John Milton - On his blindness - Analysis

John Milton, famous Anglo-Saxon poet of the seventeenth century, presumably wrote the above poem in 1655. The title of the sonnet, "On His blindness," contains two focal points: the noun "blindness" and the possessive adjective "his". The reader can then understand that the subject matter of the poem is someone's blindness, someone that is not yet made clear. Interest of the reader after the reading of the title would then be the discovery of the identity of the person called into question.

After a first reading of the text, before the analysis, it is important to understand the nature of the text itself. It is a poem fourteen lines long, so it belongs to the genre of the sonnets. The composition consists of a single sequence, as regard to the layout with it is presented; however, the use of punctuation reveals the presence of two distinct stanzas. In verse eight, a semicolon marks a division between what precedes and what follows it. The sonnet is then organized into an octave and a sextet and therefore follows the Petrarchan model.

As is standard practice of Petrarchan sonnets, the octave performs the task of introducing and developing the problem topic of the poem. The central theme of the sonnet is the blindness that does not allow the protagonist to take advantage of his talent, making him proceed against the divine will and against his own will. The protagonist of reflection would like to use his talent, as required by the divine law, but his condition of sightless prevents him to do it. The second stanza has instead the function of providing a solution to the problem posed by the first. God does not require the labour of men or their gifts, and those who serve him best are those who accept their condition and endure it. There is no need of action to benefit from divine grace, it is also provided for those waiting for their fate without objection.

After understanding the content of the poem, is now time to analyse its main issues and its main elements.

The identity of the person affected by the handicap presented in the title of the poem is inserted since the first line: Milton writes in first person singular and refers to his loss of light (view). The sonnet was indeed written after the poet had lost the use of sight. This moment is inserted into the autobiographical piece immediately after the presentation of the speaking voice, by the expression "Ere half my days" in the second verse, with reference to the exact time of vision loss. The octave also introduces the religious nature of the reflection, nature that is underlined by two distinct figures of speech: personification and run-on-line. Nouns personified are "Talent", "Soul" and "Maker". The first clarifies the religion called into question: it refers to the parable of the talents, parable located at the base of the Puritan Protestant doctrine. According to the parable, God gives to every man talents that must be used in order to receive divine blessing. The lack of vision is posed as an impediment to the poet for the fulfilment of his talent, writing, lack that would lead him to damnation. The second embodiment emphasizes again the consequences of the non-utilization of talent by the narrator would have meant: it is in fact mentioned the soul of the narrator and not his physical being. It then reintroduced what the parable of the talents affirms. The last term closes the circle opened from the previous two by directly inserting the figure of God, who will play the role of judge at the time of departure of the poet, and is presented here as his creator. The role of run-on-line (lines 4-5, 5-6) is simply to put even more emphasis on the personifications.

As for the sextet, the resolution of the problem posed by the previous stanza is presented using the same figures of speech in the first sequence. The run-on-line make coherent and cohesive the text, linking all the verses in pairs except the last one containing the final consideration of the narrator, consideration in its turn constitutes the resolution of the problem posed by the eighth. The answer to the question above post has to be found in the concept of divine grace, which is granted, according to the Christian faith in general, to all those who demonstrate faith and who do not commit sin, so even to those waiting their judgment in immobility. Personified in this case are "Kingly State", "Land" and "Ocean". The first expresses a connotation of God, seen as regal and therefore does not influenced in any way by man's conduct or gifts. The divine blessing is then granted to all those who come with faith, which are subject to his authority. The multitude of the faithful with these characteristics is emphasized by the other two figures of speech, which emphasizes their presence in the world, on land and at sea, the sea that is perhaps referring to the landing of the Puritans in America after crossing the Atlantic.

It can be concluded that the sonnet deals with the particular situation of the poet and the figures he used bring out the fundamental points of Protestant culture: life consistent with faith, direct dialogue with God, supreme entity of the creator, enhancement of interiority and morals.