Activities at pages 200-201 from “It’s Literature”

Ex 1

Lines 1-8 provide a question

Lines 9-14 contains an answer to the question

Ex 2

a.The poet is speaking.

b.The speaker refers to his sight, which he lost. The world is described as dark beacause of his blindness.

c.He refers to poetry.

d.I think his maker is god.

Ex 3

a.The personification of Patience replies.

Ex 7

Milton’s sonnet 16 deals not with love but with the poet’s physical blindness, and the puritan theme of man’s usefulness to God. In the octave, the blind poet gives voice to his submission: he now lives in darkness, but wants more than ever to serve his Creator nwith his poetic talent and fears being found inadequate at the Lord’s return.

The suspended syntax of the octave heightens Milton’s sense of affliction, and the anticipation of the turning point at the middle fo line 8 conveys his frustration.

In the sestet, the personification of Patience answers him, explaining that those who best serve God are those who accept his will; god does not need men’s work or skills, but their ability to deal with hardship accept misfortune without complaining.

The tone of the last six lines is calmer, and the figurative language employed stresses the importance of acceptance and endurance. The poet has finally regained faith.