Milton， John （1608-1674）， English poet， whose verse was a powerful influence on succeeding English poets， and whose prose was devoted to the defense of civil and religious liberty. Milton is often considered the greatest English poet after William Shakespeare.

　　Milton was born in London and attended Christ's College， University of Cambridge. From 1632 to 1638 he lived in his father's country home， reading the Latin and Greek classics and ecclesiastical and political history. From 1638 to 1639 he toured France and Italy， and on his return to England， he settled in London and began writing a series of social， religious， and political tracts. Milton supported the parliamentary cause in the English Civil War （1642-1649）， and in 1649 he was appointed foreign secretary by the government of the Commonwealth. He became totally blind about 1652 and thereafter carried on his literary and government work helped by assistants. After the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660， Milton was briefly imprisoned for his support of Parliament.

　　Milton's career as a writer can be divided into three periods. The first， from 1625 to 1640， was the period of such early works as the sonnet “On Shakespeare” （1630）， “L'Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” （both probably 1631）， and the elegy Lycidas （1637）。 His second period， from 1640 to 1660， was devoted chiefly to the writing of numerous social， political， and religious tracts， the most famous of which is Areopagitica （1644）， an impassioned plea for freedom of the press. He also wrote pamphlets to justify the execution of King Charles I. During the third period of Milton's career， from 1660 to 1674， he completed his epic poem Paradise Lost （1667） and wrote the companion epic Paradise Regained （1671） and the poetic drama Samson Agonistes （1671）。 Paradise Lost， in which Milton recounts the story of the fall of Adam in a context of cosmic drama， is considered Milton's masterpiece and one of the greatest poems in world literature.