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JOHN MILTON

 Born: Bread Street, London

 English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and a civil
servant for the Commonwealth under Oliver
Cromwell
 His poetry and prose reflect: deep personal
convictions, passion for freedom, self-determination,
urgent issues, and political turbulence.
 Schools: St. Paul School and Christ’s College, where
he wrote in English, Greek and Italian.
 John Milton’s eyesight began to fail in 1644. By 1652
he was totally blind. Oddly, he wrote his greatest
works.
 Some of his known works: Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse and
Areopagitica (1644) written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship.
 He had been steadily declining for years, most likely the result of untreated glaucoma
 Died of gout at the age of 65

WHY WAS THE POEM WRITTEN?

 “On his Blindness” is an autobiographical sonnet in which John Milton mediates on his
own loss of sight. It is said to be written on 1964, the time in which the poet suffered
complete blindness.
 The poem is considered to be a sonnet. This sonnet is written in the “Petrarchan” rhyme
scheme associated with the fourteenth-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. Its
rhyming scheme is ABBA, ABBA, CDE and CDE.
 In structure, the sonnet is a typical Petrarchan sonnet. Nevertheless, its subject matter
departs from that of Petrarchan poems. While Petrarca was famous for writing poems
about love, Milton deals with very practical and physical problem but still contain many
spiritual implications.

“On His Blindness”

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
 To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."

POETIC ELEMENTS: FORM

“On His Blindness” is an example of Petrarchan sonnet in structure since it followed an octave-
sestet style. Since it’s a sonnet, it would also follow that the poem is an example of a lyric
poetry.

All the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. In this metric pattern, a line has five pairs of
unstressed and stressed syllables, for a total of ten syllables. The first two lines of the poem
illustrate this pattern:

When I |con SID|er HOW.|my LIFE|is SPENT|

Ere HALF|my DAYS|in THIS|dark WORLD.|and WIDE

POETIC ELEMENT: VOICE

The voice of this poem is a man who is seething with frustration with his incapability of serving
God profitably.

POETIC ELEMENT: IMAGERY

The poem focuses on the sense of sight or rather the loss of it. The voice of the poem laments on
his loss of sight and how this problem could affect his poetic element. At the beginning, the
voice helps us picture out a world that is dark and wide then at the end, it help us imagined God
with His angels doing his bidding and human at His side singing praise for Him.

THEMES:
Guilt and Blame
The speaker is guilty for he thinks he wasted the gift that God has given him by doing late-night
reading and writing. He feels guilty because he thinks that due to his blindness, he could not
anymore serve his purpose. He thinks that because of the loss of his eyesight, his poetic talent
would be buried deep into his soul and would not anymore see the light of the day.
Dreams, Hopes and Plans
Before the speaker has gone blind, he had high hopes. He planned on serving God profitably and
using his talent for prosperity. However, due to him getting blind at a young age, all his hopes
was replaced by his self-doubt.
Virtue Patience
Was emphasized in the poem. Patience is an important virtue because it is due to this that we
achieved the others. If we do not have any patience to do something, then we could never depart
from zero. Also during his time of darkness, his patience preserved, stayed strong and never
wavered. It was Patience that stopped him from further questioning himself and God. It was this
virtue that helped him have an epiphany on his blindness.
Adoration and Fear of God
The speaker greatly adored and feared God at the same time. He adored him to the point that he
wanted to serve Him with all that he has, and feared him because he thinks that when one does
not utilize his talent, he would be punished. Since he is blind, he could not anymore perfectly
utilize his poetic talent and that would lead him to his damnation
Inner Conflict
The primary focus of the poem is the speaker’s inner conflict. He wanted to serve God profitably
just like how the first and second servant had served their Lord in the parable. However, his
blindness stands as a hindrance to his goal. He then wonders if God would demand from him the
same service of what He would demand to those who could see.  Spiritual Light “Light” is one
of the most focused subjects in the poem. Not only is his eyesight that is important to him, but
also his spiritual light. The spiritual light is the same as the light of life. Although he lost the
light of his eyes, he was still alive due to his inner light preserving and giving him power.
Fairness of God
Judges humans on whether they labor for Him to the best of their ability. For example, if one
carpenter can make only two chairs a day and another carpenter can make five, they both serve
God equally well if the first carpenter makes his two chairs and the second makes his five. If one
carpenter becomes severely disabled and cannot make even a single chair, he remains worthy in
the sight of God.