John Milton was a seventeenth-century English poet, polemicist, and civil servant in the government of Oliver Cromwell. Among Milton's best-known works are the classic epic Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, considered one of the greatest accomplishments in English blank verse, and Samson Agonistes.

Writing during a period of tremendous religious and political change, Milton's theology and politics were considered radical under King Charles I, found acceptance during the Commonwealth period, and were again out of fashion after the Restoration, when his literary reputation became a subject for debate due to his unrepentant republicanism. T.S. Eliot remarked that Milton's poetry was the hardest to reflect upon without one's own political and theological beliefs intruding.

Jan 31, 2012
Cover of Sonnets

Sonnets

Jan 21, 2012
Cover of Milton's Sonnets

Milton's Sonnets

Jan 18, 2012
Cover of Minor Poems

Minor Poems

Jan 15, 2012
Cover of Arcades

Arcades