Paradise Lost is the most influential work of poet and polemicist John Milton (1608-1674). In it, Milton’s speaker claims to seek the means to “justify the ways of God to men.” The epic poem, written in blank verse, recounts a … Continued
In 1671, four years after Paradise Lost, Milton published Paradise Regained, a Poem in IV Books, to which is Added Samson Agonistes. In 1665 the Quaker Thomas Ellwood reportedly read Paradise Lost in manuscript form and suggested Milton also give … Continued
Philosophical Letters or Modest Reflections Upon Some Opinions in Natural Philosophy, referred to simply as Philosophical Letters, published in 1664, is a series of critiques authored by Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in which she examines the writings of other … Continued
Pierre Du Moulin was born in 1568 to Joachim Du Moulin and Françoise Gabet in the Château de Buhy in north-east Normandy, France. Joachim was a protestant minister whose family disinherited him after he converted. Because of his father’s religious … Continued
Richard Baxter was a religious pamphleteer born in Shropshire in 1615. Baxter’s father was known in his community for “for reading Scripture … and for praying … in his House, and for reproving Drunkards and Swearers, and for talking sometimes … Continued
Robert Boyle was the youngest of fourteen children and the seventh son of Richard Boyle, first early of Cork. At the age of eight, Boyle was sent to Eton College where he demonstrated enthusiasm and aptitude for learning. In 1638 … Continued
“Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum” was first published in 1611 in Aemilia Lanyer’s volume of poetry by the same title, though the year it was written is unknown. Lanyer lived from 1569-1645. The poem addresses the Passion of Christ, contrasting the … Continued
Samuel Pordge, the eldest son of clergyman John Pordage and his first wife Mary Lane, was born and baptized in London in 1633. Little is known of his early life. At the age of 11, he was admitted to the … Continued
The State of Innocence is an opera by John Dryden (1631-1700) about the fall of man, based on Milton’s Paradise Lost. Composed in 1674, it was originally intended to be staged at the newly-built Theatre Royal in Drury Lane: fire … Continued