport, Rhodes Island where Newland Meets Ellen again. He comes to know that Count Olenski has asked for reconciliation and wants Ellen to return to Europe. Her family wants her to return and continue her marriage but Ellen has refused. Enraged by her independent attitude, Mrs. Manson Mignotte has cut off her money.

Newland realizes that Ellen is leading a difficult life. He desperately seeks some way to leave May and get married to Ellen. He realizes that it will be almost impossible for him to marry Ellen ever, he asks her to elope with him, but Ellen refuses. Meanwhile, Mrs. Manson Mignotte, grandmother of Ellen and May, gets sick and she calls Ellen back to New York to take care of her. She accepts her separation from Count Olenski and reinstates her monetary allowances. Newland and May also return to New York and Newland continues to seek time to meet Ellen in privacy. Ellen is attracted towards Newland and under renewed pressure from him, she agrees to consummate their relationship.

Meanwhile, May realizes that Newland is romantically involved with Ellen. She is frustrated. She realizes that her marriage with Newland is a sham but she is not ready to let it go. She decides to manipulate Newland to continue and maintain the sanctity of marriage with her. Newland learns that Ellen has decided to return to Europe. Newland knows that Ellen will never go back to her husband. He decides to leave May and follow Ellen and lead a new life with her. May announces that she and Newland are throwing a farewell party for Ellen. After the party, Newland decides to face May and tell her that he wants to leave her and go with Ellen. However, before he could say anything, May tells him that she learned that morning that she is pregnant with his child. She informs him that she had told Ellen about her pregnancy two weeks earlier though she was not sure of it at that time. Newland realizes that Ellen decided to leave New York because of May’s pregnancy as she doesn’t want to ruin May’s family. Newland faces the struggle of choosing Ellen and follow her to Europe or to remain with May and tender his duties towards the upcoming child. He decides to sacrifice his love for his duties towards the child.

Time flies and some 26 long years later, May gets terminally sick. Before she dies, she calls her son and tells him to always trust his father because his father sacrificed his most precious feelings for his child. Newland then realizes that May knew about him and Ellen from the start and she deliberately manipulated him and Ellen to save her marriage. Newland is 57 now. He and his son decide on a tour to Europe. When they are in Paris, his son comes to know that one of his mother’s cousins, Aunt Ellen is living in Paris. He decides to go and meet her. Newland also goes to visit her with his son. On arriving outside the apartment building, Newland sends up his son alone to meet Ellen. Newland considers going and meeting Ellen after so many years, but in the end, decides not to; he walks back to his hotel without seeing her. Newland's final words about the love affair are "It's more real to me here than if I went up.

So this is about The Age of Innocense. We will continue to discuss the English American Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Lycidas by John Milton | Structure, Summary and Analysis

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Lycidas was one of the early works of John Milton. It was published in 1638 in Justa Edouardo King Naufrago, a collection of elegies dedicated to the memory of Edward King who died by drowning when the ship he was traveling with sank in the Irish sea in 1637.

John Milton didn’t have many friends during his college time but he was very close to Edward King who was elected as a fellow of Christ College, Cambridge. Milton viewed King as an honest, selfless, and able one among the corrupt clergymen. Many other alumni of Cambridge wrote elegies for King in Greek and Latin that were published in Justa Edouardo King Naufrago but Milton wrote Lycidas in English and it was the last poem of the collection of elegies.

Structure of Lycidas

Lycidas is a long 193 line poem. Milton mentioned this poem as a monody, a poem as a monologue. However, there are many other voices in the poem along with the narrator. Milton cleverly changes the form of the poem with each new voice. The shift from one form of a poem to another reflects the entrance of a new voice. In the end, the main narrator of the poem goes away while the second speaker appears. The poem lines are written in Iambic Pentameter with no specific rhyming. The poem is written as an Italian Cantazone for most of its parts. At the end, when the second speaker appears, the poem changes its rhyme to a consistent ottava rime with the rhythm of abababcc.

Though the poem is an elegy, Milton stressed more on his knowledge of classical literature and poetry. He certainly expressed his grief for the loss of Edward King, his friend, but this poem appears more like his resume, his effort to establish himself as a better poet. The poem includes a lot of fiction in place of true natural feelings and raises too many concerns along with King’s demise. Many critics have noticed that this elegy is inauthentic. Samuel Johnson criticized this elegy and said, ‘in the poem, there is no nature, for there is no truth, there is no art, for there is nothing new.” Johnson criticized the whole genre of pastoral elegies as ‘easy, vulgar, and therefore disgusting.” He famously said about Lycidas, “Where there is leisure for fiction there is little grief.” Despite such harsh criticism, Lycidas was exceedingly popular and it was considered the best poem of John Milton.

Summary of Lycidas

The poem is a pastoral elegy and like classical pastoral elegies, it begins as the poet invokes the Muse and offers the reason for writing this poem. A Muse is any of the nine ancient Greek goddesses who presided over arts, music, and literature. Ancient Greek poet or writer used to call his particular Muse to inspire him. In ancient times, poets used to write pastoral elegy in which they used to give a fictional name for the diseased. In this poem, Milton addresses his friend Edward King as Lycidas as Lycidas was also a historical figure who died at a young age before he could bloom.

Lycidas can be divided into six parts. The first part is the prologue followed by the body of the poem consisting of four parts, and then it ends with the epilogue, the sixth part.

Prologue of Lycidas (Lines 1-24)

The poem begins as the narrator picks leaves and flowers for the funeral of Lycidas. He plucks unripe berries and ivy. The plants die too young, like Lycidas.

The poet then invokes his Muse and explains his reason for writing the poem. Milton says that he vowed that he will keep away from poetry until he gets enough maturity to write poems. However, ‘bitter constraints and sad occasion' is forcing him to write an elegy. He says that he is too sad for the demise of his friend and there is no other way to express his grief but to use words. Hence, he is compelled to write this elegy. He invokes the Muse to inspire him to write this elegy. He asks the Muse to fill his urn with water and mourn Lycidas. In a way, Milton puts himself in the same line as that of Theocritus, Virgil, or Homer.

The 2nd Part of Lycidas (Lines 25-64)

The poet describes how Lycidas and the poet were enjoying their life as jolly shepherds. Milton invokes rural pastoral imagery that actually gives an idea of his life with King at Cambridge, the ‘self-same hill’ where they learned together. He describes how he and King used to start their day with studies early in the morning that continued throughout the day late into the night. Alas! Lycidas is no more, and this is a huge change, the world is no more like it was before his death. In a traditional pastoral elegy style, the narrator then asks his Muse, where was she when Lycidas died? Why couldn’t the goddess save his friend against death? And then he answers himself that his demise was fate and even her presence would not have saved him.

Then the poet reflects on the philosophy behind this. He wonders if his hard work and poetry can accomplish anything good? Why should he lead a strenuous disciplined life while abandoning all the pleasures he can have and cultivate the Muse? He thinks that one does so to obtain Fame, which is the reward of living laborious days. But as he is about to get his reward, Fate intervenes and he dies. In the precarious human life lies the tragic irony. Here, Milton suggests that Lycidas (or King) was also an emerging poet who could have earned a huge name had he lived longer.

While the poet is wondering about this, the God of Music and Poetry arrives. Apollo (Phoebus) tells the speaker to remain calm. He reminds the speaker that fame on earth isn't nearly as awesome as life in heaven and that life in heaven is where real fame happens.

The 3rd Part (Lines 85-131)

The third section begins with the pastoral description of mourners lamenting the death of Lycidas. The sea god Triton arrives and he leads the procession of mourners. Triton is followed by his winds behind him. In the prologue, the poet called the Muse to mourn for Lycidas, Triton answers his call on behalf of the Muse. Triton denies taking the blame for the death of Lycidas. He says the winds were good and the water was smooth. The ship sank because it was built during an eclipse and was doomed to fail.

Then appears St. Peter, “The Pilot of the Galilean lake.” He mourns the death of Lycidas and his speech soon turns into a sermon against the corrupt clergy and the sad condition of the Anglican church.

The 4^th Part (Lines 132-164)

In this part, the poet describes the “flowerets of a thousand hues” cast on the hearts of Lycidas, is an “escape from intolerable reality into a lovely world of make-believe.” Suddenly, the poet realizes that Lycidas’s body is in the sea and he cannot have a proper funeral.

The 5th Part (Lines 165-183)

In these lines, Milton brings upon the idea of Afterlife and expresses his strong belief in immortality. Grief and sorrow are temporary. And though Lycidas is apparently dead, he has arisen from the dead: “Through the dear might of Him that walked the waves.” Lycidas is in heaven, and therefore “Weep ye no more.” The saints there to entertain him in “sweet societies / That sing, and singing in their glory move.” The poet offers the image of the Sun setting only to rise again, a metaphor for Christian resurrection.

The Epilogue (Lines 185-193)

The shepherd leaves the place and a new speaker continues the poem to its end. The second speaker describes the shepherd rising to explore new pastures, leaving the place where he grieved for Lycidas. The conclusion points to a new determination both to face life hopefully and to rise up to greater poetic achievements.

Lycidas is a proper pastoral elegy describing the loss of a close friend. The mourning is twice interrupted where the poet describes his personal sorrow with universal significance. He uses the death of Lycidas to reflect on the precariousness of life and the irony of fate that can render all human efforts futile. Along with that, the poet also comments against the degeneration and corruption of the Anglican church while suggesting that Lycidas was an honest selfless clergyman.

This is it for today. We will continue to discuss other important works by John Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse.

Thanks and Regards.

Comus by John Milton, Characters, Summary, Analysis

 

Comus by John Milton, Characters, Summary, Analysis

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Masques gained prominence during the Jacobean and Caroline era. Puritans often complained that masques were associated with the perceived debauchery of the royal court. Most of the masques during the Caroline era were performed for the entertainment of King Charles I and his queen Henerrita Maria. However, Milton wrote a masque to exonerate the blame of debauchery from this genre of arts and wrote a masque titled A Maske presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: on Michaelmasse night, before the Right Honorable, John Earle of Bridgewater, Viscount Brackly, Lord President of Wales, and one of His Majesties most honorable privie counsell. It was performed on 29^th September 1634 for the celebrations of John Egerton becoming the new Lord President of Wales.

Later on, scholars and researchers changed the title of this masque to Comus, which is the main character of the masque.

Unlike other masques which were often performed in the royal court for the King and Queen, this masque was performed for John Egerton. Also, the subject matter of the masque was not to praise the King or to entertain him, rather, it was to offer a puritan, religious idea about the triumph of chastity. Milton published Comus in 1645 and 1673 in his collection titled Poems. Basically, it is a poem, it is written as a poem to be enacted as a Masque.

In 1738, the masque was revised by Thomas Arne and it became a popular masque of the eighteenth century and continuously ran for more than 70 years in London.

Characters of Comus

The Lady is the main character, a member of the royal family. She is a virgin and endowed with superior protection because of her chastity. She can see the invisible angel, the attendant spirit. She has two elder brothers. Her beauty and purity entice Comus who tries everything possible to corrupt her purity. Comus is the titular character. He is the antagonist, the villain. Comus is the bastard son of the Pagan god Bachus and nymph Circe. He is a sorcerer with the power to corrupt others by giving them a potion to drink. The Attendant Spirit is a spirit sent by Jove to protect the Lady. The attendant spirit has shapeshifting powers. The Elder Brother is a confident courageous man who understands the power of chastity. He suggests his younger brother and the attendant spirit arm themselves to encounter Comus while trying to save the Lady. The attendant spirit rejects his suggestion and rather plans to enter the palace of Comus sneakily. The elder brother doesn’t listen to the attendant spirit, suggesting that he lacks control over his temper and doesn’t listen and trust his superiors. The Younger Brother is a little less confident one. He doubts and worries about her sister’s safety. He follows his elder brother and learns philosophy and the powers of chastity and purity. Being innocent, he can identify the attendant spirit as Thyrsis. Sabrina is a local nymph living in the jungle. Just like the Lady, Sabrina is also pure, chaste, and gentle. The attendant spirit summons Sabrina’s help to undo the curse and spell of Comus. She helps the Lady to free herself against the curse of Comus.

Summary of Comus
The poem begins with a spirit descending from the skies. The spirit talks about the differences between Heaven and Earth. The spirit suggests that the Earth and the human body are a cage for the spirit while the ultimate aim is liberty.

The spirit then reveals that he was sent by Jove to help and protect those who ruled over the land and needed assistance. The spirit then says that he will tell a story that was never spoken or heard before.

The spirit then begins the story. He introduces Comus, the sorcerer. Comus is the son of Pagan god Bacchus and nymph Cicre. He is a cunning sorcerer driven by desire. Comus traps travelers who pass through that jungle and tempts them to drink his potion. After drinking the potion, the travelers turn into wild animals under his spell and follow him like slaves. Right then, the spirit hears some noise coming afar and he disappears. Comus appears on the stage followed by wild animals whom he enchanted. As a sorcerer, Comus is frightening. He says that the night should not be wasted in sleeping. Rather, a person must toil at night to fulfill his desires. Soon he hears the footsteps of someone. Without even seeing, he realizes that the newcomer is a young girl. He disguises himself as a handsome trustworthy villager to deceive the girl.

The girl is the Lady who lost her brothers in the jungle. Comus confronts her and tells her that he will help her in finding her brothers. Comus is in disguise as a trustworthy villager and the girl gets deceived by his good nature. She decides to follow Comus while searching for her brothers.

Two young men then appear. One is the Elder brother and the other is the Younger brother. The reason why they were separated away by their sister is revealed. The three siblings were returning to their palace when they lost their path in the woods. They continued trying to find the right path but their sister, the Lady got tired and hungry. She decided to take some rest. Her brothers told her to wait for them at the same place while they will go and search for some berries to eat. As they went away a little far in search of some food, the moon and stars stopped lightening as the sky got covered with dark clouds. The two brothers get worried about their sister and want to reach her as soon as possible.

The younger brother is more worried and frightened about the safety of their sister but the elder brother is confident as he soothes the younger brother and tells him that their sister will remain safe because she is determined to remain pure and chaste. He describes the power of Chastity to his brother. He then says that they should not waste their time worrying as Virtue will watch over their sister and she will remain safe. He says that they should try to find their sister as soon as possible.

While the two brothers were discussing the future plan, they get interrupted by a shepherd named Thyrsis. The shepherd asks them where was their sister lost? They tell him all that happened. The shepherd then informs them about Comus, the sorcerer, and his magic potion. The younger brother realizes that the shepherd is no common man but a powerful spirit. He asks the spirit to help them rescue their sister. The Spirit promises to help them. The Elder brother suggests that they should arm themselves to confront Comus. But the shepherd says that arms won’t help and they should sneak into the palace of Comus silently without his knowledge to rescue their sister.

Meanwhile, the Lady is following Comus and he takes her to his pleasure palace where he captures her and tortures her by his necromancy. He forces her to sit on an enchanted chair with “gums of glutinous heat” and she becomes immobilized. Comus then confronts her while holding a necromancer wand in his right hand to torture her and a magical cup full of his potion representing sexual desires and intemperance in his left hand. He tells the Lady to drink from the cup and save herself against the torture he can inflict. But the Lady is determined, she argues for the virtue of temperance, chastity, and purity and declines drinking from the magical cup.

Comus knows that the girl is hungry. There are many tasteful cuisines kept on a neat beautiful table that the Lady can easily see. She can get the smell of well-prepared food to increase her desires and appetites. The Lady is restrained and being tortured, yet she continues to maintain her determination for chastity and purity. She suggests that though Comus has restrained her physically, she is still free as she manifests the freedom of mind.

Comus says that the appetites and desires arise from one’s nature and hence they are licit. The Lady agrees that it is in nature but she argues that rational self-control is enlightened and virtuous. She says that those who submit to their desires forfeit their higher nature while succumbing to their baser impulses. In this debate, the Lady and Comus signify, respectively, soul and body, ratio and libido, sublimation and sensuality, virtue and vice, moral rectitude, and immoral depravity.

Aided by the spirit in the shape of the shepherd, the two brothers reach the pleasure palace of Comus and chase him away. As they go to rescue their sister, they find her unable to move away from the enchanted chair. The attendant spirit sings a song then and calls a water nymph Sabrina to help the Lady. Sabrina also represents temperance, chastity, and purity. As she examines that the Lady continued to safeguard her chastity despite the torture and lurings of Comus, she decides to help and free her from the enchanted chair. The poem ends with the Lady and her brothers arriving safely at their parents’ palace where they celebrate.

So this is about Comus. We will continue to discuss other important works of John Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

John Milton | L'Allegro and Il Penseroso | Summary and Analysis

John Milton | L'Allegro and Il Penseroso | Summary and Analysis

 Hello and welcome to the Discourse. L’Allegro and Il Penseroso are the two companion poems by John Milton that he wrote during his early days as a poet after completing his graduation from Cambridge.

These are companion poems, that is these were written around the same time with a similar theme in mind. These are two contrasting poems at the opposite ends of a debatable point. The issue under discussion in these poems is whether it is better to live a carefree life or a contemplative life.

The titles, L’Allegro and Il Penseroso are Italian terms though the poems are written in English. Both these poems begin with the poet invoking the Greek Goddesses as their guide. Several Greek and Roman gods and goddesses have been mentioned in these poems.

L’Allegro and Il Penseroso are companion poems. These two poems together can be understood either as arguments offered by two different poets supporting different approaches to life. Or, these two poems can also be considered following the same poet from his youth in L’Allegro to his old age in Il Penseroso. These poems were very popular during the 17^th, and 18^th centuries. William Blake was so inspired by these two poems of Milton that he made illustrations of both these poems.

L’Allegro means a Joyful man in Italian. L’Allegro appears to be inspired by Greek and Roman classical works. Christopher Marlowe’s A Passionate Shepherd can also be seen as an inspiration for Milton as Marlowe’s Passionate Shepherd and Milton’s L’Allegro offer similar arguments to support a carefree life.

Both L’Allegro and Il Penseroso were written in Octasyllabic couplets (couplets with lines having 8 syllables). However, there are some 7 syllabic lines in between the poems. There are some interesting metaphors, similes, hyperbole, allusions, and major conflict in the poems. The tone of L’Allegro is buoyant and joyous.

Summary of L’Allegro

In the introductory stanza of L’Allegro, the poet banishes goddess Melancholy. He begs goddess Melancholy to leave him alone and go and bother the Cimmerians. Cimmerians are a group of people who were believed to dwell in unending darkness. The poem is set in springtime, so the sunlight is in full bloom. So the poet suggests that Melancholy and all other dark things should go away.

After this, the poet welcomes and celebrates, Mirth, the goddess of Joy throughout the poem. The poet begins by imagining how the goddess Mirth was born. In one such story, the poet suggests that she is the daughter of goddess Venus and god Bachus. Both these Greek gods are associate with love and fertility. In another similar story of the birth of the goddess of Joy, the poet suggests that she is the daughter of Zephyr and Aurora, the Greek gods representing the wind and dawn. As the poem continues, the poet continues to bounce from one story of her birth to other as he doesn’t have enough patience to analyze the details. The poet then glorifies the attributes of goddess Mirth that she brings with her such as happiness, Jest, Jollity, Sport, Laughter, and Liberty. The poet then personifies each of these feelings and emotions and imagines that all these are dancing with him to celebrate the arrival of goddess Mirth.

The poet then imagines how wonderful his life would be if he is allowed to live with goddess Mirth and Liberty, her attribute. He describes the way his day will begin with Mirth and Liberty. He first describes the village life and imagines a morning hunt taking place in the woods as peasants come out of their homes, talking while starting work in their fields. As the poet enjoys the beautiful landscape, he sees a cottage of a peasant couple named Corydon and Thyrsis as they enjoy their meal.

The poet again imagines enjoying and dancing with peasants, Mirth, and Liberty as they enjoy the evening. The poet then slips into slumber and enjoys some beautiful dreams of knights, castles, fairies, and goblins. In his dream, he, Mirth, and Liberty visit a city to enjoy an evening. The three enjoy the active life of the city as they go to watch some fine plays by playwrights like William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson.

The poet ends the poem by saying that the poetry of Mirth can beat the finest song of Orpheus. In the last line, the poet again says that he wishes to spend his life with the goddess Mirth.

Il Penseroso Summary

L’Allegro and Il Penseroso were published in 1645 when John Milton was at the age of 37. However, it is believed that both these poems were written in 1632, during the last year of Milton at Cambridge University, or just after he completed his post-graduation. Il Penseroso offers the second segment of the debate that began in the poem L’Allegro. L’Allegro suggests that one of the extremes of life, that is carefree joyous life is the best, in contrast, Il Penseroso suggests that Melancholy is very important to live. Both poem together suggests that it is impossible to lead a life with either of the one extremes, and there needs to be some balance. These two companion poems offer an argument against arguing.

L’Allegro began with the poet banishing Melancholy as he invites Mirth as his guide to life. Il Penseroso begins as the poet offers his argument to banish goddess Mirth and her attributes, the vain deluding joys. The poet then chooses and invites goddess Melancholy as his guide to life. He then offers an account of the birth of the goddess Melancholy. He says that Melancholy is the daughter of Vesta and Saturn. This story is an aberration to Greek mythology as Milton himself invented it. Vesta is the Greek goddess known for her virginity and chastity. Saturn, the father of Vesta, is a god of justice. The poet says that Melancholy is the result of an incestuous relationship between Vesta and Saturn. It is Milton’s own invention and an abrupt profane note about the life of contemplation.

The poet then invites the attributes of goddess Melancholy to join him. Her attributes are Peace, Quiet, Fast, Leisure, Contemplation, and Silence. He then personifies these attributes.

The poet then describes how he walks along with Melancholy, peace, contemplation, and silence to a lonely cottage or solitary tower in a dark silent forest.

In the peaceful surroundings, the poet thinks about philosophy and gradually wanders towards the thoughts of Tragedy and imagines the fall of big, strong ancient cities. He then thinks about modern cities and how people of modern cities find tragic dramas satisfactory. The poet then alludes to the story of Orpheus. Orpheus is a classical mythical figure, a shepherd who tried to bring his wife back from the darkness of the underworld. The poet then brings up the story of Canace, a character from Chaucer’s Canterbury tale (The Squire's Tale). Canace gets a magical ring that allows her to translate the songs of birds. Canace uses the ring to hear the tragic love story of a hawk.

The poet spends the whole night with the goddess Melancholy and Contemplation. As the morning arrives, he asks Melancholy to take him to a shadowed part of the deep wood where he could dream a little more. Finally, the poet wakes up John Milton | L'Allegro and Il Penseroso | Summary and Analysiswhile hearing an organ being played in a nearby church. In the end, the poet decides to retire to a hermitage and spend the rest of his life while studying and contemplating. In the end, he again stresses that he wants to live his whole life with Melancholy.

L’Allegro and Il Penseroso are two extremes of life, the first is full of joys, and the second is full of contemplation. In each of the poems, the poet begins while rejecting the idea presented in the other poem. The main idea of the two poems is to suggest that none of the two extremes is a proper way to lead a life and there needs to be a balance. There are sexual innuendos in both of the poems.

In Il Penseroso, the poet suggests an incestuous relationship between Vesta and her father Saturn while he addresses Melancholy as a pure devout nun.

So this is about L’Allegro and Il Penseroso, the two companion poems by John Milton. We will continue to discuss other important works of John Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

John Milton | Early Works and Influences

 John Milton | Early Works and Influences

Hello and welcome to the Discourse.

John Milton was a mixed product of various ideas that we influential during his time. His grandfather was a Catholic but his father favored Protestantism. He chose to side with Puritan ideology. He had influences of John Donne and his tutor Thomas Young carved his political and religious thoughts. Despite being an ardent supporter of Puritanism, John Milton went against the puritan ideas about Divorce and wrote his four tracts on Divorce. So while for a Puritan, Bible is the ultimate truth, Milton wasn’t so sure of it. He was an ardent fan of science and met Galileo during his time in Italy. Galileo was the only contemporary living person that he mentioned in his magnum opus Paradise Lost. He was among the very few such puritans who accepted and supported the Heliocrantric view of Galileo without a fuss.

During his days in Italy, he associated himself with Humanism. The humanist ideal of the renaissance period was that God has made man in his own image and hence, there is something inherently valuable in man. Yet, he was a staunch puritan too. All his works are inspired by Bible. The basic story of Paradise Lost is taken from Bible. In other works of Milton too, he mentions Christ again and again.

At Horton, during the outbreak of plague, he invested six years only in reading Greek and Latin authors. He was inspired by Holmer, Ovid, and Vergil. Another important influence that is visible in his poetic works is that of Edmund Spenser. Many critics suggest that the writing style of Paradise Lost is akin to that of Faerie Queen by Spenser.

Another important literary aspect that influenced John Milton appeared from the Elizabethan dramatists such as Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. Milton was particularly intrigued by William Shakespeare. His first published poem was titled ‘On Shakespeare’ which was anonymously included in the second folio of Shakespeare’s plays in 1632. Milton’s use of unrhymed lines in blank verse in his magnum opus Paradise Lost became the first instance of the use of blank verse in poetry. Before Milton, only dramatists used Blank Verse. Milton not only employed Blank Verse in Paradise Lost, but he used it in Samson Agonistes, and Paradise Regained too.

So, we can summarize the influences on Milton as a) Metaphysical Poets (He heard sermons of John Donne and Andrew Marvell was his close associate), b) Puritanism and Presbyterianism, c) Renaissance Humanism, d) Greek and Latin classics of Holmer Ovid, and Vergil, e) Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Tale, and f) William Shakespeare.

Influences of John Milton

John Milton is considered one of the best English poets of all time. John Dryden in 1677 described Milton as the poet of the sublime. Poets of the 18^th century, including Alexander Pope, and Samuel Johnson revered and praised John Milton. Samuel Johnson wrote many essays on Paradise Lost and mentioned John Milton in his book Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets.

Voltaire was too impressed by Milton as he mentioned him in his work The Age of Louis XIV as ‘Milton remains the glory and wonder of England.’

William Blake was an ardent fan of John Milton and considered him the major English poet. According to Blake, Edmund Spenser was the pre-cursor of Milton while he considered himself as the poetical son of Milton.

During the Romantic age, Edmund Burke described Milton’s description of Hell in Paradise Lost as the best example of the sublime aesthetic concept. Burke believed that it was as difficult as to put ‘mountain tops, a storm at sea, and infinity’ alongside each other, and Milton did it easily in his own poetic manner. In his book, 'The Beautiful and Sublime', Burke mentions Milton as, "No person seems better to have understood the secret of heightening, or of setting terrible things, if I may use the expression, in their strongest light, by the force of a judicious obscurity than Milton."

Milton was the first to use strong Blank Verse in poems. Most of the romantic poets praised Milton’s use of blank verse though they had reservations about his religious thoughts. William Wordsworth praised Milton in his sonnet ‘London 1802.’ He begins the sonnet London 1802 as "Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour". He further addresses Milton and says, ‘Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart, Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea,” Wordsworth and Samuel T. Coleridge collaborated to produce a philosophical poem larger than Paradise Lost in Miltonian style using Blank Verse. Though the plan didn’t work, Wordsworth’s biographical poem 'The Prelude' was written in Blank Verse and was inspired by Paradise Lost. Similarly, John Keats described Paradise Lost as "beautiful and grand curiosity.” However, he couldn’t use Miltonian verse himself with elan when he tried to write his epic poem Hyperion that he never completed.

During the Victorian age, T.S. Eliot, Harold Bloom, and Ezra Pound criticized Milton. T.S Eliot said “Milton’s poetry could only be an influence for the worse upon any poet whatever,” and that the “bad influence may be traced much farther than upon bad poets “and we still have to struggle against it. According to T.S. Eliot, ‘Milton writes English like a dead language.’ 

Harold Bloom in his work The Anxiety of Influence wrote, "Milton is the central problem in any theory and history of poetic influence in English.”

Despite such critics, Milton continued to enjoy praise as other victorian authors like George Eliot and Thomas Hardy were inspired by him.

Milton’s Areropagitica influenced the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Initial Works of Milton

The very first work by Milton that we will discuss is ‘On Morning of Christ’s Nativity’ also known as the Nativity Ode. It is a poem about the birth of Christ and the birth of a poet. Milton wrote this poem for the celebrations of his 21^st birthday. The poem is about his leap into the world and begins his career as a poet, author. It was not the first poem that Milton wrote, yet he considered it his beginning as a poet. In 1645, When Milton published his collection of Poems, he kept Nativity Ode at the beginning. The poets of the 17^th century often wrote about Christ’s birth. Some of such very popular poems were written by Ben Jonson, Robert Herrick, and others. While the central focus of poems by other poets used to be the miracle of Christ’s birth and Mother Mary’s love for her son, Milton’s ode focussed more on the history and development of Christianity and how the birth of Christ influenced it.

Milton’s poem is more about the capacity of an individual to bring noteworthy changes. He not only describes how Christ served humanity, but he also stresses his own duties towards England and humanity. It is a long 27 stanza poem that was longer than any other poem on Christ’s birth written before it. Milton was a student at Cambridge University when he wrote this poem in 1629. The poem is divided into two sections, the first section is a four stanza introduction and the other section is titled Hymn which is a 27 stanza poem. The poem describes how Christ took birth and overthrew the false gods and rulers, and how he was crucified. He brings upon the necessity of political change to end the reign of Charles I. He presents Christ’s birth as a model for revolutionaries against the tyrant monarch.

The next work by Milton that we will discuss is ‘On Shakespeare’. It was the very first published poem of Milton in English. Milton wrote ‘On Shakespeare’ in 1630 and it was published anonymously in 1632 in the second folio of Shakespeare’s collection of dramas. It is a 16-lines long epigram in which Milton praises Shakespeare and says that there is no need to make any monument as a tribute to Shakespeare as no man-made monument is a suitable tribute to Shakespeare’s achievement. According to Milton, Shakespeare himself created the most enduring monument to befit his genius: the readers of the plays, who, transfixed with awe and wonder, become living monuments, a process renewed at each generation through the panorama of time. Milton describes Shakespeare as ‘Son of Memory,’ and ‘Heir of Fame.’

The third work by Milton that we will discuss is his famous poem ‘On Arriving at the Age 23.’

Milton wrote this poem in 1632 just after he graduated from Cambridge University. It was for the celebration of his 23rd birthday. It is a sonnet of personal meditation. Milton talks about how he would like to use his talent to glorify God. Milton mentions a time in the beginning line as the thief of youth. Milton suggests that he has little time as he is now 23 years old, yet he hasn’t achieved any noteworthy milestone. It is as if someone at the age of 23 is looking back at his years and wondering that he hasn’t done anything noteworthy till now, he has just wasted his time. Milton here acknowledges that he may not seem as mature as some of his contemporaries but expresses a desire to use his talents well and his trust in God's will for him over time. He then uses the metaphor of the seasonal cycle to express different stages of life. He says that youth is like spring, summer symbolizes the prime time of life, autumn is middle age, and winter is like old age. He mentions that currently, he is in the late spring season.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss other important works of John Milton. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

John Milton | English Poet | Biography and Important Points

 John Milton | English Poet | Biography and Important Points

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. We are going to discuss John Milton, one of the most important English poets and authors. While we will discuss all the major works of John Milton (including Paradise Lost and Samson Agonistes) in detail, let us begin with a quick go through his life. Having an idea of his biography will certainly help in understanding his literary work. John Milton was among such few poets and authors who created their best works during the latter half of their life, after the age of 50.

John Milton took birth on December 9, 1608, in London. His grandfather was a staunch Roman Catholic but his father decided to be a protestant and supported the Anglican Church. John Milton himself was attracted to the principles of Puritans. His grandfather expelled his father and disinherited him as his father sided with the Anglican Church and read the English Bible. His father shifted to London and established himself as a successful scrivener and moneylender. Milton began his schooling at St. Paul’s School, London. His father was very much interested in arts and hence, he arranged a private tutor to instruct and help John Milton along with his formal education. This tutor was Thomas Young, a Scottish Presbyterian who influenced John Donne with his ideas of religion and politics. John Donne remained in contact with Thomas Young through letters for a long period. At school, he befriended Charles Diodati who remained a long-time friend of Milton.

During those years, John Donne was the Dean of St. Paul Cathedral and John Milton heard some of his sermons. John Donne’s influence on John Milton can be felt in his magnum opus Paradise Lost. Milton was being educated in Greek and Italian at St. Paul’s School and he gained proficiency in these languages.

Being the son of a scrivener, John Milton had a dream of becoming a Minister in the court. He got admission to Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1625 to be educated for the ministry. However, he got involved in a heated debate against his tutors at college. As a result, he was rusticated for a period from college. He didn’t have many friends in college. After some time, a new tutor named Nathaniel Tovey was appointed for him and he got back into the college. He excelled in his studies and got his Bachelor of Arts in 1629. He received his Masters's degree in 1632 with excellent marks. Despite being a bright student, he wasn’t so popular in college and didn’t have many friends. He was being ridiculed as the ‘Lady of Christ College,’ by other students. He got this nickname because of his unusually fair complexion, delicate facial features, and girl-like long auburn hair. Yet, he befriended Edward King at Christ College.

After completing his Masters's degree, he decided to give up his aim of becoming a minister perhaps because he was not comfortable with other students who might have become his colleagues if he had chosen to be a minister.

Ultimately, he decided to turn his attention to poetry. His father was an avid supporter of poetry and other forms of arts. As his father was enjoying success in his business, he got ample support from his father. After college, he returned to his family in Hammersmith on the outskirts of London. Those were the days of the Bubonic plague and to save his family, his father decided to move to a more pastoral location at Horton in Buckinghamshire. Milton spent six years in Horton during which he hardly met anyone and spent most of his time studying Greek and Latin poets and authors. By the end of six years, he was familiar with all major works of Homer, Virgil, Ovid, and other major Greek and Latin writers.

In 1638, John Milton decided that he has gained enough from books and he must now go out to learn from the world. His father again helped him and he went on a tour to Continental Europe along with a male servant. He spent most of his time in Italy, especially in the city of Rome and Florence. He was touched by the humanist approach of Italian literati. We already discussed Humanism in our previous videos. The basic idea of the humanistic approach was that God pervades all humans and just like God has special powers, a human can also have special powers that he may use. Humanism was about celebrating humanity. Milton made many friends in the literary circles of Italy and remained in touch with them through written correspondences after returning to England. Just like John Donne, John Milton also had a strong interest in new science and astronomy. During his tour to Italy, he managed to meet Galileo who was very old and blind at that time. Galileo was under house arrest when Milton met him. They discussed astronomy, science, and other varied subjects. Milton was just 30 years old at that time and he was too impressed by Galileo. Galileo was the only contemporary person of John Milton who got a mention in Paradise Lost.

John Milton knew many languages and he excelled in Latin, Greek, and English. He was a staunch puritan who continued to oppose Catholics. Yet, during his visit to Italy, he befriended many Catholics and got the help of high-ranking Catholics at the Library of the Vatican to gain access to the vast resource of knowledge.

In 1637, Milton got information about the death of his college friend Edward King who drowned while crossing the Irish sea. John Milton wrote a pastoral elegy titled Lycidas in the memory of Edward King. This elegy was published as the last elegy of the compilation “Obsequies in the memory of Edward King’ in which many other ex-students of Cambridge wrote elegies for Edward King.

Milton was planning to leave Italy and move to Greece as his next destination during the tour when he got the information of the death of his childhood friend Charles Diodati. At the same time, he got the news of the impending civil war in England against the monarchy. John Milton decided to return to England and help the Parliamentarians against the Royalists.

Milton himself was a puritan and he had great respect for Oliver Cromwell who was leading the revolution. On his return to London, he wrote an elegy for Charles Diodati in Latin who probably died of the plague. The title of this elegy was Epitaphium Damonis (Damon’s Epitaph).

After returning to London, he almost left poetry and decided to devote his energies to writing pamphlets supporting Oliver Cromwell’s commonwealth. So while cavalier poets were trying to popularize King Charles I, Puritan poets like John Milton decided to provide support to Roundheads headed by Oliver Cromwell. From 1640 to 1660, John Milton wrote many proses works almost all supporting the Puritan ideas and the government of Cromwell.

In 1642, John Milton got married to Mary Powell but their marriage proved to be a disaster as Powell left Milton just one month after their marriage. Mary Powell was just 17 years old then while Milton was 24 years old. Another reason for their separation was that Mary belonged to a family that supported Royalists while Milton was increasingly supporting the Roundheads. During his estrangement from his wife, Milton wrote four prose works on the subject of Divorce known as the Divorce Tracts of John Milton. They were titled The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (published in 1643), The Judgment of Martin Bucer Concerning Divorce (1644), Tetrachordon (1645), and Colasterion (1645).

However, Mary Powell didn’t divorce John Milton and she returned to him in 1646 after which they had three daughters and a son who died at an early age. In 1652, Mary Powell died while giving birth to their third daughter Deborah. Powell was just 27 years old.

John Milton came in contact with educational reformer Samuel Hartlib and in 1644, he published his short tract ‘On Education’ in which he advocated reform of national universities.

Meanwhile, he continued to support the Oliver Cromwell government. In 1649, he published ‘The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates’ in which he implicitly supported the regicide (execution of King Charles I). Impressed by his support for Puritans, he was appointed as Secretary for Foreign Tongues by the Council of State in 1649. His major duty was to keep a proper look at the criticism of the Commonwealth Government in various pamphlets and publications and offer a proper rebuttal. His job included the duty of producing propaganda in support of the Commonwealth government. However, his post demanded him to compose the English Republic’s correspondences to other nations in Latin and other languages. Milton was a friend of contemporary metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell who was also a supporter of Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth government. Andrew Marvell worked as the assistant Milton when he was working as the Secretary of Foreign Tongues.

Milton got partially blind in the year 1652 and his eyesight continued to deteriorate. In 1652, he lost his wife Mary Powell too who died while giving birth to their third daughter Deborah. In 1656, John Milton married Katherine Woodcock who died after four months of their marriage. Gradually, Milton turned completely blind. In 1663, he married the third time to a girl named Elizabeth Mynshell who was very compassionate towards him. She acted as a nurse to him and took proper care of him. From 1640 to 1660, Milton continued to write prose, pamphlets articles, and books in support of the Commonwealth government. After the return of Charles II as the king of England, during the age of Restoration, Milton suffered the wrath of the new government under the Monarch. He was shortly imprisoned but was helped by Andrew Marvell and other supporters and was rescued. He again turned his focus to poetry and in 1660 and in 1663 he completed his magnum opus Paradise Lost which was published in 1667. Milton died on 8^th November 1671.

So we have discussed the major incidences of life of John Milton. His biography will help us in understanding the prose and verses by John Milton that we will continue to discuss in detail. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!