1. To the Lady Margaret Ley
By: Alaina, Travis, Josh, and Carly
2. John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, philosopher,
intellectual, and civil servant in the 17th Century.
His most famous works include Paradise Lost
and Areopagitica.
He has been lauded as “the greatest English
author,” and “as one of the preeminent writers in
the English language.”
3. To The Lady Margaret Ley
Daughter to that good Earl, once President
Of England’s Counsel, and her Treasury,
Who liv’d in both, unstain’d with gold or fee,
And left them both, more in himself content,
Till the sad breaking of that Parliament
Broke him, as that dishonest victory
At Chaeronea, fatal to liberty
Kil’d with report that Old man eloquent,
Though later born, then to have known the dayes,
Wherein your Father flourisht, yet by you
Madam, methinks I see him living yet;
So well your words his noble virtues praise,
That all both judge you to relate them true,
And to possess them, Honour’d Margeret.
4. Situation and Setting
The Sonnet “To The Lady Margaret Ley” was to lady Margaret Ley who was a
neighbor of John Milton. Milton was thought to have had an affair with her after
his wife died.
Margaret Ley was the daughter of Sir James Ley. He was the High Treasurer, and
Lord President of the council and in 1628 he was created Earl of Marlborough.
Though the sonnet is written to Lady Margaret much of it is about her father.
Parliament was forcibly dissolved in 1629 after passing a resolution against King
Charles I. The conflict between the king and Parliament broke Sir James Ley’s
spirit and may have lead to his death only 12 days later. .
5. At the battle of Chaeronea, Philip of Macedon and his Greek Allies defeated a
coalition of Greek states, including Athens and Thebes.
Vowing not to outlive the liberty and good of Athens, the philosopher Isocrates
died after the Greek states fell to Philip of Macedon.
Milton makes a poetical comparison between the fate of the two men
Milton compares this loss of Athens’ ancient liberty to Ley’s death following the
closing of Parliament.
Both men had their hopes destroyed when the leaders with whom the tried to
reason took repressive actions.
6. Structure and Meter
The structure and meter of this poem are very telling of the era in which is was
written.
This poem is written as a sonnet which is a piece of literature consisting of 14
lines and carrying a traditional rhyme scheme.
Its is also written in iambic pentameter which was very common among poems of
this time period.
While Milton was an English writer, this piece of literature is written using a rhyme
scheme that was more commonly used in Italian works.
7. More on Structure
Many times sonnets are set up so that the first part “sets up a situation” and the
second part “resolves it”.
In the beginning of the sonnet To the Lady Margaret Ley, the speaker is discussing
the death of Sir James Ley. In the end, the speaker discusses how he sees Sir
James Ley living on in his daughter Lady Margaret Ley.
The situation is that Sir James Ley has died and the resolution is that he still lives
on in his daughter.
