English 162:Timeline

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	Events in England		Milton's Life
1603	death of Elizabeth I
		1608	Born in London
1620	Puritans go to the New World
1625	Death of James I	1625	attends Cambridge
	Charles I becomes king
		1638-9	Travels in Italy
		1638	"Lycidas"
		1640-60	Pamphlet wars
1642	Civil War begins
1649	Execution of Charles I
		1652	Milton goes blind
1660	Restoration of the monarchy
		1667	Paradise Lost
		1671	Paradise Regained
			Samson Agonistes
		1674	dies 8 November

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Milton 1608-1674
Donne 1572-1631
Shakespeare d. 1616
Jonson 1572-1637
Dryden 1631-1700
Pope 1688-1744

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1. Is this a Renaissance poet? Why or why not?
2. What would you guess are the concerns/interests of this era? (As you read "Paradise Lost," consider how it reflects those interests.)
3. How might the history of the era reflect on Milton's representation of heroism? Of justice?
4. Milton might be read as highly conservative in many of his representations. (Women, for example, do not fair well). However, in the pamphlet wars, he supported freedom of teh press, the right (for men) to divorce, and freedom of speech. What political implications might we be on the lookout for in reading Milton? How can we read this author critically?