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well john milton might be known primarily for writing Paradise Lost, but

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he was no one-trick pony. although if he had been a pony who had [Milton and his work pictured]

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managed to write an epic poem well it'd be an awfully impressive trick.

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Milton spent a large chunk of time is a civil servant in the government of

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Oliver Cromwell ,the Lord Protector of England .sounds like a better paying gig.

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although to be fair searching for change in between couch cushions

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also tends to pay better than being a poet. okay so even though England has

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long been a monarchy ,there was a brief period between 1649 and 1660 when it [man holds change found in couch]

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wasn't. instead it was a Republican Commonwealth led by Cromwell. well as it

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happened Milton and Cromwell had a few things in common. while history doesn't

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tell us whether they went to the same barber, we do know that they were both

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Puritans, and thought the Church of England needed to be reformed to get

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away from all the elaborate ceremonies and power structures of Catholicism.

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Milton used his powers of persuasion on behalf of Puritan rule by writing essays [Milton and Cromwell pictured together]

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that were published in pamphlets. sure a treatise of civil power might not be the

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most poetic thing ever written, Milton didn't write it to help people

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Lou prospective lovers .for that you really need the second edition of the

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ready and easy way to establishing a free Commonwealth.

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works every time. Milton's biography has another quirk that you might not guess. [woman swoons over Milton's book]

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he spent much of his life completely blind.

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luckily for Milton and for us he was still able to write in spite of his

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condition. he just needed other people to write down his work for him.

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unfortunately these folks didn't get to transcribed by credits but hey they were

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there to help the glory . Milton even got some poetic inspiration out of his [students hard at work]

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situation. the poem when I consider how my light is spent, meditates on how he

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might serve God given his blindness. though when all was said and done Milton

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managed to overcome his disability becoming arguably the best poet who was

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also a blind civil servant. well top five anyway. oh boy! [Milton awarded trophy]

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