John Milton was a bit of an oddball during the Restoration age. That's because he stuck to his Puritanism and Republicanism at a time when politics and society were turning away from both. As we can imagine, he wasn't a very popular guy during this period. Good thing for him he was a literary genius.

Even if John Milton isn't our "conventional" Restoration writer, we can't talk about this period in literary history without talking about him. That's because he produced some of the most important works in English literature, his crowning achievement being, of course, his epic poem Paradise Lost.

Paradise Lost (1667)

Paradise Lost is a poem on an epic scale. That's because it's a poem that chronicles man's creation and fall from grace. Adam, Eve, Satan, God, and Christ are all characters in this poem. Yeah, it doesn't get more epically epic than that.

Milton not only set out to write an epic that would rival those of classic writers like Homer and Virgil, he wanted to outdo them. It wasn't enough for him to write about larger-than-life warriors and epic battles, as his Greek and Roman predecessors had done. He went all out and wrote about warrior angels, devils, and the first man and woman: Adam and Eve.

Samson Agonistes (1671)

Milton's play is a short tragedy based on the story of Samson in the Old Testament. Samson, we might remember, was a very strong guy who performed incredible feats (such as slaying a lion), all thanks to his long hair. But when a sneaky woman cuts his hair, Samson finds himself in serious trouble.

Milton's play dramatizes Samson's fate after he finds himself prisoner of the Philistines. Like Paradise Lost, Samson Agonistes focuses on big biblical themes, adapting stories straight from the Bible.

Chew on This

Faith and religion are huge themes in John Milton's writing. Have a look at these quotations from Paradise Lost, which deal with questions of fate and free will.

Milton's Samson Agonistes is based on a biblical story. Check out these quotations on religious themes.