Paradise Lost

6b,  Milton. 1875 replica of first edition printed in 1667. Notes John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet, intellectual, and civil servant best known for his epic poetry and political writings during a time of great religious and political upheaval in England. Educated at Cambridge, he was fluent in Latin, Greek, and several modern languages. Milton was deeply involved in the English Civil War and supported the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, serving as Latin Secretary for Foreign Tongues. Despite going blind later in life, he continued to write prolifically, dictating his later works. His writings, both poetic and political, reflect his Puritan faith, humanist education, and strong convictions about liberty, free will, and individual conscience. Paradise Lost, published in 1667, is Milton’s magnum opus and one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. Written in unrhymed iambic pentameter (blank verse), the poem recounts the biblical story of the Fall of Man—Satan’s