“On his blindness” by John Milton

When I consider how my light is spent                                             1

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 there with my Maker, and present                                     5

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                                    10

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.                                       14          

Analysis:

                The poem under analysis is entitled “On his blindness” and was written in 1655 by John Milton. From the title, the reader expects the poem to be about someone’s blindness. The identity of the person is not revealed and the reader only knows it’s going to be a man (“his blindness”). However, knowing that the poem was written a few years after Milton became totally blind, it is likely to think that the poem is going to be about the poet’s blindness.

                As regards the layout, the poem is organized in a single stanza of 14 lines. By looking further, the rhyme scheme (ABBA ABBA CDE CDE) suggests that it is a sonnet: in particular, it follows the Petrarchian model, consisting of an octave (whose function is to introduce the problem) and a sestet (which provides a solution or explains consequences). Indeed, the poem is divided into two sequences by a semicolon at line 8. The semicolon leads to think about the syntactical level. The reader notices that sentences do not correspond to the structure: the first sentence lasts until line 12 and is divided into two parts by the semicolon, while the second sentence occupies the last three lines. So, syntax is used in order to link the octave and the sestet.

                In the first sequence (lines 1-8), the speaking voice reflects on his condition and wonders what God’s judgement will be, since he is not able to work because of blindness. Blindness is conveyed to the reader with the use of words such as “light” and “dark” with refer to the sense of sight, not held by the speaking voice anymore. Also, “dark” suggests the reader how the speaking voice sees the world, and that being blind is a difficult condition. The key word of the sequence is “Talent” (line 3), highlighted by the first capital letter: it refers to the “Parable of the Talents”, proper of Puritanism. The Parable says that people have to serve God by working and growing their Talents and and virtues; if one doesn’t, he’s considered a sinner. So, the problem raised by the speaking voice is that he does want to serve God, except he can’t. Blindness becomes the obstacle to face in order to reach salvation. The speaking voice is afraid he won’t reach it: his fear is conveyed at line 3 with the expression “which is death to hide” and especially by the word “death”, which is stressed and therefore highlighted. The speaking voice’s doubt leads him to ask “Does God exact day labour, light denied?”.

                Since the octave ended with a question, the reader expects the sestet to provide an answer and a solution to the problem. The answer is given by patience, one of Puritan values that people have to develop. Patience provides a an unequivocal maxim, summarized by the last line of the poem: “They also serve who only stand and wait”. So, even if he’s blind, the speaking voice is still worth to the sight of God, his state is still “Kingly” and he will receive grace anyway: the reason is found again in the Parable of Talents, according to which God distributes Talents proportionally to one’s abilities.

                Besides the Parable of Talents, other elements refer to Puritanism, which makes Milton’s sonnet a summary of Puritanism: first of all, the direct relationship between men and God, which comes to surface in the octave (men are responsible of their own actions and they answer directly to God, without the intermediation of the clergy); second, the Latin-looking language used in the poem imply that Puritans knew Latin – it hints to the importance of education in Puritanism and to the reading of the Bible. Also, the message the poem is supposed to convey corresponds to Puritan’s way of life in order to serve God and obtain grace: one has to do what one can do, not less neither more.