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When did John Milton write on his blindness?
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What does “light” mean in the poem on his blindness?
In this context, “light” is a metaphor for both the speaker’s life span and his sight. Since this poem is called “On His Blindness” and we know that Milton went blind in 1652, “light” can be read throughout the poem as a conceit for sight.
- Summary
- Themes
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis of When I Consider How My Light Is Spent
- Similar Poems
- About John Milton
Milton’s speaker is faced with the impossibility of continuing his works. Works that are often considered to be the same as Milton’s, types of writing, or not serving God due to his blindness. He cannot continue as he had been, and he asks and receives an answer to his inner query.
Milton’s themes in ‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ are quite evident from the beginning. They include the future and fear about the future, God/religion, and writing/one’s career. Milton speaks passionately throughout this piece about his newfound disability. He knows he’s going blind and worries endlessly about what that means for his futu...
‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ by John Milton is a fourteen-line, traditional Miltonic sonnet. This means that the fourteen lines follow a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBACDECDE and conform to iambic pentameter. Readers familiar with sonnet forms will likely notice similarities between this format and the Petrarchan and Shakespearean Sonnet. It is...
Milton makes use of several literary devices in ‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent.’ These include but are not limited to, examples of alliteration, caesurae, and enjambment. The first of these, alliteration, is a kind of repetitionconcerned with the use and reuse of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of multiple words. For example, “wo...
Lines 1-2
The poem begins with the speaker’s consideration of how he has spent the years of his life, represented as his “light.” This light and being a metaphorfor life are also a literal representation of Milton’s life days in which he could see. The second line expands on that, explaining that before even half of the speaker’s life had passed, he is forced to live in a world that is “dark… and wide.” Since Milton went blind at 42, he’d had the opportunity to use his writing skills, his “talents” in...
Lines 3-6
Milton speaks of his “talent,” this talent, his skills with words and love for writing, was his entire life. His livelihood and self-worth depended on it. This word “talent” is the most important in understanding these lines. As a biblical scholar, Milton was familiar with the texts of the bible and chose to reference The Parable of Talents from Matthew 25 here. When Milton refers to the talent, he relates the loss of his ability to read and write to the servant in Matthew 25 who buries the m...
Lines 7-8
At this point, Milton is finishing the sentence that he began at the beginning of the poem with the word, “When.” In short, he asks, “does God require those without light to labor?” He wants to know whether when he cannot continue his work due to his blindness, will God still require work of him.
Readers who enjoyed this poem should also consider looking into some of Milton’s other best-known works. These include‘How Soon Hath Time’ and‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.’ The latter, ‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,’ is also known as Nativity Ode. It was written in 1629 when Milton was 29 years old. It explores themes that include co...
John Miltonwas born on December 9, 1608, in London, England. He came from a middle-class family and went to school at Christ’s College Cambridge, where he originally intended to enter the clergy. After leaving university, he changed his plan and spent the next years studying independently for a career as a poet. During the years of the English Civi...
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“Sonnet 19,” more commonly called "When I consider how my light is spent," is a poem by the English poet John Milton. Likely written in the mid-1650s, after Milton lost his eye-sight, the poem reflects on the physical and spiritual challenges the speaker faces as a blind person.
May 13, 2011 · On His Blindness. John Milton 1608 (Cheapside) – 1674 (Chalfont St Giles) Life. 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. Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent. To serve therewith my Maker, and present. My true account, lest he returning chide,
When I Consider How My Light is Spent" (also known as "On His Blindness") is one of the best known of the sonnets of John Milton (1608–1674). The last three lines are particularly well known; they conclude with "They also serve who only stand and wait", which is much quoted though rarely in context.
Poem analysis of John Milton's On his Blindness through the review of literary techniques, poem structure, themes, and the proper usage of quotes.
John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness” is an autobiographical sonnet in which Milton meditates on his own loss of sight.
