John Milton

John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant who became one of the most towering figures in the English literary canon. Writing during a period of intense religious and political upheaval — including the English Civil War, the execution of Charles I, and the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, whom he served — Milton combined a deep classical education with fierce Puritan conviction.

He is best known for «Paradise Lost», his monumental epic in blank verse recounting the biblical fall of man, Satan's rebellion, and the expulsion from Eden. Composed after Milton had become completely blind, it stands as one of the greatest long poems in the English language, admired for its sonic grandeur, theological ambition, and psychologically complex portrayal of Satan. Its sequel, «Paradise Regained», and the tragedy «Samson Agonistes» rounded out his late masterworks.

Beyond the epics, Milton's shorter poems — such as the elegy «Lycidas» and sonnets including «Sonnet 19: When I Consider How My Light Is Spent» — remain widely studied for their formal mastery and personal intensity. He was also a prolific prose writer, producing tracts on divorce, press freedom (notably «Areopagitica»), and political theory. His fusion of classical form, biblical narrative, and English verse profoundly shaped subsequent poetry, from the Romantics onward.