Paradise Lost by John Milton

1
Paradise LostbyJohn Milton

• Milton was born in London in 1608 at the height
  of the Protestant Reformation.
• He was born to well-to-do parents which afforded
  him a rich educational experience.

Insert a picture of Milton.
2
Paradise Lost byJohn Milton

• Miltons educational experience includes
• Private tutoring
• Private school
• Cambridge College
• He excelled in languages and classical studies.

3
Miltons First Literary Works

• First published poems were Comus and Lycidas
  in 1645
• Paradise Lost, Miltons masterpiece, was
  published in 1667.

4
John Milton

• Wrote religious pamphlets for Puritanism
• Worked under Oliver Cromwell as Secretary of
  Foreign Tongues
• Was fluent in Latin, Greek, and Italian

5
John Milton

• Read almost all the literature from the Greek and
  Roman periods
• Read the Bible in Hebrew
• Met Galileo and looked through his telescope

6
Miltons Beliefs

• A humanist, he fought for religious tolerance
• Believed that there was something inherently
  valuable in man
• Believed the Bible was the answer and guide to
  all
• When the Bible didnt provide an answer, Milton
  would turn to reason (logic, freewill)

7
Miltons Life

• Married three times, all were unhappy affairs
• Defended divorce in a publication entitled The
  Doctrine and Discipline and Divorce in 1643.
• His position on divorce led to conflict with the
  Puritan church.

8
Miltons Life

• Was imprisoned for a short time because of his
  views
• In 1660, he emerged from prison blind and
  disillusioned with England.
• Paradise Lost (1667) was mostly written after
  Milton went blind
• He dictated the book to an amanuensis (a
  transcriber) who had to read it back to Milton
  for proofing.

9
Group Presentations on Paradise Lost

• Form four groups
• Each group will present three books
• You must make a visual depiction for your
  presentation (i.e., poster, product, PowerPoint,
  etc.)
• You must present in detail and include themes,
  characters, etc.

10
Due Date for Presentations

• Presentations are due December 15th.
• Refer to the Group Presentation Rubric given in
  class.
• Remember the technical difficulties we
  encountered during the Dantes Inferno
  presentations.