John Milton Research Paper

John Milton was a literary revolutionary for his time; ideas we now consider commonplace Milton proposed within his writings. Milton’s ideas were radical and controversial for his time. Within his writings, Milton advocated that the individual, not the Church should interpret the Bible. He further stated that the government had no reason to interfere with the religious worship of its people as well as the idea that rulers should be held accountable for their actions. However, Milton’s initial idea of liberty and freedom of the press is one that our country itself is founded upon and is enumerated in his famous speech Areopagitica (Maus et al. 786). It should be noted that we often lose sight of the principles that Milton so strongly advocated

It was here that Milton became increasingly disenchanted with his university education stating that the logic and rhetoric were “futile and barren” much of which he found lead to disputes amounting to nothing (Maus et al. 767). It was due to this increased disappointment of his university education and the overall lack of a reformation in the Church under Archbishop Laud that Milton abandoned his original desire to become a clergyman. Forgoing all his desires to serve in the church Milton soon became a poet whose political mindset was the basis for much of his work, which had worldly influences. Milton’s Areopagitica and even his great epic Paradise Lost influenced several American statesmen such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams in their quest for liberty from the British Empire (Campbell et al. 2008). Areopagitica influenced the founding fathers in creating a liberal constitution which was based upon freedom of religion and freedom of speech, in which Milton’s philosophy that no single ruler should be able to determine what people printed or read was a central theme (Campbell et al. 2008). In fact, John Adams even went as far as to compare the tyrannical rulers of England to that of Satan in Paradise Lost. He reasoned that Satan much like the British ruling class controlled people through cunning words and subjugation (Campbell et al.

Specifically, the rights to practice religion freely without the control of the legal machinery of the state, the ability for individuals to have influence on their governance, and the means to express oneself through literature and speech without any recriminations. While the British Parliament soundly refuted Milton’s mindset, his works on the subject would eventually find themselves encased within the body of the United States Constitution. His influence held such a profound meaning to the American forefathers so much so that Milton’s ideas would eventually assist in the birth of a new nation. Furthermore, the concepts of liberty and intellectual freedom expressed within Milton’s Areopagitica were the “fabulous dragon’s teeth springing up armed men” that aided in the formation of America (787). Here Milton uses the myth of Cadmus to allude to the significance of books. Milton writes that books are “vigorously productive” and “lively” as the “dragon’s teeth” allowing use to perceive an image of a vivacious dragon whose teeth are like a militia who have risen to preserve freedom. Milton argued that the pursuit of knowledge gives manpower, and the ability to arm yourself with the “teeth” of knowledge allows oneself to “gain new enlightened steps in the discovery of truth” (796). Also, it is when knowledge is “sown up and down” in the minds of