“Between Private Walls” 1645–1649sight, that this was a likely moment to take up his poetic vocation again and, as he
had recommended in the Reason of Church-governement,^1 to provide a reforming
society with some of the good art needed to help form its culture. He had reason to
expect a period of quiet for poetic activity, but anxieties over the state of reforma-
tion in the country and frustrations at home as his household was overrun by his
Powell in-laws kept him from producing much new verse. He had time for the
Muses in these years, but his circumstances did not allow for the leisurely play of
ideas and the focused concentration he needed for writing poems of some scope.
But he continued to experiment boldly with the sonnet genre, producing an epi-
gram-sonnet of friendship to Henry Lawes, an epitaph-sonnet on Catharine
Thomason, three political sonnets in the satiric mode – two on his divorce tracts,
and a sonetto caudato or “tailed” sonnet of 20 lines on religious repression – and a
political sonnet to Fairfax in the heroic register, mixing praise with advice.
As the king was brought to trial, condemned, and executed in December, 1648
and January, 1649, Milton was galvanized to polemic activity again. Drawing on his
extensive studies of ancient and modern history and politics, he sought to challenge
and educate his countrymen to seize this unprecedented opportunity to secure their
liberties in a free commonwealth. Milton more than most illustrates Hobbes’s com-
ment ascribing the overthrow of the English monarchy to classically educated men
whose studies of Tacitus, Livy, Sallust, Cicero, and others persuaded them that the
best and noblest form of government is an aristocratic republic:
There were an exceeding great number of Men of the better sort, that had been so
educated, as that in their youth having read the Books written by famous men of the
Antient Grecian and Roman Commonwealths, concerning their Polity and great Ac-
tions, in which Book[s] the Popular Government was extold by that glorious Name
of Liberty, and Monarchy disgraced by the Name of Tyranny: they became thereby in
love with their form of Government.^2“The Extremely Turbulent State of Our Britain”
During the summer of 1645 Milton prepared to move to his large new house at
number 17, the Barbican, a short street off Aldersgate Street (plate 6).^3 It was only
a few minutes’ walk from the house he was leaving. He took up residence there in
September or early October, along with his wife, his father, now 82, and the pupils
already with him – John and Edward Phillips, Cyriack Skinner, and perhaps one or
two more.^4 Two other students came soon: Thomas Gardiner of Essex (about 17)
and Richard Barry, second Earl of Barrymore (about 15), who was sent to him by
his aunt and Milton’s friend, Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh.^5 There may
have been a few others, but Edward Phillips comments that “the accession of schol-
ars was not great.”^6