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ee times, which also influenced some of hisworks. After his first unhappy marriage, he wrote a series of pamphlets callingfor more leniencies in the church’s position on divorce. Milton was a pioneer forthe right of divorce in a time when it was prohibited by almost all denominations.Also, he wrote a poem about his second deceased wife.Milton was a valiant man who wrote in spite of being totally blind at theage of forty two; he continued writing and was able to contribute the EnglishEpic to the English language, an epic worthy to be studied and analyzed.ANDREA CHÉRREZ /201010

UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCAFACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LITERATURA Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓNESCUELA DE LENGUA Y LITERATURA INGLESAI consider it important that people know about John Milton -who he wasand why he is so important in English Literature. There were many interestingevents in his life as well as contributions which are not widely known. I haveseen the necessity of showing them through this research.First of all, John Milton wrote five masterful long poems: “On the Morningof Christ’s Nativity,” “Comus,” “Lycidas,” “II Penseroso,” and L Allegro.” Throughthese poems, Milton showed his skill at writing narrative, drama, elegies, andpolitical and philosophical treatises. He revealed an amazing sense ofcommand of English. Even in these early poems, Milton’s literary output wasguided by his faith in God. Milton believed that all poetry served a social,philosophical, and religious purpose. He thought that poetry should glorify God,promote religious values, enlighten readers, and help people to become betterChristians.In addition, many events that occurred in Milton’s life prompted him towrite about many different themes such as divorce, blindness, and his personallosses.Finally, as early as the age of sixteen, as Milton read the classical epicsin school, he began to fantasize about writing an English Epic. He had differenttopics in mind until he decided to write about the story of Adam and Eve. Thus,Paradise Lost was brought into English literature.This Epic is the greatest poem ever written in English. The poemcontains many characters, quotations, themes, motifs, and symbols worthy tobe analyzed. Milton’s account of man’s creation and fall is the same accountnarrated in the Bible. However, using his amazing talent, Milton creates a verythorough and detailed epic, using many passages and characters not only fromthe Bible but also from other sources such as later Christian and rabbinictraditions, as well as Greek and Roman mythology and literature.ANDREA CHÉRREZ /201011

UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCAFACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LITERATURA Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓNESCUELA DE LENGUA Y LITERATURA INGLESAThroughout this work Paradise Lost will be analyzed, focusing on itsliterature, purpose, characters, symbols, motifs, and themes, and finalizing witha contrast and comparison with the Bible account, which will give us a deepknowledge of what the importance of this epic for English literature is.ANDREA CHÉRREZ /201012

UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCAFACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LITERATURA Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓNESCUELA DE LENGUA Y LITERATURA INGLESACHAPTER IJOHN MILTON’S BIOGRAPHY"He sacrificed his sight, and then he remembered his first desire, that ofbeing a poet," 1“Jorge Luis Borges”Is it possible to be a genius and a great poet in spite of being blind?Some people would say it is not; however, John Milton proved it was possible toachieve, being able to write lots of important works and moreover to contributewith an English epic to English Literature.It is common to think that the life of a middle-class, well-educated,religious poet born four hundred years ago would be monotonous and boring,but this is not John Milton’s case. Milton is an interesting subject since he wasan unusual writer for the time he lived. He wrote a fair amount about his poeticintentions in his poems, prose, and notebooks. Around his time he wascontemplating the subject matter for a great

SONNET 19 “ON HIS OWN BLINDNESS” 59 BACKGROUND 59 THE SONNET 59 . ANALYSIS OF MAJOR CHARACTERS 98 . UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCA . Milton showed his skill at writing narrative, drama, elegies, and political and