Notes for the 27th and 28th

Sorry I didn't post last night to anyone who actually goes on the blog. Anyhow I just got back from work so here we go. Yesterday we took a quiz on Herrick's poems and today we had a quiz on Milton's bio. So... Milton's Bio:
John Milton is the first PURITAN poet we have read so far. Please note this down for the final/test- it will be asked. He's one of the three 'great ones' among Chaucer and Shakespeare. He spent most of his career out of favor of the monarchy and people. But as soon as he wrote Paradise Lost it changed everything because it was an INSTANT CLASSIC. Milton was very well educated and read every printed text published in his time...in 4 different languages. (He was fluent in all European languages including Hebrew) Milton could also recite the entire bible by heart. In the years of 1641-1660 he spent most of his time fighting his puritan cause and writing pamphlets defending aspects of libery. Areopagetica was a very famous one written for freedom of the press. The Tenure of Kengs and Magistrates was written to argue for power of the people.
Milton was very well educated so naturally someone of his time was expected to join the clergy. But he didn't because he was so opposed to the Anglican religion. At the end of his education he wrote Lysidas when one of his classmates died. This poem was known as a Pastoral Elegy. He was blind for a majority of his life and Sonnet XIX: When I consider How my Light is Spent was written about this experience. (of going blind)
......moving into Sonnet XIX
The first Quatrain is about how he has this talent(writing poetry) and won't do something with it. This is disobeying god and similar to the man who buried his talent as opposed to investing in it or using it. (Reference in sonnet: story about 3 men....one invested and made money, other used it and at least got use, the other buried it and it was like he had no talent at all.) Therefore Milton must overcome his obstacle(blindness) to use his talent... writing poetry.

Extra credit is @ Connor Tuck's house. Must have the book! Mr. Lazarow might be a little late.
xoxoEmily