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 mans 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 oer land and ocean without rest;

They also serve who only stand and wait.

Line 1-2 (analysis) The speaker thinks about how all of his light has been used up ("spent")
before even half his life is over. As a man without light, he now lives in a world that is both
"dark and wide. When he thinks about how he spent or use his eyesight, the speaker was
lamenting his bad luck that was brought by his late-night reading and writing. Finally, calling
the world "dark and wide. Interestingly, Milton makes it seem as if the world has run out of
light, rather than growing dark because of any blindness on his part. The first word of the
poem When gives us a feeling of suspense. It is a subordinate clause that opens a box of
ideas on what could follow. However, the follow-up of the first line came only until the
seventh and eight line. The word "ere" means "before." He became blind before his life was
halfway over. Milton went completely blind at the age of 42.

Line 3-4 (analysis) When Milton says that talent is "death to hide," he is referring to the
money in the Biblical story and also to his own "talent," in the sense of a skill or trade. The
talent that he talks about could be his intelligence and his writing and reading skills, which
he had used in service of Oliver Cromwell's government. This "talent" is "lodged" or buried
within the speaker just like the money in the story, "The Parable of Talents." And that one
Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, The speaker has just told us that his
talent is as useless as money buried in the desert, but now he says that his uselessness has
nothing to do with a lack of will. To the contrary, his soul desires (is "bent") to use his skills
in the service of his "Maker," God. The word "account" here means both" story" and " a
record of activities with money." The speaker worries that God will scold or "chide" him.
And if God is anything like the lord from the parable, the speaker could get cast into a
darkness even more fearful than the one created by his blindness

. Line 4-6 (analysis) though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide; He wonders if God demands that people
undertake hard, physical work, or "day-labour," when they don't have any light. The
speaker doesn't have any light because he's blind The word "exact" means something like
"charge," "claim," or "demand." So the speaker wants to know if God demands work as a
kind of payment that is due to Him. The first section of the poem is completed by the
words "I fondly ask." The word "fondly" means "foolishly," not "lovingly." The speaker
accuses himself of being an idiot for even thinking this question.

Line 7-8 (analysis) "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" I fondly ask. [] Line 810
(analysis) Patience is often personified in Christian art because of its role in helping one to
achieve important virtues like courage and wisdom. The speaker is about to "murmur" his
foolish question, but then his patience steps in to stop him. Patience points out that God
does not need anything. God is complete and perfect. He doesn't need work or talents
("gifts") of any kind. But patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not
need Either man's work or his own gifts; who best Line 11 (analysis) Essentially, this means
accepting things as they come, especially suffering and misfortune. A "yoke" is a wood
frame that is placed around the necks of farm animals, like oxen, so that they can be
directed. Patience doesn't want to make God sound like a slave driver, so God's yoke is
called "mild," or not-that-bad. It's not how much you have to show for your time on earth
that counts, it's how you handle your submission to God. Bear his mild yoke, they serve him
best. [] Line 11-14 (analysis) The final point made by patience is that God is more like a
king than a lord thus the parable does not strictly apply . Kings have unlimited resources,
especially if they control a "state" as large as the entire earth. With His kingly status, God
has plenty of minions to do His "bidding" by rushing from place to place. Unlike lords,
kings also have people who "wait" on them, who stand in a state of readiness until their
action is needed. The word "post" here just means "to travel quickly." The poem ends
with a vindication of the speaker's passivity, which has been forced on him by his blindness.
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 a sonnet, it would also follow that the poem
is an example of a lyric poetry.

Poetic Elements : Rhythm 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: 1...........2...........
3............4................5 .. When I | con SID | er HOW.| my LIFE | is SPENT
1.....................2.............. 3.....................4....................5 Ere HALF | my DAYS | in THIS | dark
WORLD.| and WIDE

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

Poetic Elements : 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 talent. 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.

Poetic Elements : SOUND Since the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, the poem could be
divided into two parts: the octave and the sestet. The octave follows a rhyming pattern of
a/b/b/a/a/b/b/a while the sestet follows the rhyming patter of a/b/c/a/b/c

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.

Themes 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 utilized his poetic talent and that would lead him to
his damnation

Themes Inner Conflict The primary focus of the poem is the speakers 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 stand 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.

Themes Fairness of God 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.

Figurative Language

Milton uses figurative language to express his grievances and discontent. He reflects upon
his life and how my light is spent, or the time he had his sight. Milton then expresses the
feeling of the dark world and wide of the blind as his introduction to his questions. He
begins to question his writing that only death can take away (...one talent which is death to
hide..), lodged... useless within him because of his new blindness. As a result, Milton
begins to question God, Doth God exact day-labour, light denied? Milton wonders as to
the meaning of his blindness; if God want him to continue to write, even with his blindness.
Moreover, Milton uses allegory in comparing his situation with the event in the Parable of
Talents with him being the third servant who buried his money and God as the Lord.
Furthermore, Milton uses personification to express the importance of words and values. He
personifies Patience as if patience were a man who replies for him. Patience is his
reasoning for accepting the fact that he is blind. It is used to introduce the answer towards
his questioning.

Examples of Figures of Speech Alliteration: my days in this dark world and wide (line 2)
Metaphor: though my soul more bent / To serve therewith my Maker (lines 3-4). The
author compares his soul to his mind. Personification/Metaphor: But Patience, to prevent /
That murmur, soon replies . . . (lines 8-9). Paradox: They also serve who only stand and
wait.

Notes 1....light is spent: This clause presents a double meaning: (a) how I spend my days, (b)
how it is that my sight is used up. 2....Ere half my days: Before half my life is over. Milton
was completely blind by 1652, the year he turned 44. 3....talent: gifts of God. 4....useless:
Unused. 5....therewith: By that means, by that talent; with it 6....account: Record of
accomplishment; worth 7....exact: Demand, require 8....fondly: Foolishly, unwisely
9....Patience: Milton personifies patience, capitalizing it and having it speak. 10..God . . .
gifts: God is sufficient unto Himself. He requires nothing outside of Himself to exist and be
happy. 11. yoke: Burden, workload. 12. post: Travel.