Born in 1608 in London, John Milton forged a career that reflects the turmoil of English political, social, and religious life in the seventeenth century. Throughout the 1640s, civil war ravaged England as parliamentary and royalist armies battled for control of the country, a struggle that ended when the king, Charles I, was publicly beheaded in Whitehall, London, in January 1649. Milton published prose works on issues of religious and political controversy during the decade, including Areopagitica (1644), which defends freedom of the press. From 1649-1659, after Milton’s writings attracted the attention of parliamentary leaders, he became diplomatic secretary for Oliver Cromwell’s government. Although Milton had been doing less official work toward the end of the 1650s (largely because of the complete loss of his eyesight in 1652), his close connections with Cromwell’s government jeopardized him in 1660, when the monarchy regained control in England and the Stuart kings were restored to the throne. After serving a few months in prison, Milton was released and suffered no further major reprisals. Meanwhile, in 1658, having earlier published a volume of verse (Poems of Mr. John Milton, Both English and Latin, 1645), Milton turned again to poetry.
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