John Milton was born on 9 December 1608, the son of John Milton (senior) and Sarah Jerry. His family lived in Bread Street, London. His father was a musician and composer. His main work was as a scrivener, a secretary who reads and writes letters for people who cannot read and write for themselves. Milton's father was well paid at this work, and was able to hire a private tutor to teach his clever eldest son. Milton's brother Christopher said he studied very long into each night. Milton then went to St. Paul's School where he studiedLatin,Greek, andHebrew.
Milton then studied at Christ's College,Cambridge and graduated with a B.A. in 1629. On 3 July 1632, he received his Master of Arts degree. He returned home where he continued to study and write poetry for six years. He wrote a large number of poems. In 1638 he made a tour of the Continent, spending a lot of time in France and Italy, where he learned about other authors such asDante,Tasso, andAriosto. When he was 34, he married Mary Powell, who was 17. He defendedfreedom of speech andfreedom of press.
In 1645, during the EnglishCivil War, he publishedPoems of Mr. John Milton, in which there were his famous poems "L'Allegro" and "Il'Penseroso", which was mostlyignored. In 1649, during the trial of Charles I, Milton wroteOf the Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, arguing that kings can rule only when the people allow them to. He then becamesecretary to the Council of State and wrote in LatinEikonoklastes in 1649. That was the last big writing project he did before he began to become blind. In 1652, he became completely blind and was very unhappy. However, in 1667, he published the famousParadise Lost, one of the greatest English-language epics. Four years later, he wroteParadise Regained, a story about how men became sinful and howJesus Christ won the battle with the devil. The last work that was published while he was alive wasSamson Agonistes. He died, probably because ofgout, on 8 November 1674.
