John Milton — A Noble Nonconformity

Abstract

John Milton, born exactly four hundred years ago, preferred the quiet life of scholarship and poetry; but circumstances and his seriousness and strong sense of duty plunged him into the maelstrom of political life in one of the most turbulent periods of English history. This article traces his chequered career as poet and champion of intellectual and political liberty and assesses his importance and significance as a poet, political activist and, not least, as a Christian.