Milton, Paradise Lost, and His Travails of Life

“The mind in its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven.”
― John Milton
John Milton, the poet, essayist, pamphleteer, political philosopher, civil servant and activist occupies a place of rare distinction in English literature. Some call him as the greatest epic poet in English literature and his standing surpasses all others with the possible exception of Shakespeare. His station among English poets is as exalted and as unique as ever could be commanded by anyone.
Passionately Multi-faceted
As a political philosopher, Milton always opposed tyranny and state sponsored religion, including his advocacy for abolition of Church of England. As a civil servant, Milton became the voice of the English Commonwealth after 1649 through his handling of its international correspondence and his defence of the government against critical though disputatious attacks from abroad.
“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”, he wrote in Areopagitica, giving expression to an undying conviction and belief that in many ways defined his life and life’s philosophy.
But it was in theology that his works brought out his conscientious conviction and a faith whose strength and depth became manifest in myriad ways. That Paradise Lost, was a culmination of his profound understanding and intensely realised values that he saw enshrined in scriptures, was not in the least surprising because he valued liberty of conscience above everything else and attached the paramount importance of Scripture as a guide in matters of faith. His Christian convictions were catholic as it entertained, in no small measure, religious tolerance towards dissidents.
He is best known for his magnum opus Paradise Lost, the blank verse poem, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in English. He composed it between 1658 and 1664 when he had become blind and impoverished. Since he had become blind by then, he dictated his verse to a series of aides hired by him.
This work of outstanding merit and value came just seven years before his death in 1674.
Paradise Lost is considered to be one of the greatest poems in the English language by many scholars. It tells the biblical story of the fall from grace of Adam and Eve (and, by extension, all humanity) in language that is a supreme achievement of rhythm and sound, of content and style, of failings and faith.
Paradise Lost for £5
Milton was by then leading a life of penury and indigence compounded by his physical disability. It took him three years to find a publisher who would publish his work.
On 27 April 1667, publisher Samuel Simmons bought the publication rights for for £5. There was a stipulation that a further £5 will to be paid if and when each print- run sold between 1,300 and 1,500 copies. 
The first run was a quarto edition priced at three shillings per copy, published in August 1667.
And it sold out in eighteen months.
Milton followed up with its sequel Paradise Regained, which was published alongside the tragedy Samson Agonistes in 1671. Both of these works seen with Paradise Lost establish him as the greatest epic poet of English literature.
In 1673, Milton also republished his 1645 Poems, as well as a collection of his letters and the Latin prolusions (preliminary essays and articles) from his Cambridge days.
A second edition of Paradise Lost with small but significant revisions was published in 1674. The revision was supervised by Milton and also carried an explanation on ‘why the poem rhymes not’. This edition also included prefatory verses by Andrew Marvell.
Milton died the same year. But by then a literary history has been made and the world had delightfully and enthusiastically welcomed this work, the kind of which sees the light of the day once in centuries.
An Exceptional Legacy
While the epic had clear theological context extra-ordinarily presented, many experts believe that the poem also reflected his personal despair at the failure of the Revolution but simultaneously endorsing and affirming his firm and ultimate optimism in human potential. If literary critics found many references that they believed encoded his uncompromising commitment and support to the ‘Good Old Cause’, it only endorses his poetic genius and versatility.
In initial years, the magnum opus did get a commendation that was glowing but remained limited. Only those who were close to Milton hailed this work. But within thirty years, it’s worth and merit received wide and abiding appreciation. At least three of the greatest literary figures of then England felt compelled to write something modelled on it. By the early 1700s, John Dryden had written an operatic adaptation of it. Alexander Pope parodied it in The Rape of the Lock. And twenty years later Percy Bysshe Shelley modelled Prometheus in Prometheus Unbound (1820) on Milton’s Satan.
No tribute to Milton can be complete without referring to his famous sonnet, ‘On His Blindness’. Perhaps the most quoted from English literature, and often out of context, the last line compete with the quotes from Shakespeare in popularity and appeal. It may have been written as early as 1652, although most scholars believe that it was composed sometime between June and October 1655, when Milton’s blindness was essentially complete. This touching and deeply moving poem, so expressive of his fears, failings, hopes and faith alone places him among the ranks of the best and the most prodigious.
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.”