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But as his 400th anniversary approaches, scholars are preparing to celebrate Milton not only as one of the greatest poets ever to write in English, but as the literary imagination without whom Superman, Heroes or ̽��ֱ��Golden Compass might never have existed.

Starting with this week with the opening of a six-month exhibition, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� – Milton's own alma mater – will be hosting a year-long programme of events which it is hoped will rekindle the poet's spirit for a new generation 400 years after his birth.

As well as celebrating his genius, scholars also want the quatercentenary to demonstrate Milton's lasting influence as the inspiration for writers like Philip Pullman and JRR Tolkein.

“Milton is still with us in a profound way,” Dr Gavin Alexander, a fellow of Christ's College – where Milton himself once studied, said.

“His writing combined the traditional modes of epic and romance with what we would now call fantasy and science fiction, telling stories about humanity on a large, cosmic scale that nobody had really seen before.

“That set the precedent for some of the most popular and powerful writers and filmmakers of the past 100 years. Without him, it's questionable that we would have ever heard of Lord Of ̽��ֱ��Rings, Star Trek, or ̽��ֱ��Matrix. His idea of Satan – a flying, shape-changing superhero, magically persuasive and supernaturally powerful – could just as easily be Sylar from Heroes.

“Certainly Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy could never have been written. And that is a superb example of how the best science fiction and fantasy literature, like Paradise Lost, goes furthest from the everyday in order to say the most fundamental and valuable things about politics, society, morality, and human nature.”

Information about Milton's life and influence is already becoming available on a 400th anniversary website created by Dr Alexander and colleagues at Christ's, which as Milton's own college will lead many of the 2008 celebrations. As a student, Milton was known as “the Lady of Christ's” – a reference to his rather feminine looks.

But it is not just as a profound influence on the realms of fantasy and fiction that scholars want him to be remembered. As the new web resource shows, he was also responsible for introducing more than 600 words to the English language. Many, such as “terrific” and “Satanic” reflect the epic themes that characterised much of his writing. Others – like “cooking” and “extravagance” – are also believed to be Miltonic inventions or imports.

Politically, too, Milton's writing has resonated ever since. His defences of religious freedom, of a press free from censorship, and of the freedom to divorce were ahead of their time and of lasting influence. Milton's was the most powerful voice at a time when England was experimenting with the idea of rule by the righteous rather than by those who inherit power. It was, similarly, to Milton that the revolutionaries of America and France turned a century on.

̽��ֱ��celebrations proper will start on Tuesday this week (15 January) with a free exhibition at the ̽��ֱ�� Library, “Living at This Hour: John Milton 1608–2008”, in which numerous original manuscripts and documents are being put on public display, many for the first time in 100 years or more.

Among them will be the famous “Trinity Manuscript”, which has been described as the single most important English poetical autograph of the 17th century. ̽��ֱ��papers, discovered in Trinity College more than 50 years after Milton's death, include his original autograph draft of ‘Lycidas' – regarded by some as the finest short poem in English.

̽��ֱ��exhibits also include Milton's autograph “Supplicat” – his formal request to proceed to the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1629 – the Grace Book recording the award of his Master of Arts degree in 1632, and his first published poem, an ‘Epitaph' on Shakespeare, printed in the second folio edition of the bard's plays in 1632. Other exhibits include a first edition of Paradise Lost, together with many other early, annotated and illustrated editions of the poem, and a first edition of Milton's great plea for the liberty of the press, the Areopagitica.

“Milton's influence on both his contemporaries and the modern world cannot be underestimated,” ̽��ֱ�� Librarian Peter Fox said. “ ̽��ֱ��new exhibition will try to capture the impact of his thought on literature, philosophy, theology and the English language itself.”

With Milton's actual birthday not until December 9th, events are scheduled to take place throughout the year; including more exhibitions of “Miltoniana”, concerts, lectures and a breathless day-long reading of Paradise Lost itself. Darkness Visible, a new web resource written by Christ's College students for school pupils studying the great epic, will also be launched later this month – replete with information about the poem's author, his influences, and the impact of his widescreen vision on everything from Hollywood to Heavy Metal.

“We want 2008 not just to be a celebration of all things Miltonic, but a year in which people who have never read Milton have the chance to discover his work for themselves,” Peter Fox said. “Hopefully by presenting the living intellect of Milton to a new generation, we will be able to inspire a passion for poetry, prose or politics similar to his own.”

Living At This Hour – an exhibition tracing Milton's life, works and lasting influence, will open at Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Library on 15 January and will run until 12 July. More details of the Christ's College 400th anniversary events, and of events honouring Milton in Cambridge and nationwide, can be found by clicking on the links to the right of this page.