Milton

Hello this is George Bartley, and I was walking through the wax museum when I ran across the figure of John Milton. Naturally I had to stop, and I watched him as he came to life and began speaking.

Mr. Milton, this is indeed an honor! Do you mind if I speak with you tonight?

Certainly not. I would definitely appreciate the company. And and what is your name?

My name is George Bartley, and I was in English and drama major in college–SO THE English major part of me is quite humbled to speak with you.

AH, Mr. Bartley, then I would be most obliged to satisfy you with an account of my life.  I grew up with privilege, expectation, and a mind hungry for knowledge. My father, a scrivener, provided tutors, music lessons, and an education that he hoped would prepare me for greatness. You might say that from an early age, I believed that I was destined for fame, or even immortality.

Transcript

Hello this is George Bartley, and I was walking through the wax museum when I ran across the figure of John Milton. Naturally I had to stop, and I watched him as he came to life and began speaking.

Mr. Milton, this is indeed an honor! Do you mind if I for one restraint Lords of the world besides who first seduce them to that foul  revoked     speak with you tonight?

Certainly not. And and what is your name?

My name is George Bartley, and I was in English and drama major in college–SO THE English major part of me is quite humbled to speak with you.

AH, Mr. Bartley, then I would be most obliged to satisfy you with an account of my life.  I grew up with privilege, expectation, and a mind hungry for knowledge. My father, a scrivener, provided tutors, music lessons, and an education that he hoped would prepare me for greatness. You might say that from an early age, I believed that I was destined for fame, or even immortality.

But for what I understand, Mr. Milton, you did face considerable challenges along the way.

Yes, life would test me. I faced political upheaval, personal loss, and eventually, blindness. By the early 1650s, at just forty-three, I could no longer see.

Mr. Milton, that was quite a challenge after being able to see for all these years.

Mr. Bartley, Blindness for me was more than a physical loss; it demanded dependence on others and challenged my sense of independence. And yet, in that darkness, I believe that I created some of the greatest works in English literature.

In paradise lost, I wrote

Say first—for Heaven hides nothing from thy view,

Nor the deep tract of Hell—say first what cause

Moved our grand parents, in that happy state,

Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off

From their Creator, and transgress his will

For one restraint, lords of the World besides.

Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?

From the epic grandeur of Paradise Lost to the quiet triumph of Paradise Regained, I believe that my inner vision never dimmed.

So spake the Eternal Father, and all Heaven

Admiring stood a space, then into Hymns

Burst forth, and in Celestial measures mov'd, [ 170 ]

Circling the Throne and Singing, while the hand

Sung with the voice, and this the argument.

Victory and triumph to the Son of God

Now entring his great duel, not of arms,

But to vanquish by wisdom hellish wiles. 

Yes Mr. Milton, perhaps that your works might be best expressed in the two words of your phrase darkness visible.

Yes Mr. Bartley,"Darkness visible is certainly a phrase that are used which captures the paradox of my life: blindness in body, yet vision without bounds in the mind - a world in which darkness became a canvas, and imagination, the brightest light.

Mr. Milton, could you tell us a little bit about your origins?

Certainly, Mr. Bartley. I was born in 1608 in Bread Street, London (ironically, near the Mermaid Tavern where Shakespeare and Ben Jonson’s crowd once gathered).

I studied at St Paul’s School and then Cambridge University, where I immersed myself in languages, philosophy, and theology. Even as a teenager, I was determined to be a poet of immortal renown. I actually wrote in my notebooks that I was “destined for greatness.”

After Cambridge, hi didn’t rush into a career — instead, hi spent six years at mine father’s country house in Horton, reading, writing, and preparing myself for literary greatness.

In 1638, I toured France and Italy, meeting scholars and artists — even Galileo.

Mr. Milton, Could you describe that meeting?

Mr. Bartley, the encounter was profound: Ilater called Galileo the “Tuscan artist” in Paradise Lost, linking science and poetry at a time when both were under suspicion.  And then I returned to England just as the country was boiling toward civil war.  Not surprisingly, I plunged into pamphleteering, becoming a fierce advocate for Puritanism, republicanism, and free speech. I became Latin Secretary to Oliver Cromwell, essentially the government’s propaganda writer to Europe.

Mr. Milton, what about your romantic life, if you don't mind me asking?

AH, Mr. Bartley - one might say that I had an active romantic life. I married three times. My first wife, Mary Powell, was only 16 when we wed; she fled back to her Royalist family within weeks, leaving me humiliated. We reconciled later, but her desertion inspired my fiery pamphlets in defense of divorce. Tragedy struck again: my first wife died in childbirth, and later two more wives also died young. My fathered several children but had strained relationships with them, especially his daughters.

If it is not too sensitive in area, Mr. Milton, could you relate the incident surrounding your blindness?

Certainly, Mr. Bartley. Around 1652, I became completely blind.

Mr. Milton, How old were you?

Mr. Bartley, I was in my early 40s

Did you stop writing?

Mr. Bartley, certainly not, but From then on, I dictated my works, most famously Paradise Lost, largely to mydaughters. I believe that my blindness gave my poetry its epic gravitas — the “darkness visible” of my own life became a kind of metaphor for fallen humanity.

Mr. Milton, If I recall correctly Charles the Second was restored in 1660, what effect - if any -  did that have upon you?

Mr. Bartley, When Charles II was restored, I was in mortal danger. I was arrested and briefly imprisoned but spared from execution. Living quietly in seclusion, blind and widowed, I produced my masterpieces: Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes.

Mr. Milton, could you say a little bit more about those works?

Certainly Mr. Bartley .Now Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained are often treated like “part one” and “part two,” but in reality, they’re very different in scope, tone, and ambition. I was blind when he dictated both, and I knew that I was writing my legacy.

Mr. Milton, could you be a little bit more specific about Paradise Lost?

Certainly, Mr. Bartley. Paradise Lost is an epic in 12 books, modeled on the ancient writers Homer and Virgil. Paradise lost tells the cosmic story of Satan’s rebellion, his temptation of Adam and Eve, and humanity’s fall from Eden.

As for the style, it is written in blank verse, and is grand, sweeping, full of battle scenes, heavenly councils, and vast landscapes. The Themes are Free will vs. predestination.  Mr. Mr. Milton how would you describe the themes of paradise lost?

The work can probably be best described as a tragic epic because I deliberately aimed to rival Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid. My goal was to “justify the ways of God to men.”

Mr. Milton, I believe you had another work by the name of paradise regained.

Yes, Mr. Bartley - paradise regained at four books is a much shorter poem, almost austere in contrast. Instead of battles in Heaven and Earth, it focuses tightly on Christ’s temptation in the wilderness (from the Gospel of Luke).  The style is lean and restrained. The language is plain and the narrative simple: Christ resists Satan’s temptations one by one.

Mr. Milton, what would you say are the themes of paradise regained?

AH, Mr. Bartley - that is an interesting question. 

True heroism as obedience and self-denial.

Victory through inner strength, not outer glory.

Where Adam failed in the garden, Christ succeeds in the desert.

And Mr. Bartley, paradise regained is more like a “quiet epic,” a philosophical dialogue. There are those who find it dry; while others see it as my most mature theological statement.

For clarification purposes, Mr. Milton, could you compare paradise lost and paradise regained for us?

Oh, Mr. Bartley, Paradise lost is a grand tragic epic, while paradise regained is more of a philosophical poem 
 Paradise lost is a sprawling narrative in 12 books, Paradise revisited is a tightly focused work and four books

It is ambiguous who the real hero of paradise lost is - is it Adam or is it Christ or is it even Satan - who often steals the stage. The hero of Paradise Regained is clearly Christ, the obedient son. The hero of Paradise Lost is Satan who is portrayed as charismatic, defiant, tragic, and often more compelling than Adam who is shown as diminished, argumentative, frustrated, and even petty. The setting of Paradise Lost is heaven, hell, Eden, and the cosmos.

The setting of Paradise regained is a desert wilderness

And the theme of Paradise Lost is how humanity lost paradise through disobedience.

The theme of a Paradise WON is how Paradise can be regained through obedience.

I firmly believe that Paradise Lost is undeniably the greater work in terms of influence, scope, and literary fireworks.  On the other hand, Paradise Regained is subtler — almost anti-epic. Instead of thunderbolts, it argues that real strength lies in quiet steadfastness.

This is fascinating, Mr. Milton. I would be most interested if you could continue your comparison of the two works.

Certainly Mr. Bartley. Paradise Lost is about how we lost everything through pride and disobedience. Paradise Regained is about how we gain it back — not through conquest, but through humility, patience, and faith.

One might say that they mirror the author himself: the fiery, revolutionary Milton of my youth (lost paradise) versus the blind, chastened Milton of my later years (regained paradise).

In studying you at school, Mr. Milton, I sincerely came to the conclusion that you were a fascinating mix of lofty ambition, personal suffering, and political risk — which mirrors your writing. It seems as though you thought of yourself not just as a poet but as a prophet, chosen to “justify the ways of God to men.”

Now remember, Mr. Bartley, I began losing my sight in the 1640s, while Iwas in the thick of political battles, writing furious pamphlets by candlelight. By 1652, in his early forties, I was completely blind.

I called this period my “dark world and wide” — an image that captures both his loss of vision and his sense of being cast adrift after the collapse of his political hopes. I came to realize that blindness meant dependence, and for a proud, independent spirit like myself, this was agony.

Mr. Milton, I can't even imagine the challenges that you faced.

And I was forced to rely on my daughters and other helpers to read to me and to take dictation. My daughters often resented it, and I sometimes quarreled with them — you can imagine the frustration on both sides: the father demanding, the daughters weary.

Yes, Mr. Milton– That must've been a genuine trial– Both for you, and to a lesser extent, your daughters.

But Mr. Bartley, out of this darkness, I composed Paradise Lost, dictating passages of what I felt were of sublime vision while seeing nothing with my eyes.

But permit me Mr. Bartley to share with you one of my expressions of faith.  In this poem, I wrestled with my blindness in poetry. I wanted my sonnet “On His Blindness” i to be extremely moving.  In the poem, I ask how I can serve God when light is denied, and I fear my one talent– In other words my poetic gift– Might be wasted like the parable of the servant who buried his master cloth. I ask how I can serve God when light is denied. And I fear my one talent– My poetic gift– Might be wasted like the parable of the servant who buried his masters coin.

But Mr. Milton, if I remember correctly, you end that poem with a quiet epiphany– They also serve who only stand and wait.

And Mr. Milton, I can reassure you that such a line became one of the most famous expressions of patient faith in English literature– It was though you had found a way to transform your despair into acceptance. Would you share that poem with us?

Certainly Mr. Bartley.

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chide,

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts: who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed

And post o'er land and ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Mr. Milton - That closing line — “They also serve who only stand and wait” — has comforted generations of readers. It turns what could have been despair into quiet strength.

Milton’s phrase “darkness visible” didn’t stay confined to the 17th century. Its haunting paradox — lightless light, evil revealed through absence — has echoed through centuries of literature. Over time, “darkness visible” has become more than a phrase — it’s shorthand for moments when evil, grief, or despair can be seen clearly, even if only through the lens of imagination or moral insight. Milton may have written it in the 17th century, but the image still haunts our literature — and our imagination — today.

In conclusion, Milton’s life and work remind us that adversity can become vision. His blindness, which might have silenced another poet, sharpened his inner eye to witness the world with clarity.

Sources include "Reading John Milton: How to Persist in Troubled Times" by Stephen B. Dobranski, "John Milton: Life, Work and Thought" by Gordon Campbell and Thomas N. Corns, and "The Life of John Milton" by William Riley Parker

Join us for episode 461 - an episode by the name of darkness visible - regarding the Life and Times of Daniel Defoe.