Summary, analysis and Theme of On His Blindness by John Milton

John Milton was an English poet whose popularity in literature heightened only after he went blind at the beginning
of the second half of his life. M ilton was born on 9 December 1608 in Bread Stree, London, and died on 8 November
1674 in Bunhill Row, London. He is popular for lyrical poems like “L’allegro” and “II Penseroso,” “Ode on the
Morning of Christ’s Nativity,” etc.

After John Milton went co mpletely blind in 1652, he published his masterpiece Paradise Lost in 1667. For h is
successors, Milton was a hugely influential poet. For examp le, William Bl ake considered himself as the poetical
son of John Milton. Milton also wrote sonnets among which “On His Blindness” best represents his life.

On His Blindness by John Milton

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,
“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
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.”

John Milton’s On His Blindness Summary

In the first half of “On His Blindness,” John Milton asks a question whether God is angry with him. The speaker
contemplates the loss of his eyesight and feels bad about not being able to serve God, his Maker. He confesses that
he is intent more than ever to make the Almighty happy but he is helpless. Moreover, he fears the consequences he
might get as a result of his absence in the service of God. The speaker also wants to know whether his creator denied
him light the same day of h is creation.

In the second half of “On His Blindness,” his inner Patience rep lies that God does not need man’s help. Instead,
those who bear their fate without complaint are the ones who are loyal to God. Patience, further, argues that God’s
state is kingly and he has thousands of servicemen. When God orders, they run without stopping in order to help
those who stand and patiently wait.

John Milton’s On His Blindness Analysis

John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness” begins with contemplation of the speaker’s life before and after turning
blind. “When I consider how my light is spent/ Ere half my days in this dark wo rld and wide,” means when he
thinks of how he lost his eyesight before he had half of h is life ahead. It clearly says, Milton spent half of his life in
darkness.
Milton makes a metaphoric use when he says “And that one talent, which is death to hide.” Here, ‘talent’ means the
‘ability to see’, and the speaker thinks that losing the vision is no less than death. He says, he is not only blind but
the blindness has made him useless as well.

Despite all odds, Milton is determined more than ever to serve his Maker by presenting what God asks of him. “lest
he returning chide” shows that the speaker is obviously heartbroken by the loss of vision and for the same reason, he
fears the price he might have to pay because he cannot serve his Creator sufficiently. Furthermore, he wants to know
if “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?” It means whether God bestowed him with fate in which he has to spend
half of his life in darkness.

The second half of the poem begins with Pat ience’s reply to Milton’s question. The poet personifies Patience which,
in fact, is his own inner-self. No w, we co me to know that the speaker has been murmu ring so far and Pat ience wants
to “prevent/ That murmur.” It says: “God doth not need/ Either man’s work or h is own gifts; who best/ Bear his mild
yoke, they serve him best.” According to Milton’s Patience, God is o mnipotent and self-sufficient who does not
need man’s work nor h is gifts. Instead, whoever accepts their fate as they come are the best servers of God because
it means the acceptance of God’s creation.

Patience also reminds Milton that God’s state is kingly in wh ich “thousands at his bidding speed/ And post o’er land
and ocean without rest.” There are thousands who follow God’s order regardless of circu mstances and impending
results. However, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” Pat ience quickly informs the murmuring speaker that
those who patiently wait for help will get their wishes fulfilled. The last line might connotatively mean that the
speaker is waiting for his death and he cannot tolerate life any longer. Nevertheless, he finally decides to wait
patiently for the arrival of his death after which he might get rid of life’s troubles.

John Milton’s On His Blindness Theme

John Milton poem “On His Blindness” has mult iple themes like faith in God, frustration, acceptance, patience,
God’s o mnipotence, God’s o mnipresence, etc.

Despite his blindness and despite the fact that God designed his fate that way, Milton promises to remain faithful to
God. He is definitely frustrated with his fate, but he finally accepts his destiny as well. God ’s omn ipotence and
omnip resence are also significant themes of M ilton’s poem. We can do nothing to change God’s creation and
wherever we are God co mes to help us when we seriously need him. Likewise, patience is a highly important theme
“On His Blindness” presents. It imparts that we need to wait patiently for the things to happen in our life as per
God’s decisions.

John Milton’s On His Blindness Rhyme Scheme, Genre

John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness” is a Petrarchan sonnet in the rhyme scheme. Its rhyming pattern is abba
abba cde cde. The poem is divided into an octave and a sestet, the former being with two quatrains while the latter
has two stanzas of three lines each. The division, however, is not very clear.

Critical Appreci ation of the poem “On His Blindness” by John Milton
Critical Appreci ation of The Poem "On His Blindness" By John Milton:

The sonnet “On His Blindness” is perhaps one of the best and most popular of Milton’s sonnets. It is indeed a pearl
in the ocean of English literature. It is a great sonnet of lofty tone and noble theme. It was written in 1655. M ilton
had started losing his eyesight from the year 1645. After some years he lost his eyesight completely. He was about
44 years at that time, when we remember that his great words “Parad ise Lost” and “Samson Agonists” has not yet
been written.
Strength of mind, power of will and determination, patience; all these traits stood him in good stead when blindness
slowly came over h is.

What made him so sad was that the gist of poetry which had been given to him could not be used to advantage when
he was suffering fro m blindness.

Here M ilton bows down in humble submission to the will of God. The tone of patience and humility has perfectly
mingled with that of great dignity. The poem is a hu man document, a revelat ion of the struggle in M ilton’s own soul.
It starts with a note of regret. Then there is a mood of doubt and questioning which however melts in the final
attitude of complete resignation. The beauty and exaltation of moral feeling raise the poem to a great height. The
poem is full of allusions to the bible.

The extreme simp licity of the language is its peculiar attractive. Two lines are wholly, several others are nearly,
monosyllabic. It is a sonnet of Petrarchan type. But there is no division between the octave and the sestet -which is
the characteristic of Italian or Petrarchan sonnet. There is a break in the middle of the eighth line.

The poet’s subsequent submission charms the readers. The monologue is simply fascinating. The league used is both
easy and catchy. The metre, note and cadence is perfect.

Summary

‘On His Blindness/When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ by John Milton is an exploration of

a moral dilemma faced by John Milton, and conveyed through his speaker, as he was forced to come to terms with

his blindness.

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.

Themes

Milton’s themes in ‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ are quite evident fro m the beginning. They include the

future and fear about the future, God/relig ion, and writ ing/one’s career. Milton speaks passionately throughout this

piece about his newfound disability. He knows he’s going blind and worries endlessly abou t what that means for his

future. He uses figurative language throughout the poem to express the fear that he’ll no longer be able to serve God

with his writings. Midway through the poem, there’s a shift that focuses on religion and the realization that God

doesn’t need Milton to write to serve him. Milton will serve him when he bears “his mild yoke.” If he lives in a

godly way, that’s all God will really ask o f him.

Structure and Form

‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ by John Milton is a fourteen-line, tradit ional M iltonic sonnet. This means

that the fourteen lines follow a rhy me scheme o f ABBAABBA CDECDE and conform to iamb ic pentameter.

Readers familiar with sonnet forms will likely notice similarities between this format and

the Petrarchan and Shakespearean Sonnet. It is separated into one octave, the first eight lines, and one sestet, the

remain ing six lines.

Literary Devices

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 alliterat ion, caesurae, and enjamb ment. The first of these, alliteration, is a kind

of repetition concerned with the use and reuse of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of multip le words. For

example, “wo rld” and “wide” in the second line as well as “serve” and “stand” in the last line.

Caesurae are seen when the poet inserts a pause, either through punctuation or meter, in the middle of a line. it can

fall at the beginning, the true middle, or near the end. For examp le, line eight reads: “I fondly ask. But patience, to

prevent”. There is another examp le in line t welve near the end of the poem, “Is Kingly. Thousands at h is bidding

speed”.

En jamb ment is a co mmon literary device that appears at the end of lines when a phrase is cut off before its natural

stopping point. For examp le, the transition between lines eleven and twelve and between lines eight and nine.

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark worl d and wi de,

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 metaphor for life are also a literal representation of Milton’s life days in wh ich 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 writ ing

skills, his “talents” in the emp loyee of Oliver Cro mwell. He had risen to what was, more than likely, the peak of his

possible achievement, the highest position a writer in England could hope to gain. He d id not know at the time that

his greatest works would be written while he was blind. His “talents” come into play in the next lines, some of the

trickiest in the whole piece.

And that one talent which is death to hi de

Lodg’d wi th me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chi de,

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, M ilton was familiar with the texts of the bib le and chose to reference The Parable of Talents fro m 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 money given to him by God in the desert rather than investing it wisely. It is “death” to Milton to

have hidden, through no choice of his own in this case, his talents beneath his blindness. The next lines begin to

speak to Milton’s devotion to God. He explains that his talents are still hidden even “though [his] soul [is] more bent”

to serve God and present his accounts through writ ing. He wants nothing more than to do right by God and serve

him. In this context, “account” refers to both his records in writing and money (once more connecting his dilemma

to that in The Parable of Talents). He must do all he can speak for God, “lest he returning chide.” So that if God

returns, he will not chide or ad monish Milton for not taking advantage of the gifts that God has given him.

“Doth God exact day-l abour, light denied?”

I fondl y ask.

At this point, Milton is fin ishing 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 wo rk of him.
But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need

Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve hi m best. His state

Is kingly; thousands at his bi dding s peed

And post o’er l and and ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Milton continues, invoking the personificat ion of Patience in the next line. Patience appears as a pacifying force to

“prevent that murmu r” The speaker would question God (as described above). Patience replies to the speaker’s

internal question, and the remainder of the poem is that response.

Patience explains that God does not need special gifts or works fro m man, such as Milton’s writings, but loves best

those who “Bear h is mild yoke.” This comp licated phrase references a “yoke,” or a wooden frame used to be placed

around plowinganimals’ neck and shoulders. This would allo w the animals to be directed around the field.

Essentially, those who give over their lives to God and accept that he is in control of their fate are loved best. That is

what God requires, not “gifts” or “wo rk.”

Patience comes to the final point of the poem in the next lines.

Bear his mild yoke, they serve hi m best. His state

Is kingly; thousands at his bi dding s peed

And post o’er l and and ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait.”

Patience compares God to a king, saying that his “state is kingly” with “thousands at his bidding.” In the state that is

the world, these people are part of the unlimited resources of the king, God. The “post” (or move quickly) over

“Land and Ocean” without pausing for rest. The poem ends with the answer to the speaker’s unasked question that

those who cannot rush over land and ocean, like M ilton, also serve God.