Milton's Early Poetry
Like most early modern poets, Milton circulated his poems in manuscript and eventually collected them -- or, at least, those fit to print -- into a printed volume. Many poets, such as John Donne, never lived to see the majority of their poems in print, in part because manuscript circulation still provided an extremely effective form of publication. More comfortable with the print marketplace than some contemporaries, Milton put out two volumes of poetry during his lifetime: the first, printed at the age of thirty-seven during the civil wars in 1645, and the second in 1673, the year before he died. A few of his short poems also appeared in print separately, such as the poem to Shakespeare, the first of this poems to appear in print in 1632. Some of his poetry, such as the sonnets to Fairfax and Cromwell, were not fit to print in his lifetime.
[Milton,] "An Epitaph on the Admirable Dramatic Poet, William Shakespeare," in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (1664)
Milton's first published poem is this anonymous "epitaph" placed prominently in the second edition of Shakespeare's collected plays. No one knows how John Milton, a then unknown poet in his early 20s, was selected to contribute to this majestic Folio printing of England's great dramatist, though it has recently become clear that Milton's family had connections to the King's Men, Shakespeare's troupe of players.
J.M., "To the Memorie of M. W. Shakespeare," in Shakespeare's First and Second Folio; shown here from the 1664 Folio.
This poem, by a "J.M.," appeared in the first Folio of Shakespeare's works in 1623, and it is thought by some to have been by Milton's father, John Milton Senior, who was a trustee of Blackfriars Theatre, which was used by Shakespeare's company.