John Milton

Biography

Long before the French Resistance rebels Camus and Sartre became literary and philosophical powers, John Milton was rebelling against his country’s government and church. Milton’s great works, written during the last decade of his life, highlight a concern with individual choice and responsibility. It should be no surprise that Milton did not believe in the Divine Right of the Crown or in infallibility of the Church of England.

Milton’s first work of note was Lycidas, a pastoral elegy written to honor Edward King, a classmate at Cambridge. An elegy is a poem adhering to strict conventions meant to honor a lost friend. King died in 1637 while sailing to Ireland to visit his family. Milton used the opportunity to criticise the church. Milton’s dedication introducing the poem indicates his intent:

In this monody the author bewails a learned friend, unfortunately
drowned in his passage from Chester on the Irish Seas, 1637. And by
occasion foretells the ruin of our corrupted clergy, then in their
height.

The poem explores the meaning of existence, the role
of the church, and the Creator’s role in destiny. Written nearly 30 years
before Paradise Lost, the basic themes that would dominate Milton’s works are apparent.

Milton considered the individual more important than
any created system, such as government or the church. The fact that he
considered these institutions man-made was heresy in itself. Individual
rights and free will were given to man, according to Milton, by the Creator.
This pursuit of individual rights created many confrontations with the
powerful men of his time.

On June 14, 1643, Parliament passed the Ordinance for
Printing. The Tudor monarchs and the early Stuarts had attempted such
controls, but Parliament was the true source of power in the 17th century.
The Parliament wanted to guarantee the preservation of order and uniformity
in the church and state. Milton realized that the real goal was to limit
what the public read. In November of 1644 he published Aeropagitica, a defense of the free press. Milton wrote that censorship was an attribute of “degenerate” cultures. In Aeropagitica, Milton stated:

When God gave him reason, he gave him freedom to choose, for reason
is but choosing…

Milton’s distaste for the monarchy led directly to
his embracing the rule of Oliver Cromwell. From 1630 through 1658 Milton
wrote at least 24 sonnets. Many of these celebrate the rise of “Lord
General Cromwell” and “New Forcers of Conscience.” When
Cromwell’s government collapsed and Charles II ascended the thrown, Milton
was imprisoned, fined, and his property confiscated. Yet Milton steadfastly
accepted his decisions and the consequences.

Three years after the fall of Cromwell’s government,
Milton began writing Paradise Lost. Readers of the epic often find Satan the most compelling character, especially at the beginning of the poem, which he dominates. Satan has used his free will to choose his role in the universe. The famous statement by Satan that it is “better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven” is an endorsement of individual rights and responsibility, versus serving authority. Satan describes his enemy as “the tyranny of Heaven.” Nietzsche would appreciate the honest ambition of Satan.

In Paradise Lost, Adam is heroic only because he accepts his fate. He does not fight Satan, argue at length with the Creator, or run away from responsibility. Adam admits to and embraces his guilt in order to tolerate his mortality. This is the same acceptance we later read about in Camus‘ The Stranger; the sinner admits to his deeds and eventually embraces fate.

Chronology

1608	Born in Bread Street, Cheapside
1629	Graduates from Christ’s College, Cambridge with an A.B. (bachelor’s degree)
1632	Receives A.M. (master’s degree) from Christ’s College
1634	Writes Comus for a nobel family in Shropshire
1637	Contributes Lycidas to a volume honoring a Cambridge classmate.
1642 May or June	Marries Mary Powell, daughter of a royalist squire. She leaves within weeks.
1643 to 1645	Publishes several essays in support of divorce.
1644	Writes the essay On Education, debating the writings of German scholar Samuel Hartlib.
1644 November 24	Publishes the essay Areopagitica, defending the right to a “free press” in opposition to regulations approved by Parliament.
1645	Mary returns to Milton. She gives birth to three daughters in the following years.
1649	Publishes a series of essays in support of Cromwell and defending the execution of Charles I.
1649	Goes blind, but is still appointed Latin Secretary to Cromwell’s Council of State.
1652	Wife Mary dies.
1656	Marries Katherine Woodcock.
1658	Katherine dies during childbirth.
1660	Charles II returns to the throne. Milton is imprisoned briefly for treason and his property is confiscated.
1663	Marries Elizabeth Minshull.
1663	Begins writing Paradise Lost.
1667	Publishes Paradise Lost.
1671	Publishes Paradise Regained, a tribute to Christ.
1674	Publishes the play Samson Agonistes.
1674	Dies of gout.

 

Works

• Comus, Masque: 1634
• Lycidas, Poem: 1637
• Paradise Lost, Poem: 1667
• Paradise Regained, Poem: 1671
• Samson Agonistes, Play: 1671

Commentaries

Few characters are associated with existential free
will as strongly as John Milton’s (1608–74) Satan from the epic poem Paradise Lost. The English poet was not attempting to express a theological existentialism, though. Reading Satan as a heroic figure runs counter to Milton’s theology. The famous lines actually emphasize the dangers of free will.

… Here at least
We shall be free; th’ Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure; and, in my choice,
To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
— Paradise Lost Book 1

In Milton’s theology, humanity is sinful and corrupt, free will resulting in “The Fall of Man” from the Creator’s grace.

Quotes

The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.
— Paradise Lost, Book 1, line 254. Satan speaking of his new domain.

To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.
— Paradise Lost, Book 1, line 262. Satan speaking of his new domain.

Bibliography

Coming soon…