英美文学简明教程(华中科技大学出版社)
12. John Milton (1608-1674)
（1）Life:
John Milton was born in Bread Street, London, on 9 December 1608, as the son of the composer John Milton and his wife Sarah Jeffrey.
In 1625, Milton was admitted to Christ’s College, Cambridge. While Milton was a hardworking student, he was also argumentative to the extent that only a year later, in 1626, he got suspended after a dispute with his tutor.
In 1632, Milton took his M.A. at Cambridge, after which he retired to the family homes in London and Horton, Buckinghamshire, for years of private study and literary composition.
As customary for young gentlemen of means, Milton set out for a tour of Europe in the spring of 1638, and he returned home in July 1639.
The Civil War was brewing in 1639, and the Long Parliament was convened in 1640. Milton began writing pamphlets on political and religious matters. In the spring of 1642, Milton married Mary Powell, 17 years old to his 34, but the relationship was an unhappy one, and Mary left him to visit the family home briefly thereafter, and did not return.
Milton had made plans to remarry, when Mary Powell returned. The two seem to have reconciled, since their daughter Anne was born in 1646. The year 1647 saw the death of both Milton’s father and his father-in-law. The year 1652 was one of many personal losses for Milton. In February, Milton lost his sight. This prompted him to write the sonnet When I Consider How My Light is Spent. In May, 1652, Mary gave birth to a daughter, Deborah, and died a few days later. In June, one year-old John died.
In 1663, Milton remarried again, to Elizabeth Minshull, a match his daughters opposed.
Milton died of kidney failure on 8 November 1674.
（2）Major Works:
Paradise Lost 《失乐园》
Paradise Regained 《复乐园》
Samson Agonistes 《力士参孙》
（3）Paradise Lost
a. Content
b. Theme and Characterization
The main idea of the poem is the heroic revolt against God’s authority.
In the poem God is no better than a selfish despot, seated upon a throne with a chorus of angels about him eternally singing his praise. His long speeches are hardly pleasing. He is cruel and unjust in punishing Satan.
Adam and Eve embody Milton’s belief in the power of man. Their carving for knowledge adds a particular significance to their character. It is this longing for knowledge that opens before mankind a wide road to an intelligent and active life.
c. The Image of Satan