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John Milton

(1608-1674), Poet

Sitter associated with 72 portraits
Milton is regarded as one of the greatest English poets and a master of political pamphleteering. Forceful and idealistic, he served the Commonwealth as Latin Secretary but was arrested upon the restoration of Charles II. The tragic circumstances of his life – a difficult first marriage, the death of two wives, and his eventual blindness in 1652 – are reflected in the occasional melancholy of his work. Milton is best known for Paradise Lost (1667; 1674), an epic poem of Heaven, Hell, God, Satan, and angels: ‘Of things invisible to mortal sight’. Intense cultural interest in the nature of blindness meant that artists and writers continued to be fascinated by his experience of blindness in the Romantic and Victorian periods.

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John Milton, by George Vertue, after  William Faithorne - NPG D23543

John Milton

by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
engraving, published 1720
NPG D23543

John Milton, by John Simon, after  William Faithorne - NPG D30102

John Milton

by John Simon, after William Faithorne
mezzotint, circa 1725-1750
NPG D30102

John Milton, by George Vertue, after  William Faithorne - NPG D30109

John Milton

by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
line engraving, 1725
NPG D30109

John Milton, by George Vertue, after  William Faithorne - NPG D30110

John Milton

by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
line engraving, 1725
NPG D30110

John Milton, by George Vertue, after  William Faithorne - NPG D23544

John Milton

by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1732-1747 (1670)
NPG D23544

John Milton, by George Vertue, after  William Faithorne - NPG D30101

John Milton

by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1732-1747 (1670)
NPG D30101

John Milton, by Jonathan Richardson, after  William Faithorne - NPG D30106

John Milton

by Jonathan Richardson, after William Faithorne
etching, 1734
NPG D30106

John Milton, by Jonathan Richardson, after a portrait attributed to  William Faithorne - NPG D9371

John Milton

by Jonathan Richardson, after a portrait attributed to William Faithorne
etching, 1734
NPG D9371

John Milton, by John Vandergucht, after  William Faithorne - NPG D23515

John Milton

by John Vandergucht, after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1736
NPG D23515

John Milton, by John Vandergucht, after  William Faithorne - NPG D18975

John Milton

by John Vandergucht, after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1736
NPG D18975

John Milton, by John Faber Jr - NPG D38829

John Milton

by John Faber Jr
mezzotint, published 1740
NPG D38829

John Milton, by John Faber Jr - NPG D5686

John Milton

by John Faber Jr
mezzotint, published 1740
NPG D5686

John Milton, by John Faber Jr - NPG D5687

John Milton

by John Faber Jr
mezzotint, published 1740
NPG D5687

John Milton, by John Faber Jr - NPG D5688

John Milton

by John Faber Jr
mezzotint, published 1740
NPG D5688

John Milton, by Jacobus Houbraken, published by  John & Paul Knapton - NPG D9360

John Milton

by Jacobus Houbraken, published by John & Paul Knapton
line engraving, 1741
NPG D9360

John Milton, by Jacobus Houbraken, published by  John & Paul Knapton - NPG D38835

John Milton

by Jacobus Houbraken, published by John & Paul Knapton
line engraving, published 1741
NPG D38835

John Milton, by Jacobus Houbraken, published by  John & Paul Knapton - NPG D42924

John Milton

by Jacobus Houbraken, published by John & Paul Knapton
line engraving, published 1741 (1741)
NPG D42924

John Milton, by Jacobus Houbraken, published by  John & Paul Knapton - NPG D18946

John Milton

by Jacobus Houbraken, published by John & Paul Knapton
line engraving, 1741
NPG D18946

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Tom Cook

25 August 2019, 12:22

The current bio is quite good, but maybe needs a touch of revision, as well as its punctuation correcting. Milton’s first marriage seems not to have been wholly unhappy; his first and second wives both died before him; his work is not generally despairing (though his version of Satan is), with Paradise Lost in particular being a grand reconciliation to humanity’s shortcomings; and finally, though Paradise Regained is an epic, it’s not nearly as well known as Paradise Lost, while Samson Agonistes isn’t an epic at all, but rather a verse drama. Feel free to use the following version if you think it reads nicely:

Milton is regarded as one of the greatest English poets and a master of political pamphleteering. Forceful and idealistic, he served the Commonwealth as Latin Secretary but was arrested upon the restoration of Charles II. The tragic circumstances of his life – a difficult first marriage, the death of two wives, and his eventual blindness in 1652 – are reflected in the occasional melancholy of his work. Milton is best known for Paradise Lost (1667; 1674), an epic poem of Heaven, Hell, God, Satan, and angels: ‘Of things invisible to mortal sight’. Intense cultural interest in the nature of blindness meant that artists and writers continued to be fascinated by his experience of blindness in the Romantic and Victorian periods.