John Milton - Samson Agonistes and Lycidas: "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of a hell, a hell of heaven"

John Milton was born in Bread Street, London, on December 9th, 1608. His early years were privately tutored before gaining a place at St Paul's School and in 1625 he matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1629 and an MA in 1632. At Cambridge, he had developed a reputation for poetic skill but also experienced alienation from his peers and university life as a whole. The next 6 years were spent in private study. He read both ancient and modern works of theology, philoso...