John Milton

About

English poet who published his blank verse masterpiece, Paradise Lost, in 1667. His other works include Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and Animadversions.

Before Fame

He wrote his first two psalms at age fifteen and later attended Christ's College, Cambridge.

Trivia

He wrote Paradise Lost during a period when he was blind and living in poverty.

Family Life

He married twice and had five children.

Associated With

During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, popular English opinion held Milton's literary work to be at least equal to -- and possibly superior to -- that of William Shakespeare.