Poetical Works

by John Milton

John Milton was born on 9 December 1608 in Cheapside,
London. He published little until the appearance of Poems of Mr
John Milton, both English and Latin in 1646, when he was 37. By
this time he was deeply committed to a political vocation, and
became an articulate and increasingly indispensable spokesman for
the Independent cause. He wrote the crucial justifications for the
trial and execution of Charles I, and, as Secretary for Foreign
Tongues to the Council of State, was the voice of the English revolution to the world at large. After the failure of the Commonwealth he was briefly imprisoned; blind and in straitened circumstances he returned to poetry, and in 1667 published a ten-book version of Paradise Lost, his biblical epic written, as he put it, after 'long choosing, and beginning late'. In 1671, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes appeared, followed two years later by an expanded edition of his shorter poems. The canon was completed in 1674, the year of his death, with the appearance of the twelve-book Paradise Lost, which became a classic almost immediately. His influence on English poetry and criticism has been incalculable.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

602 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 1969

About the author

People best know John Milton, English scholar, for Paradise Lost , the epic poem of 1667 and an account of fall of humanity from grace.

Beelzebub, one fallen angel in Paradise Lost, of John Milton, lay in power next to Satan.

Belial, one fallen angel, rebelled against God in Paradise Lost of John Milton.


John Milton, polemicist, man of letters, served the civil Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote in blank verse at a time of religious flux and political upheaval.

Prose of John Milton reflects deep personal convictions, a passion for freedom and self-determination, and the urgent issues and political turbulence of his day. He wrote in Latin, Greek, and Italian and achieved international renown within his lifetime, and his celebrated Areopagitica (1644) in condemnation of censorship before publication among most influential and impassioned defenses of free speech and the press of history.

William Hayley in biography of 1796 called and generally regarded John Milton, the "greatest ... author," "as one of the preeminent writers in the ... language," though since his death, critical reception oscillated often on his republicanism in the centuries. Samuel Johnson praised, "with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the ... mind," though he, a Tory and recipient of royal patronage, described politics of Milton, an "acrimonious and surly republican."

Because of his republicanism, centuries of British partisanship subjected John Milton.

Reviews

[A.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ticking my Bradbury ‘read a poem every day’ box. It helps to read it aloud.
Look I know Milton is old, but sometimes I forget just HOW old. There is a poem in dedicated to Lord General Cromwell – it’s dated 1652.
1652!

Note: This subject the Author finding to be above the yeers he had, when he wrote it, and nothing satisfi'd with what was begun, left it unfinish'd.

This is now my excuse for all the things I do not finish … this subject/project is above the years I had.
I learnt recently that he was blind when he wrote his greatest work. He would memorise a few lines and then recite them to his clerk, who wrote them down.
We all know ‘his dark materials’ is a line from the poem - and used as the Philip Pullman series name, but I am blown away by how many times I am reading and get a ping for some other work, or idea, or title, or name.
It’s everywhere.
The further in I get, the more I understand that Milton had the biggest hard on for Lucifer. I mean… really. None of this is in the bible. It’s the ultimate Bible fanfiction; set in an alternate universe where the essential question is: ‘What if the Devil was really sexy?’
How is Jesus even here to fight on Heaven’s side just after the fall of Adam and Eve?
An inspiration for many stories to follow, eh?
And here is a Twitter thread of sexy satans - just because…
https://twitter.com/RomGothSam/status...
The abs are theological… sure, sure honey.

Remove their swelling Epithetes thick laid
As varnish on a Harlots cheek,

And there are so many foreskins… and mention of circumcision.

Then with what trivial weapon came to Hand,
The Jaw of a dead Ass, his sword of bone,
A thousand fore-skins fell, the flower of Palestin

Phew, well that took me a while to slog through, even reading a bit every day. Checks notes: started in July 2019.
*Uses date between button on PC calculator* 538 days. Yeesh.

3 stars

[Hayley Shaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book of Milton's poems and a few dramas in verse. Paradise Lost and Paradise Regain'd are included in it, but Aereopagitica is not. I especially liked Paradise Lost. It was, more than any of the other works, imbued with poetic genius. If you like poetry, this is a must read. Find the book free at this URL:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1745

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I did find the biographical introduction quite interesting and some of Milton's poetry surprising engrossing and intriguing, I found most of it didn't really do it for me. Even when I forced myself to slow down and read out loud to try and get the full effect I just found it all a little unnecessarily convoluted. Even Paradise Lost, which has this reputation for being an epically colourful and intense poem seemed to wash over me with little impact. I'm sure one day I will be mature (or whatever) enough as a reader to fully appreciate such works, but today is not that day.

[sch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've dipped into this before but would like to read it all before teaching PL again. It's an edited reprint of several 17C editions of Milton's poems.

Finished. Omitted the long works: PL, PR, and Samson Agonistes, but braved the prose translations of the Italian, Greek, and Latin lyrics, which shed a surprisingly personal light on the poet.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to start with Milton? This one is straightforward: with Paradise Lost, of course. Where to end with him - how far into his poetry to read, and how much of it - is not quite such an easy judgement to make. Before embarking on this read-through of Milton's complete poetry, I'd already read Paradise Lost (reviewed here, twice), as well as Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and Comus, years ago. The latter is charming, with its action, enchanted setting, and lyrical beauty more than making up for its didacticism, which has a personal appeal lacking in the hyperbolic flattery of some other (court) masques. Samson Agonistes and Paradise Regained are quite different: much less charm (certainly in Samson/Milton's views on the place of women), but undeniably forceful, passionate arguments of great dramatic power (SA) or epic scope (PR). Beyond these four major works - and with the exception of some of the shorter verse, such as "Lycidas" and some of the sonnets, notably XXIII ("Methought I saw my late espoused saint") - Milton's other, mainly earlier poems feel less essential, less rewarding to read or re-read in themselves. Although they are impressive as demonstrations of and experiments in classical learning and poetic technique, I cannot imagine myself turning to them for pure pleasure, as I might do with the sonnets of, say, Shakespeare, Donne, or Sidney. Read chronologically, the early works feel like Milton training himself for what was to come: efforts that I can appreciate and respect, without necessarily needing or wanting to go through them again.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, goodness. Why do we not study more Milton in schools? Oh, that's right. Moral literature is bad. Forget it's actual literary merit--if it holds up Christian morality, it is inherently evil.

Most everyone has heard of Paradise Lost. Some have even read it. Fewer still have heard of the follow up, and no one I've spoken to has read it. But the real surprising jewels in this mix? Comus and Samson. "My heels are fetter'd, but my fist is free." Love. Love, love, love.