Milton & His Contemporaries

Flashcards covering John Milton, his life, major poems, prose tracts, and contemporary Cavalier and Metaphysical writers from the 17th century lecture notes.

Which three realms did Charles I rule as monarch during his reign from 1625 to 1649?

England, Scotland, and Ireland

What doctrine regarding royal authority did Charles I firmly believe in?

Divine Right

Who was the French Catholic queen married to King Charles I?

Henrietta Maria

Which Archbishop of Canterbury was appointed by Charles I and closely associated with his controversial High Anglican practices?

William Laud

What unpopular tax introduced in 1634 contributed to the conflict between Charles I and Parliament?

Ship money

What term is used to describe the period from 1629 to 1640 during which Charles I ruled without Parliament?

Eleven years' tyranny

Which conflict in Scotland broke out as a prelude to the English Civil War following Charles I's personal rule?

Bishops' Wars (1639-40)

What type of church governance did Charles I seek to establish in Scotland?

An "episcopal" system with bishops

What system of church governance did Scottish leaders demand instead of the episcopal system?

A "presbyterian" system without bishops

What specific action by Charles I sparked the First Bishops' War in 1637?

Attempting to regulate liturgy in Scotland by imposing Archbishop Laud's Book of Common Prayer

What were the date ranges for the two phases of the English Civil War?

1642-46 and 1648-54

On what date did the trial of Charles I begin?

20 January 1649

On what date was King Charles I beheaded?

30 January 1649

In what year were public theatres closed in England by the Puritans?

1642

Which 1632 work by William Prynne attacked professional theatre and female actresses?

Histriomastix

What were the dates for the first period of the Commonwealth of England?

1649-1653

What period of government lasted from 1653 to 1658 under Oliver Cromwell?

The Protectorate

What is the English translation of the title "Eikon Basilike" (1649)?

The Royal Portrait

What is the subtitle of Eikon Basilike (1649)?

The Portraiture of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitude and Sufferings

How many days after Charles I was beheaded was Eikon Basilike published?

Ten days

Who were the five primary Cavalier Poets mentioned in the lecture?

Herrick, Carew, Waller, Suckling, and Lovelace

Which philosophical movement did the Cavalier poets uphold when celebrating the relationship between Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria?

Platonism

In which major works by Herrick (1648) and Lovelace (1649) are idealized depictions of love portrayed?

Herrick's Hesperides and Lovelace's Lucasta

Which major playwright and poet friend strongly influenced Robert Herrick?

Ben Jonson

What was Robert Herrick's major poetry collection published in 1648?

Hesperides

Which two literary figures served as primary influences on Thomas Carew?

Ben Jonson and John Donne

At what age was Edmund Waller elected to Parliament?

16

Name two well-known short poems written by Edmund Waller.

"On a Girdle" and "Go, Lovely Rose"

Which topographical poem was written by Edmund Waller?

"On St James's Park"

Which Shakespearean play influenced John Suckling's musical comedy The Goblins?

The Tempest

Name two famous poems written by John Suckling.

"Ballade, Upon a Wedding" and "Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?"

Which two famous poems by Richard Lovelace combine Petrarchan and metaphysical styles?

"To Lucasta, Going to the Wars" and "To Althea, From Prison"

In which famous anthology by Thomas Percy was Richard Lovelace's poem "To Althea, From Prison" included?

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry

Complete the famous lines from Lovelace's poem: "Stone walls do not a prison make / …"

"… Nor iron bars a cage"

Which social class provided support to the Parliament during the English Civil War?

Commercial & trading classes (gentry)

Who succeeded Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector?

His son Richard

Where was John Milton born?

Bread Street, Cheapside

What was the occupation of John Milton's father?

Scrivener (copyist) and composer

What nickname was given to John Milton at Christ's College, Cambridge?

"Lady of Christ's"

What is considered Milton's earliest formal poem, written in 1628 at age 20?

"Ode on the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough"

Who was Milton's Cambridge tutor with whom he had a disagreement leading to his brief rustication in 1627?

William Chappell

What is the title of Milton's first Latin elegy, written as a verse letter to Charles Diodati?

Elegia Prima

Which Cambridge friend of John Milton served as the inspiration for his pastoral elegy Lycidas?

Edward King

In what years did John Milton earn his BA and MA degrees from Cambridge?

BA in 1629; MA in 1632

What was John Milton's first published poem, and where was it anonymously printed in 1632?

"On Shakespear" (originally "The Epitaph on the Admirable Dramatic Poet, W. Shakespeare"), published in Shakespeare's Second Folio

What does the title "L'Allegro" mean, and which Greek goddess does it invoke?

Means "happy man"; invokes Euphrosyne, Greek goddess of Mirth

What does the title "Il Penseroso" mean, and who is invoked in the poem?

Means "the melancholy man"; invokes Goddess Melancholy, veiled in black

Where did Milton spend six years in intensive study starting in 1635?

Horton

Name the six poems collectively known as the "Horton poems".

"Upon the Circumcision", "At a Solemn Music", "On Time", Arcades, Comus, and "Lycidas"

Milton's masque Arcades (1632) was written in praise of which aristocratic figure?

Alice Spencer, Countess Dowager of Darby

Who composed the music for Milton's masques Arcades and Comus?

Henry Lawes

Where was Milton's masque Comus first presented on Michaelmas in 1634?

Ludlow Castle

Which two primary virtues are upheld in Milton's masque Comus?

Temperance and chastity

What concept enables the "Lady" to resist the seduction attempts of Comus?

Right reason (recta ratio or freedom of mind)

Which water nymph releases the Lady from Comus's spell?

Sabrina

In what year was "Lycidas" composed, and to what memorial collection was it contributed?

1637; written for a memorial collection of elegies for Edward King

How did Edward King, the subject of "Lycidas", die?

He drowned in the Irish Sea

What institution does Milton fiercely attack in a famous digression within "Lycidas"?

The Anglican clergy

Which famous scientist under house arrest did Milton visit during his tour of Italy?

Galileo

What was the title of Milton's last Latin piece, composed as a pastoral elegy for Charles Diodati?

Epitaphium Damonis ("Damon's Epitaph")

How many anti-prelatical tracts did Milton write against episcopacy in church government?

Five

To whom was Milton's 1644 educational tract Of Education addressed?

Samuel Hartlib

Whom did Milton marry in 1643, and what pamphlet was provoked by her sudden departure?

Mary Powell; The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643)

What did Milton identify as the chief end intended by God in marriage?

"The cheerful conversation of man with woman"

What 1643 parliamentary act prompted Milton to write Areopagitica?

The Licensing Order of 1643

Who inspired the title Areopagitica, and what was the Areopagus?

Inspired by the 5th-century BC Athenian orator Isocrates; Areopagus was a hill in Athens used for tribunals

What official position was Milton appointed to in the Commonwealth government following the execution of Charles I?

Secretary of Foreign Tongues (or Latin Secretary)

What is the literal translation of the title of Milton's tract Eikonoklastes (1649)?

"Image Breaker"

Which Shakespearean character does Milton cite in Eikonoklastes to illustrate how treachery hides under the guise of piety?

Richard, Duke of Gloucester (in Richard III)

How did the royalist polemic The Cry of the King's Blood explain Milton's loss of sight?

It claimed that his blindness was God's punishment

How did Milton respond to attacks on his blindness in his Second Defence?

He described it as a trial for special inner illumination and compared himself to blind heroes and sages of the past

Name three late prose works written by Milton.

History of Britain (1670), Artis Logicae (1672), and De Doctrina Christiana

How did Milton metaphorically distinguish his prose writing from his poetry?

He stated his prose was written with his "left hand", reserving his "right hand" for poetry

At what age was Milton completely blind, and from what probable condition?

Age 44 (by 1654), probably from glaucoma

Which fellow poet served as an amanuensis (scribe) for Milton during his blindness?

Andrew Marvell

Who were Milton's second and third wives?

Katherine Woodcock (married 1656) and Elizabeth Minshull (married 1663)

How many books did Paradise Lost originally contain, and into how many was it later rearranged?

Originally 10 books; later rearranged into 12 books

In Paradise Lost Book I, what is the name of the parliament palace built in Hell, and who was its architect?

Pandemonium; designed by Mulciber

List five pagan deities identified among the fallen angels in Paradise Lost Book I.

Moloch, Chemos, Astoreth, Thammuz, and Dagon

In Paradise Lost Book V, which single angel resisted Satan's revolt and returned to God's side?

Abdiel

What weapon did Satan invent during the war in heaven described in Paradise Lost Book VI?

Gunpowder and the cannon

Which Muse of Astronomy does Milton invoke at the opening of Paradise Lost Book VII?

Urania

Which cosmological theory does Milton employ when Adam inquires about celestial bodies in Book VIII?

Ptolemaic Theory (or Geocentric Model)

Which two Indian cities are mentioned in Paradise Lost Book XI as Michael shows Adam the regions of the Earth?

Agra and Lahore

What is described as the only hopeful sign in the entire epic during the flood scene in Paradise Lost Book XI?

The rainbow

What Latin phrase used in Book XII refers to Adam's fall as a fortunate mistake?

Felix culpa

What work was published in a single volume along with Paradise Regained in 1671?

Samson Agonistes

How does Jesus's response to temptation in Paradise Regained contrast with Satan's portrayal in Paradise Lost?

Jesus remains a private, virtuous man submitting quietly to God, lacking the grandiose heroism initially shown by Satan

What form of drama is Samson Agonistes, and which classical tradition does its structure follow?

Tragic closet drama; follows the Hellenic (Greek) classical tradition

What does the Greek word "Agonistes" translate to in the title Samson Agonistes?

Wrestler or champion

Which two ancient Greek plays served as structural models for Samson Agonistes?

Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus

Quote the famous line in Samson Agonistes where Samson laments his captivity and blindness.

"Eyeless in Gaza at the mill with slaves"

Which structural style did Milton adopt for his 23 sonnets instead of the Shakespearean model?

Petrarchan style

What is the concluding line of Milton's Sonnet 19 ("On His Blindness")?

"They also serve who only stand and wait."

What pamphlet defending republicanism did Milton publish on the eve of the Restoration?

The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth

On what date and from what medical cause did John Milton die?

8 November 1674, of gout

Who was the first literary critic to describe John Milton as a "poet of the sublime"?

John Dryden

Who authored the 1967 critical study Milton's Grand Style?

Christopher Ricks

Which 1642 work by Sir Thomas Browne examines his personal religious views as a physician?

Religio Medici ("The Religion of a Doctor")

Which two prose works by Sir Thomas Browne were published together in 1658?

The Garden of Cyrus and Hydriotaphia, or Urn Burial