THE IMPORTANCE OF JOHN MILTON IN THE ENGLISH POETRY

Аннотация

John Milton was a very important English poet, author of the monumental Paradise Lost (1667), which was to have a major influence on literature in his country, and especially on the romantic poets. He was born in 1608 on Cheapside street in London. Born into a cultured religious bourgeois family, Milton is intended to take holy orders, but a trip to Italy after his mother’s death together with reading the Italian poets Torquato Tasso (1544 - 1595) and Dante (1265 -1321)would make himwant tobecome awriter. Key words:a major influence on literature, romantic poets, political and religious history, lyrical sonnets After studying at Cambridge he decides against all odds to abandon the all-ready mapped out career in either the church or even at university in order to be able to dedicate himself to the art of writing. Some say today that already then Milton would have a sense he would leave the world the gift of his oeuvre. In any case, at this point he would retire instead to the family home, and would spend a lot of his time reading Greek and Latin classics, as well as studying political and religious history. It is then also he would start writing his first poems. Milton would also write a series of political pamphlets. Some would be against thechurch, both the Catholic and the Protestant, always as a fierce advocate of the freedom of worship. Others would for thefreedom of thepress and for theright to divorce. Introduction Milton is theauthor of dramas such as Samson Agonistes (1671) as well as lyrical sonnets, of which the finest were in fact inspired the the death of his second wife. Altogether John Milton would write twentythree sonnets. In a very real sense therefore these can be considered as exceptions. He uses such moments to express his thoughts and feelings on specific events, historical or personal. In his lifetime, moreover, he was mainly known for his political pamphlets. As a poet during theage ofShakespeare, hewas born less than adecade after thedeath ofthis one. Milton might have been less appealing than such a master of the English language but he was nonetheless destined to become one of the best writers England would ever know. Having sided with the parliamentarians against the monarchists, Milton would begin a political career with responsibilities comparabletothat today of anundersecretary ofstatefor foreign affairs. However, the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 will mean that he is both fined and imprisoned in the famous still standing today Tower of London. Eventually pardoned, Milton would from then on lead a rather retired life devoted entirely to writing until his death in 1674. Paradise Lost was first published in 1667 even though it had been written almost 10 years before. Milton was actually getting blind by the timehe started work onit. To help him with his writing he would get assistants, and most famously the English metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell (1621 - 1678). It would take some time, but his epic poem Paradise Lost would be critically received even abroad where, for instance, the famous French poet and critic Charles page1386 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue05,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai Baudelaire (1821 - 1867) would praise it highly. A kind of theological treaty through poetry on the origin of man, the work gets its inspiration as much from the Bible for its content as from Virgil’s (70 - 19 BC) twelve-book Latin epic poem Aeneid for its form. Originally published in ten parts, thebookwould be written inblank verses. A second edition embellished with minor revisions would follow in 1674. Indeed, this timeit would be reorganized in twelve parts in order to be reminiscent of Virgil’s famous work. More specifically, the poem deals with the Christian view on the origin of man, and refer to the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan as well as their eventual expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Paradise Lost tells the story of Lucifer, the fallen angel, who has just been defeated by the armies of God. With his army Lucifer is preparing to resume attacks against heaven when he hears of a prophecy. That a new species of creatures is about to be created by heaven. He then decides to go alone on an expedition to heaven and finds the new world. After having easily fooled an angel by changing his appearance he gets into heaven and finds Adam and Eve. God finds out about this but since he created man free, he decides to do nothing. His son, however, finds this rather cruel and begs his father to take upon himself the sins of men, to which God essentially agrees. After doubting a little Satan puts together a plan in order to undermine both God and man. Indeed, having learned that God forbade humans to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge he tries to get into Eve’s dream and tempt her but unintentionally will also awaken Adam who willhunt himaway. In