William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. While the exact day of his birth is not recorded, his baptism is documented on April 26, 1564, and it is traditional to celebrate his birthday on April 23. This date is universally accepted by historians and scholars as the birth year of the most influential writer in the English language, placing his life firmly within the Elizabethan era.

Royal absolutism, often associated with the 'Divine Right of Kings,' is the political doctrine asserting that a monarch's power is derived directly from God and is therefore not subject to the will of the people, the aristocracy, or the church. This theory was frequently invoked by monarchs in the early modern period to justify centralized control and suppress dissent, arguing that any challenge to the king's authority was a challenge to divine order.

Edmund Spenser, an English poet and a prominent figure in the literary Renaissance, was born in 1552. He is best known for his epic poem 'The Faerie Queene', which remains a cornerstone of English literature and poetic tradition.

Chronologically, the exaltation of the Son as God's second-in-command occurs before the rebellion of Satan. This event is the catalyst for Satan's jealousy and subsequent revolt, which leads to the war in Heaven, the fall of the angels, and finally the events depicted in the opening of the poem, where the fallen angels awaken in the burning lake of Hell.

Critics often draw parallels between the character Comus and Satan, noting that both figures possess seductive rhetoric, pride, and a desire to subvert moral order. Comus acts as a prototype for the Miltonic villain, demonstrating the manipulative power of language and the temptation of the senses that Milton would later refine in the character of Satan.

King Charles I was executed on January 30, 1649, following his defeat in the English Civil War. His trial and execution by the Rump Parliament were pivotal events in British history, leading to the temporary abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.

Milton was deeply influenced by the epic traditions of Homer and Virgil, as well as the theological and structural complexity of Dante Alighieri. These authors provided the foundational models for his own epic poetry, particularly in 'Paradise Lost', where he sought to synthesize classical epic conventions with Christian theology, thereby establishing himself as a successor to the great poets of antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Eve is created by God to be Adam's partner and helpmeet in the Garden of Eden. Their relationship is central to the poem, as it represents the ideal state of human companionship before the Fall. Milton depicts their union as one of mutual love and intellectual exchange, which makes their subsequent estrangement after the Fall particularly tragic.

Francis Meres, in his 1598 publication 'Palladis Tamia: Wits Treasury,' provided one of the earliest and most significant critical assessments of Shakespeare. He listed several of Shakespeare's plays and praised him as the greatest writer in both comedy and tragedy, which remains a vital historical document for dating Shakespeare's early works.

Upon the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the throne passed to James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. This transition marked the end of the Tudor dynasty and the beginning of the Stuart era, uniting the crowns of England and Scotland.