Group 3IV- Kepler

Bagood, Rafael Alberto M.Estorco, Anatole II T.

Alino, Jemima M.Castillo, Mary Elizah D.Letrondo, Angel Joy R.

John Milton

December 9, 1608 - November 8, 1674

Born: Bread Street, London (middle – class family)

English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell

His poetry and prose reflect:•deep personal convictions,•passion for freedom,• self-determination,•urgent issues, and •political turbulence

Schools: St. Paul’ School and Christ’s College, where he wrote in English, Latin, Greek, and Italian.

John Milton's eyesight began to fail in 1644. By 1652, he was totally

blind. Oddly, he wrote his greatest works.

Some of his known works:

Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse

Areopagitica (1644), written in condemnation of pre-publication censorship

He had been steadily declining for years, most likely the result of untreated glaucoma

Completely got blind on May 5, 1652

Died of gout at the age of 65

John Milton

Why was the poem written?“On His Blindness” is an autobiographical sonnet in whichJohn Milton meditates on his own loss of sight. It is said to bewritten on 1964, the time in which the poet suffered completeblindness.

The poem is considered to be a sonnet. This sonnet is writtenin the “Petrarchan” rhyme scheme associated with thefourteenth-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca. Itsrhyming scheme is ABBA, ABBA, CDE and CDE.

In structure, the sonnet is a typical Petrarchan sonnet.Nevertheless, its subject matter departs from that ofPetrarchan poems. While Petrarca was famous for writingpoems about love, Milton deals with very practical andphysical problem but still contain many spiritualimplications.

On His BlindnessWhen 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

Lodged 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.”

Line 1-2 (analysis)

The speaker thinks about how all of his light has been used up ("spent") beforeeven half his life is over. As a man without light, he now lives in a world that isboth "dark and wide.“

When he thinks about how he spent or use his eyesight, the speaker waslamenting his bad luck that was brought by his late-night reading and writing.

Finally, calling the world "dark and wide“. Interestingly, Milton makes it seemas if the world has run out of light, rather than growing dark because of anyblindness on his part.

The first word of the poem “When” gives us a feeling of suspense. It is asubordinate clause that opens a box of ideas on what could follow. However, thefollow-up of the first line came only until the seventh and eight line.

The word "ere" means "before." He became blind before his life washalfway over. Milton went completely blind at the age of 42.

When I consider how my light is spent,Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

Line 3-4 (analysis)

When Milton says that talent is "death to hide," he is referring to

the money in the Biblical story and also to his own "talent," in the

sense of a skill or trade.

The talent that he talks about could be his intelligence and his

writing and reading skills, which he had used in service of Oliver

Cromwell's government. This "talent" is "lodged" or buried within

the speaker just like the money in the story, "The Parable of

Talents."

And that one Talent which is death to hideLodged with me useless,

The speaker has just told us that his talent is as useless as moneyburied in the desert, but now he says that his uselessness hasnothing to do with a lack of will. To the contrary, his souldesires (is "bent") to use his skills in the service of his "Maker,"God.

The word "account" here means both" story" and "a record ofactivities with money."

The speaker worries that God will scold or "chide" him. And ifGod is anything like the lord from the parable, the speaker couldget cast into a darkness even more fearful than the one createdby his blindness.

Line 4-6 (analysis)though my Soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and presentMy true account, lest he returning chide;

He wonders if God demands that people undertake hard,physical work, or "day-labour," when they don't have anylight.

The speaker doesn't have any light because he's blind

The word "exact" means something like "charge," "claim,"or "demand." So the speaker wants to know if Goddemands work as a kind of payment that is due to Him.

The first section of the poem is completed by the words "Ifondly ask." The word "fondly" means "foolishly," not"lovingly." The speaker accuses himself of being an idiot foreven thinking this question.

Line 7-8 (analysis)"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"

I fondly ask. […]

Line 8–10 (analysis)

Patience is often personified in Christian art because of itsrole in helping one to achieve important virtues likecourage and wisdom.

The speaker is about to "murmur" his foolish question, butthen his patience steps in to stop him.

Patience points out that God does not need anything. Godis complete and perfect. He doesn't need work or talents("gifts") of any kind.

But patience, to preventThat murmur, soon replies, "God doth not needEither man's work or his own gifts; who best

Line 11 (analysis)

Essentially, this means accepting things as they come,especially suffering and misfortune.

A "yoke" is a wood frame that is placed around thenecks of farm animals, like oxen, so that they can bedirected.

Patience doesn't want to make God sound like a slavedriver, so God's yoke is called "mild," or not-that-bad.It's not how much you have to show for your time onearth that counts, it's how you handle your submissionto God.

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. […]

Line 11-14 (analysis)

The final point made by patience is that God is more like a king than a lordthus the parable does not strictly apply .

Kings have unlimited resources, especially if they control a "state" as large asthe entire earth.

With His kingly status, God has plenty of minions to do His "bidding" byrushing from place to place.

Unlike lords, kings also have people who "wait" on them, who stand in a stateof readiness until their action is needed.

The word "post" here just means "to travel quickly."

The poem ends with a vindication of the speaker's passivity, which has beenforced on him by his blindness.

His stateIs Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

And post o'er Land and Ocean without rest:They also serve who only stand and wait."

Poetic Elements : FORM

“On His Blindness” is an example ofPetrarchan sonnet in structure since itfollowed an octave-sestet style. Since it asonnet, it would also follow that the poem isan example of a lyric poetry.

Poetic Elements : RhythmAll the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. Inthis metric pattern, a line has five pairs of unstressedand stressed syllables, for a total of ten syllables. Thefirst two lines of the poem illustrate this pattern:

1...........2........... ……3............4................5 …..When I | con SID | er HOW.| my LIFE | is SPENT

1.....................2.............. 3.....................4....................5Ere HALF | my DAYS | in THIS | dark WORLD.| andWIDE

Poetic Elements : Voice

The voice of this poem is a man who is seething with frustration with his incapability of serving God profitably.

Poetic Elements : IMAGERY

The poem focuses on the sense of sight or rather theloss of it. The voice of the poem laments on his lossof sight and how this problem could affect his poetictalent. At the beginning, the voice helps us pictureout a world that is dark and wide then at the end, ithelp us imagined God with His angels doing hisbidding and human at His side singing praise forHim.

Poetic Elements : SOUND

Since the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, the poemcould be divided into two parts: the octave and thesestet. The octave follows a rhyming pattern ofa/b/b/a/a/b/b/a while the sestet follows the rhymingpatter of a/b/c/a/b/c

ThemesGuilt and Blame

The speaker is guilty for he thinks he wasted the gift thatGod has given him by doing late-night reading and writing.He feels guilty because he thinks that due to his blindness,he could not anymore serve his purpose. He thinks thatbecause of the loss of his eyesight, his poetic talent wouldbe buried deep into his soul and would not anymore seethe light of the day.

Dreams, Hopes, and Plans

Before the speaker has gone blind, he had high hopes. Heplanned on serving God profitably and using his talent forprosperity. However, due to him getting blind at a youngage, all his hopes was replaced by his self-doubt.

Themes VirtuePatience was emphasized in the poem. Patience is an importantvirtue because it is due to this that we achieved the others. If we donot have any patience to do something then we could never departfrom zero. Also during his time of darkness, his patience preserved,stayed strong and never wavered. It was Patience that stopped himfrom further questioning himself and God. It was this virtue thathelped him have an epiphany on his blindness.

Adoration and Fear of GodThe speaker greatly adored and feared God at the same time. Headored him to the point that he wanted to serve Him with all thathe has, and feared him because he thinks that when one does notutilize his talent, he would be punished. Since he is blind, he couldnot anymore perfectly utilized his poetic talent and that would leadhim to his damnation

Themes Inner ConflictThe primary focus of the poem is the speaker’s inner conflict.He wanted to serve God profitably just like how the first andsecond servant had served their Lord in the parable.However, his blindness stand as a hindrance to his goal. Hethen wonders if God would demand from him the sameservice of what He would demand to those who could see.

Spiritual Light“Light” is one of the most focused subjects in the poem. Notonly is his eyesight that is important to him, but also hisspiritual light. The spiritual light is the same as the light oflife. Although he lost the light of his eyes, he was still alivedue to his inner light preserving and giving him power.

Themes Fairness of God

God judges humans on whether they labor for Him to the best of their ability. For example, if one carpenter can make only two chairs a day and another carpenter can make five, they both serve God equally well if the first carpenter makes his two chairs and the second makes his five. If one carpenter becomes severely disabled and cannot make even a single chair, he remains worthy in the sight of God.

Figurative LanguageMilton uses figurative language to express his grievances and discontent.

He reflects upon his life and “how my light is spent,” or the time he had his sight.

Milton then expresses the feeling of the “dark world and wide” of theblind as his introduction to his questions. He begins to question his writing thatonly death can take away (“...one talent which is death to hide..”), “lodged...useless” within him because of his new blindness.

As a result, Milton begins to question God, “Doth God exact day-labour,light denied?” Milton wonders as to the meaning of his blindness; if God wanthim to continue to write, even with his blindness.

Moreover, Milton uses allegory in comparing his situation with theevent in the Parable of Talents with him being the third servant who buried hismoney and God as the Lord.

Furthermore, Milton uses personification to express the importance ofwords and values. He personifies “Patience” as if patience were a man who repliesfor him. Patience is his reasoning for accepting the fact that he is blind. It is usedto introduce the answer towards his questioning.

Examples of Figures of Speech

Alliteration: my days in this dark world and wide (line 2)

Metaphor: though my soul more bent / To serve therewith my Maker (lines 3-4). The author compares his soul to his mind.

Personification/Metaphor: But Patience, to prevent / That murmur, soon replies . . . (lines 8-9).

Paradox: They also serve who only stand and wait.

Notes1....light is spent: This clause presents a double meaning: (a) how I spend my days, (b) how it is that my sight is used up.2....Ere half my days: Before half my life is over. Milton was completely blind by 1652, the year he turned 44.3....talent: gifts of God.4....useless: Unused.5....therewith: By that means, by that talent; with it6....account: Record of accomplishment; worth7....exact: Demand, require8....fondly: Foolishly, unwisely9....Patience: Milton personifies patience, capitalizing it and having it speak.10..God . . . gifts: God is sufficient unto Himself. He requires nothing outside of Himself to exist and be happy.11. yoke: Burden, workload.12. post: Travel.