Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
The woman to whom "Methought I Saw…" probably refers to Milton's second wife, Katherine Woodcock, who died on February 3, 1658, after just over a year of marriage and three months after giving birth to a daughter, who also died. In other words, this is a no-so-happy poem, written by a not-so-happy man. (Source.)
The young John Milton was such a pugnacious student that he was once suspended from Cambridge after a dispute with his tutor. But we're betting it was about something so nerdy that were you to start a debate with your teacher about it (whatever it was), they'd probably just give you extra credit. (Source.)
Milton married his first wife when she was just 17, so it's no surprise they were not exactly in wedded bliss. In fact, the marriage was so bad, he wrote papers advocating for legal divorce. We're guessing he wanted to cite irreconcilable differences? (Source.)