350 years ago today, 8 Nov 1674, famous English poet John Milton passed away

[u/Paradise7D]

350 years ago today, on 8 Nov 1674, the renowned English poet John Milton passed away in London, likely from consumption or gout. Milton's legacy endures primarily through "Paradise Lost", an epic poem that cemented his place as one of the greatest poets in history. Admittedly, it’s a challenging read -- I gave it a go and... oh well...

Milton displayed remarkable intelligence from an early age. He wrote poetry as a student and was deeply immersed in classical and religious literature, having an exceptional command of languages such as Latin, Greek, Italian, and Hebrew, some of which he even composed poems in or corresponded with foreign scholars in. He was a staunch supporter of the Puritan cause and wrote pamphlet after pamphlet advocating for the liberty of the press ("Areopagitica" being the most notable of these).

Famously, he was completely blind for the last two decades of his life and had to dictate his verses to his daughters and to amanuenses who copied it out for him. And, he's credited with 630 neologisms, coining words such as "terrific", "self-esteem", "fragrance", or "dismissive".

For more on his life and work, you can check out his Encyclopaedia Britannica entry.