Knowra John Milton John Milton John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet and prose writer whose works include the epic poems Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained and the liberty-of-the-press tract Areopagitica .
Blank verse : Unrhymed iambic pentameter, a verse form used extensively in English drama and poetry. Milton made blank verse the expansive, unrhymed medium of Paradise Lost .
Paradise Lost : An epic poem by John Milton, first published in 1667, recounting Satan’s rebellion and humanity’s Fall. Milton’s best-known poem turns Genesis into a large-scale Christian epic.
St Paul's School : An English independent school in London, founded in 1509 by John Colet. Milton studied there, gaining a foundation in Latin and classical literature.
Oliver Cromwell : An English military and political leader who ruled as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth from 1653 to 1658. Milton served Cromwell’s government as Latin Secretary for foreign correspondence.
Freedom of the press : The principle that communication and publication should be protected from undue government control. Areopagitica became a lasting reference in debates over censorship and publication.
Epic poetry : A long narrative poem about consequential events, often featuring heroic figures and elevated style. Milton reshaped the epic tradition around humanity’s fall and redemption.
Paradise Regained : A poem by John Milton, published in 1671, depicting Christ’s temptation in the wilderness. This shorter epic presents obedience as the answer to the Fall in Paradise Lost .
Christ's College, Cambridge : A constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1505. Milton studied at Christ’s College and wrote some of his early poems there.
Charles Diodati : An English physician and scholar of Italian descent, and a close friend of John Milton. Milton’s Latin elegy Epitaphium Damonis mourns Diodati after his death.
Republicanism : A political tradition that opposes hereditary monarchy and grounds legitimate government in public authority. Milton’s political prose defended republican government during and after the English Civil War.
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