John Milton: An Annotated Chronology

Abstract

There are two schools of thought in literary criticism. One claims that a creative work should stand on its own, with no regard for the writer. According to adherents of this view, a poem should be evaluated only on its form, its language, its imagery, and other criteria commonly understood to apply to the evaluation of a work of art. Those critics assert that who created the piece, what forces shaped the writer’s mind, and what environment there might have been at the time of the creation should have no value in determining the worth of the piece. On the other hand, some critics maintain that these matters are crucial in understanding or, at least, appreciating the work of art. We follow the latter school of thought. In this paper, we have a compilation of the events during the life of John Milton. It is based on the alternate perspective, that knowledge and understanding of the life and times of the author are at the very least helpful and more likely essential in discerning the meaning—or meanings—of the work. In the case of John Milton, for example, knowing that the writer of Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, and such sonnets as “When I Consider How My Light is Spent,” was himself blind is absolutely essential if we are to mine the depth of the works for meaning or to appreciate the genius of the man who, along with Chaucer and Shakespeare, is considered to be one of the greatest writers in the English language. This latter school gives rise to the present chronology.