Complex sentence: John Milton (9 December 1608--8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth (republic) of England under Oliver Cromwell.
Split into simpler sentences: John Milton (9 December 1608--8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England. He was a scholarly man of letters, a polemical writer, and an official serving under Oliver Cromwell.