«To reign is worth ambition though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.» (from Paradise Lost, Book I) ~ «... but a good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.» (from Areopagitica) ~ #HappyBirthday to #JohnMilton (1608-1674), English poet, pamphleeter, polemicist, historian, civil servant for the Commonwealth under Cromwell, and probably the most famous figure of 17th-century English literature, best known for his epic poem in blank verse Paradise Lost, which, having gone totally blind, he wrote entirely through dictation. Paradise Lost is considered as the greatest epic written in English, and, together with his sonnets and other works like "L'allegro", "Il Penseroso", "Lycidas", Samson Agonistes and Paradise Regained, he solidified his reputation as one of the greatest poets of all time. Besides poetry, he also wrote prose works, all political and religious, in which he advocated the abolition of the Church of England or opposed licensing and censorship. He greatly inspired writers like John Dryden, Alexander Pope, the Romantic poets, especially Blake and Shelley, and Phillip Pullman. William Hayley's 1796 biography called him the "greatest English author". He still remains regarded "as one of the preeminent writers in the English language" and the most significant English author after William Shakespeare. ~ Best-known works: • Areopagitica (1644, prose polemic) • Poems 1645 (poetry collection): "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"; companion poems "L'allegro" and Il Penseroso"; "Lycidas"; "Comus: A Mask" and 10 sonnets • Sonnet XIX: "When I Consider How My Light is Spent" (1652/73, sonnet) also known as "On His Blindness" • Paradise Lost (1667/74, epic poem) • Paradise Regained (1671, epic poem) • Samson Agonistes (1671, closet drama) ~ P. S. Milton is my most favourite poet, and Paradise Lost is one of my top 3 favourite books! ~ «So dear I love him, that with him all deaths I could endure, without him live no life.» (from Paradise Lost, Book IX) ~ #Milton #ParadiseLost #ParadiseRegained #Lallegro #IlPenseroso #Lycidas #Comus #SamsonAgonistes #book #books #bookstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BrKSVFRHWsp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=113wb68bd1jxk
