Puritan Age: A Moral, Religious and Social Force

In the age of Milton Puritanism flourished as moral and social force, and its main was to get control in the state, and the religious and political between the two force, these were the salient features of the Puritan Age of which Milton is the main production. At the time of Reformation Arch Bishop Parker and his Colleagues held Church of England, but did not differ from the Church of Rome.

The true descendants of Wycliffe; Lollards, John Calvin of Geneva were strict in religious orders and tradition and life view and life conducts. In short Puritan emerged in the country as national power.

The was a great tussle between the high and lower class in state and the high handed policy of the rulers and their determination to enforce their on the people of England was the main cause of disorder between the religious world of the State and the political leaders of the State.

Puritans thought of ruling the country on this ground that the Super Power is God and their shadows on earth are the religious people and none have rule except them on earth. Their concept of ruling the State was right but people became against due to their non-flexible policies on earth. People and political leaders were not ready to tolerate them for even a single day. Every one admires their integrity and honesty but we deplore and dislike their fanaticism, narrowness of minds and strictness in religious orders.

Puritan destroyed human culture and confined literature within their personal interest that was fatal to art and literature. In such circumstances Milton combined the three forces; Reformation Force, Renaissance Force and Puritan Force in his literature to make them one.

Milton’s works falls into three periods; 1. The college period, closes with end of Cambridge career in 1632, 2. The Horton period, closes with the departure with the continent in 1638, 3. The period of prose writing from 1640 t0 1660, it was the period of great achievement in the life of Milton.

His college poem Latin and English is an experience of student’s life, but On the Morning of Christ Nativity. L’ Allegro, Second penseroso, Comus and Lycides, all are powerful in style and beauty. He filled his entire poem with morality and manners of the country and religion.

When we call Milton a great writer of his age, so it means a great poet, not a great prose writer: because his prose writings are not famous due to bombastic words and complex for common readers in understanding.

When Milton started writing prose modern English does not exist. He wrote Areopagitica against the Parliament.

Milton’s later poetry is grand among which Paradise Lost is more prominent and shows his creative power and intellectual energy. Actually, he wrote Paradise Lost to assert Eternal Providence and justify the ways of God to men.

On one side, in Paradise Lost he set forth the revolt of Satan against God. The war in Heaven and the fall of rebel angels on earth, the temptation of Eve and Adam, and their expulsion from Eden Garden all are the themes of Bible. On the other hand, his main aim was to show the man’s first disobedience brought death and sin on earth and before the expulsion of Adam and Eve there was no death and sin neither in Heaven and nor on Earth.

After a short time he wrote the second part of Paradise Lost, titled Paradise Regained, in which he clarifies that how men can get their lost paradise due to due to God’s disobedience in Heaven on the will of Satan.

According to Milton men can get their lost paradise following the ways of God described in the Bible and besides, there was no solution of it otherwise men will go direct to hell forever.

The people of the Earth must think over it seriously. On the other hand, Samson Agonistes is also his famous poem in style and beauty and its subject matter has been taken from the Bible. Samson belonged to Philistines. His power lied in his hair and it was his beloved who made disloyalty to him and told his secret of power to his enemy and thus he was killed mercilessly.

At the end we discuss some salient features of Milton’s poetry. After Shakespeare Milton was the greatest poet of his age. He was the master of blending the intellectual power and creative power in the finest way as he exhibited his power in Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. Besides, he was a consummate literary artist, a moral reformer and a preacher of God’s commandments. It was Milton who told men how to reenter into heaven.

Milton epics represent man him generally and especially the whole human race of earth, but the technically his poetry his loaded with a new style and beauty for the coming generation. He uses blank verses in his whole poems that are deserving of study to find new aspects of life.