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John Milton was one of the greatest poets of the English language. Milton became a famous poet and writer because of his poem Paradise Lost. Milton's work had a great influence on all poetry, especially during the eighteenth century. Besides poems, Milton published pamphlets defending civil and religious rights. "Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste Brought death into the world, and all our woe, With loss of Eden." (from Paradise Lost) John Milton was born in London. He was born at 6:30 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 1608. He lived most of his life at Spread Eagle, on Brad Street in London. His mother Sarah Jeffrey was the daughter of a sailor, and his father became wealthy as a scrivener or law writer. He also composed music. John Milton, Sr. had been sympathetic to the Protestant Reformation as a young man, a feeling that left him without the inheritance he would have received from his staunch Roman Catholic father. Milton had an older sister named Anne Milton who married Edward Phillips in 1615. He also had a younger brother named Christopher Milton. The family was wealthy enough to afford a second house in the country. Milton’s family moved to Westminister for a short time. Milton was educated at St Paul's School. His teacher at St Paul’s School was Thomas Young, a Scotsman specializing in different languages. Milton was about two years older than the rest of his classmates. Even by the age of ten, he was writing poetry. After St. Paul's, Milton attended Cambridge University at Christ's College where he was probably going to become a minister. While Milton was at college, he did not get along with his tutor, William Chappell. Some people think that the study he was forced to take was beneath his level. In his second year at Cambridge University, he got another tutor named Nathaniel Tovell. While at Cambridge, Milton discovered his life's passion. He had begun to write poetry in Latin, Italian, and English but soon realized his desire to devote his writing to the rest of his Christian ideas. This is one reason he decided not to become a minister. Another reason was the influence of William Laud in the organized Church of England. Laud, appointed by Charles I, was beginning to organize many Catholic rites and ceremonies into the Church of England, which was unfavorable to the Protestant part in the church.
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