Golden logo
    Create a WorkspaceQuery ToolSaved QueriesData RequestsListsPipelinesExploreFollowed Topics
    Upgrade to ProPricingAPI AccessHelp & Support
Log in
Sign up
NEW: You can now make knowledge queries using our new natural language prompt. Try it out now!
⟶
John Milton

John Milton

English epic poet

OverviewStructured DataIssuesContributorsActivity
Contents

John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667). Written in blank verse, Paradise Lost is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written.

Writing in English, Latin, and Italian, he achieved international renown within his lifetime; his celebrated Areopagitica (1644), written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship, is among history's most influential and impassioned defences of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. His desire for freedom extended into his style: he introduced new words (coined from Latin and Ancient Greek) to the English language, and was the first modern writer to employ unrhymed verse outside of the theatre or translations.

William Hayley's 1796 biography called him the "greatest English author", and he remains generally regarded "as one of the pre-eminent writers in the English language", though critical reception has oscillated in the centuries since his death (often on account of his republicanism). Samuel Johnson praised Paradise Lost as "a poem which ... with respect to design may claim the first place, and with respect to performance, the second, among the productions of the human mind", though he (a Tory) described Milton's politics as those of an "acrimonious and surly republican". Poets such as William Blake, William Wordsworth and Thomas Hardy revered him.

Timeline

December 9, 1608
John Milton was born.

Patents

Open in Query Tool

Further Resources

Title
Author
Link
Type
Date

References

Is a
Person
Person

Person attributes

Birthdate
December 9, 1608
Birthplace
Cheapside
Cheapside
Date of Death
November 8, 1674
Place of Death
London
London
Educated at
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
‌
St Paul's School, London
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Occupation
Writer
Writer
Poet
Poet
Politician
Politician

Other attributes

Citizenship
Kingdom of England
Kingdom of England
Wikidata ID
Q79759
Child
Anne Milton
Anne Milton
Notable Work
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Golden logo
Company
HomePress & MediaBlogCareers
We're hiring
Products
OverviewKnowledge GraphQuery ToolData RequestsKnowledge StorageAPIPricingEnterpriseProtocol
Legal
Terms of ServiceEnterprise Terms of ServicePrivacy Policy
Help
Help centerAPI DocumentationContact Us
By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Service.