2026 Undergraduate Research Showcase

The Influence of Areopagitica: Milton’s Life Retold in 1984 and Fahrenheit 451

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-24-2026

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Jennifer Black

Abstract

John Milton and the issues in which he wrote about in Areopagitica existed almost four hundred years ago. In this prose pamphlet, Milton protests the Licensing Order of 1643, advocating for freedom of the press. This may seem like it happened a long time ago and is irrelevant to modern-day America. However, the issues he explores in Areopagitica are prevalent today and remain timeless. In the more recent novels of 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, these authors drew inspiration from Milton’s real life and revived him in their main characters, Montag and Winston.

My paper begins with a brief introduction and context to the works of Areopagitica, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. I then provide evidence for Milton’s obvious influence on the two novels, not only in imagery and themes, but also in their main message, which advocates for the freedom of the press. All this builds to my main conclusion, which argues for the idea that the main characters in these two novels, Winston and Montag, are the fictitious recreations of Milton’s real life. Milton fought for the preservation of truth and experienced similar consequences to the characters in the novels. Not only was Areopagitica unsuccessful in persuading Parliament not to pass the Licensing Order of 1643, but Milton would eventually be imprisoned and have his books publicly burned, closely mirroring the ‘invented’ lives of Winston and Montag. Despite the setbacks Milton experienced, he still went on to positively influence literature and the world.

Milton’s life revived in these twentieth-century novels suggests that not only have the lives of Winston and Montag happened before, but they will again. Fighting for the freedom of the press is a torch that passes on from generation to generation, writer to writer. It is important we do our work to keep it alive.

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