John Milton

Born

(Dec. 9, 1608)

John Milton Sr.:

scrivener (financier)

and Sara nee Jeffrey

Sister: Anne

Brother: Christopher

Anne's son, Edward

Phillips, wrote biography

of Milton

Studies under Thomas Young,

then attends St. Paul's (c. 1615)

Because Milton Sr. was

well off financially, he

was able to provide a

private tutor

Enters Christ's College,

Cambridge (Feb. 12. 1625)

Rarely happy at Cambridge

Earned B.A.

(March 29, 1629)

Signed upon receiving B.A. three Articles

of Religion:king is head of church; Book

of Common Prayer is lawful liturgical

text; 39 Articles defining Church

of England wasn't contrary to God's word

Earned M.A.

(July 1632)

Residence at Horton (1632-38)

Private study (read Classics)

Mother dies

(April 1637)

Set out for Grand

Tour (May 1638-

July 1639)

Upon return from

tour, moves to London

Nephew's John and

Edward Phillips live

with him as pupils

Marries Mary Powell

(June 1642)

Mary Powell inexplicably returns to her

family in Oxford

(Aug. 1642)

After Reading

(home of Milton's

family) is besieged,

Milton Sr. lives with

Jr. (April 1643)

Christopher (brother)

fled from army and

was separated from

family for 3 years

Milton moves to

Barbican near London

(June 1645)

Milton had been

considering remarrying

to a Miss Davis right

before Powell came back

Mary Powell returns

Milton, his 82-year-old

father, Powell, and his pupils

(nephews and Cyriack Skinner)

moved into new house (Oct. 1645)

1st child, Anne, is born

(July 29, 1646)

Anne born with

lameness and speech

defects

Christopher comes back

with family; in-laws had

property seized for being

Royalists. Everyone stays

with Milton (Aug. 25, 1646)

Father-in-law

dies (Dec. 1646)

Milton saw that his

mother-in-law and

her dependents moved

back to their old home.

She was granted "widow's

1/3," which Milton paid.

John Milton Sr.

dies (March 1647)

Moves again to

a smaller house

in High Holborn,

away from the city

(early 1648)

2nd child, Mary,

born (Oct. 25, 1648)

Appointed by Council of

State as its Secretary for

Foreign Tongues (March 3, 1649)

Now needed scribal help

(probably from nephew,

John Phillips)

Moved house again

to Scotland Yard end of

Whitehall, closer to Council

meeting place (June 14, 1650)

Asked and accepted

to approve books for

publication (June 1650)

1st son, John, born

(March 16, 1651)

Appointment of Secretary

for Foreign Tongues renewed

(Dec. 29, 1651)

Completely blind

(Feb. 1652)

3rd daughter, Deborah,

born (May 2, 1652)

Wife, Mary, dies

(c. May 5, 1652)

Only son, John, dies

(June 16, 1652)

Milton employs

several more scribes

(1655)

Marries Katherine

Woodcock

(Nov. 12, 1656)

Andrew Marvell

becomes Milton's

assistant (Sept. 1657)

Daughter with

Katherine Woodcock

born (Oct. 1657)

Katherine Woodcock

dies (Feb. 3, 1658) and

daughter follows (c.

May 1658)

Milton goes into

hiding in Bartholomew

Close (May 1660)

Warrant issued for

Milton's arrest

(May 16, 1660)

Milton arrested

(Aug. 1660)

Milton released from

the Tower (Dec. 17, 1660)

Moved to Jewin St.

(1661-1663)

Marries Elizabeth

Minshul (Feb. 24, 1663)

Moved to Bunhill

Fields (1663)

Retreat to Chalfont

to escape plague

(June 1665-March 1666)

Milton has bad

fit of gout (July

1674)

Dies (Nov. 8, 1674)

(cc) image by jantik on Flickr

"You would say, perhaps, that

this portrait was drawn by an

ignorant hand, once you look

at the living face: so friends

since you do not see the likeness,

laugh at the botched effort of this

incompetent artist."

2002 March

Personal attack on

Milton is what prompted

his reply:

"'a monster horrible,

deformed, huge and

sightless'"

John Milton

Interestingly, Milton wrote nothing of Cromwell's death

Milton composed Greek verses to be engraved

beneath portrait (artist couldn't read Greek):

'Eikonoklastes'=

image breaker

'Eikon Basilike'=

king's image

Charles I seized

and imprisoned in Hurst Castle

(Dec. 1, 1648)

Irish Rebellion

Oct. 23, 1641

Star Chamber, censors

of publications, abolished

(1641)

1st and 2nd Bishop Wars

(Jan.-June 1639; Aug.-Oct.

1640)

Charles I beheaded

(Jan. 30, 1649)

Commonwealth

established (Jan. 30, 1649)

Charles I attempts

to arrest 5 members

of House of Commons

for treason--illegal!

(Jan. 3, 1642)

Restoration: Charles II

returns to London

(May 29, 1660)

1st Civil War/War of 3 Kingdoms

(Aug. 22, 1642)

"Cry of the Royal Blood

To Heaven Against the

English Parricides

Great Fire of London

(Sept. 1666)

Parliament attempts

to establish unified

Reformed Church

throughout England

(Sept. 1643)

Act of Free and General

Pardon, Idemnity, and

Oblivion passed

(Aug. 28, 1660)

Plague outbreak

in London (1665)

Oliver Cromwell dies

(Sept. 3, 1658). Names

son, Richard, as successor

as Protector

Frontispiece featured

1/2 Onslow portrait, 1/2

hideous, distorted, stupid-

looking old man

James I of England 1603-1625

Charles I of England 1625-1649

Richard Cromwell

abdicates position

of Lord Protector

(May 25, 1659)

1st Civil War over

(Aug. 1646)

Defend army's

actions against

Charles I

'Tetrachordon'=

4-stringed Greek

instrument

Response to Charles I's

"Eikon Basilike"

Published anonymously

Wrote in response to

European kings and

Royalists uniting against

the new English republic

'Colasterion'=

Greek for place or

instrument of

punishment

Cromwell sworn as

Protector" (Dec. 16, 1653)

"Regii Sanguinis Clamor"

(Aug. 1652)

Anna Trapnel rambles

hymns and prophesies

against Cromwell. This

is declared treasonous

(Jan 1654)

"Pro Se Defensio"

(written by Feb.; not

published until Aug. 8, 1655)

Milton signs contract

for "Paradise Lost" w/

printer and publisher

Samuel Simmons

(April 1667)

Frequent mentions of women in various poems, though none have been identified

Remarks on chastity will continue throughout works

"Paradise Lost, A

Poem in 10 Books"

published (Aug. 20, 1667)

"Paradise Regained"

and "Samson Agonistes"

published (1671)

"Paradise Lost, A

Poem in 12 Books"

published as 2nd

edition (1674)

Milton's books burned

(Aug. 27, 1660)

Book containing "Paradise

Lost" and "Samson Agonistes"

licensed (July 2, 1670)

"Considerations touching

the Likeliest Means to

Remove Hirelings out of

the Church (Aug. 1659)

Milton begins work

on "Paradise Lost"

(1658)

"The Reason of Church-Government

Urg'd against Prelaty" (Jan./Feb. 1642)

"Animadversions upon the

Remonstrant's Defence

against SMECTYMNUUS

(Sept. 1641)

"The Ready and Easy

Way to Establish a Free

Commonwealth" (Feb. 1660)

"The Tenure

of Kings and Magistrates"

to defend army's actions

(Feb. 13 1649)

"A Treatise of Civil Power

in Ecclesiastical Causes"

(Feb. 16, 1659)

"Of True Religion,

Heresy, Schism, and

Toleration" (Spring 1673)

"Epitaphium Damonis" for

Diodati (autumn 1639-1640)

"The Judgement of

Martin Bucer

concerning Divorce"

(Aug. 6, 1644)

"Defensio secunda

pro populo Anglicano"

(May 30, 1654)

"Poems of Mr. John

Milton, both English

and Latin" (Jan. 2, 1646)

Milton writes list

of proposals to prevent civil war

(Nov. 1659)

"The Doctrine and

Discipline of Divorce"

(Aug. 1, 1643)

"Of Prelatical Episcopacy"

(June/July 1641)

"The History of

Britain" published

(Nov. 1670)

Re-issue of "Paradise

Lost" (1668)

"An Apology against SMECTYUMNUUS

(April 1642)

Translated psalms

and wrote political

sonnets (1647-1648)

"Tetrachordon" and

"Colasterion"

(March 4, 1645)

"Defensio pro populo"

(Feb. 24, 1651)

Wrote 5 anti-

prelatical tracts

by 1640

Published a Latin

grammar (1669)

"Comus", aka "A Mask"

Ludlow Castle (1634)

"Lycidas" for friend

Edward King (1637)

"Il Penseroso" (1632)

Nativity Ode" (1629)

"Of Reformation"

(May 1641)

"Of Education"

(June 5, 1644)

"Eikonoklastes"

(Oct. 5, 1649)

"Areopagitica"

(Nov. 23, 1644)

"L'Allegro" (1632)

Elegies I-VII

(1626-1628)

Writes sonnets

and psalms(1652-1655)

(cc) image by jantik on Flickr

2002 March

Sonnet VII

(c. Dec. 9, 1632)

Defends right to

publish w/out

censorship

Defense of Milton's

views of marriage

(social not ecclesiastical)

1st of Milton's

writings to be

officially licensed

"DDD" highly

disliked. Milton

called a libertine

Lived to 84

w/out having

to wear glasses

Milton's target:

priesthood

(cc) image by jantik on Flickr

Mary Powell's father,

Richard, still paying

on loan from Milton Sr.

On tour, Milton visited

Paris (didn't like), Nice,

Genoa, Livorno, Pisa,

Florence, Siena, Rome,

Naples, Venice, and Geneva

SMECTYUMNUUS

is acronym of 5 authors.

Marks first step into polemics

2002 March

Doctors told Milton if

he undertook task, he'd

lose sight in both eyes

Milton was "wholly

deprived of his sight"

(March 6, 1652)

Gets help with duties

from Phillip Meadows,

aided by John Thurloe

(wanted Andrew Marvell)

Trapnel's case

reminds the gov.

that there needed

to be external checks

to prevent a repeat of

the monarchy

Communicate with

the rest of Europe

following death of Charles I

and establishment of new

Commonwealth

Steady correspondence

with friend from St. Paul's,

Charles Diodati (Oxford)

Possibly reasons for

Mary to return:

Civil War

Dislike of Solitude

Dowrey Never Paid

In Geneva, learned of

Charles Diodati's death

In Paris, met Hugo

Grotius (Dutch scholar

and jurist; strict opponent

of Calvinism)

Thurloe had spy network

in Geneva

No one knows who

wrote out or corrected

the final version of

"Paradise Lost"

Already blind in 1 eye

Contract for "Paradise

Lost" was 1st formal

contract for intellectual

property rights and payment to author

Ironically, there was

a total solar eclipse on

March 29, 1652

Milton didn't have good

relationship with daughters.

They stole from household

expenses, including Milton's

books.

Since, or because

of, Henry VIII,

divorce from Anne

was nearly impossible

In Florence, met Galileo

(only contemporary mentioned

in "Paradise Lost")

"I resolved therefore that

I must employ this brief use

of my eyes while yet I could

for the greatest possible

benefit to the state."

Written piecemeal with a

break every hour

Copy of Onslow Portrait (1629)

References:

Forsyth, Neil. "John Milton [electronic resource] : a biography/Neil Forsyth". Oxford: Lion, 2008., 2008. WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY'S catalog. EBSCO. Web. 3 Sept. 2011.

Hughes, Merritt Y.. ed. "John Milton: Complete Poems and Major Prose." New York: Macmillan, Inc., 1957. Print.

A Note on References:

I know these are not in proper MLA

format. As great as Prezi is at presentations, it does not have the capability to italicize and intent/space at the beginning of the line. I have included a written version so you know that I know how to properly cite these works.