prof.Abdelhamid Fouda
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POEM ON HIS BLINDNESS THEMES:
1) When I Consider How My Light is Spent (On His Blindness) Theme of Guilt and Blame
The speaker's mind is a big ball of guilt and confusion. He takes pride in his vast intelligence, but worries that he failed to use his "light" when he had it. You can imagine him saying, "How could I have known my vision was going to run out?!" His soul "bends" toward service of God like a flower bends toward the sun, but he is no longer fit for the kinds of intensive work that he might have done. He hopes that God does not blame him like the angry lord from the "Parable of the Talents" in the Bible
Quote #1
When I consider how my light is spent, (line 1)
The speaker's guilty thoughts start with consideration of his blindness. You get the feeling that he has had these thoughts before, and maybe even often. Does he blame himself for his lack of "light"?
Quote #2
Ere half my days (line 2)
How does he know how many days he has left? Isn't it presumptuous of him to say how long he "should" live? If you're a Christian like Milton, then God decides how long you live. Clearly, he is looking for some kind of meaning in or justification of his blindness.
Quote #3
and present
My true account, lest he returning chide; (lines 5-6)
According to the Christian religion, on the Day of Judgment, or at the end of his life, the speaker will have to relate how he has spent the time that was given to him on earth. He worries that God will "chide" or blame him for using the "currency" of his talents unwisely
Quote #4
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" (line 7)
The sonnet presents a back-and-forth of guilt and blame. The speaker feels guilty about his uselessness, but he also very subtly blames God for being so demanding. At least it seems so to him.
Quote #5
I fondly ask. (line 8)
And there's the guilt again. Immediately after asking the question, the speaker admits that it is "fond," or foolish. Do you think that the speaker is reflecting on thoughts he has had in the past, or is the sonnet meant to be a blow-by-blow account of his present thinking?
2) When I Consider How My Light is Spent (On His Blindness) Theme of Dreams, Hopes, and Plans
Before going blind, the speaker has high hopes for what he might accomplish in the future. He says he would have been a supremely useful servant of God. But we can't know if his motives are truly selfless, or if he is an ambitious guy who now struggles to come to terms with a personal upheaval. As he looks to the future, he compares his situation to the third servant from the New Testament "Parable of the Talents" inMatthew 25. Because he has not increased his master's wealth, this servant is cast into the darkness. Considering that the speaker already feels he lives in the darkness, what further punishment does he expect? At the end of the poem, patience gives him a new plan: he should wait until God calls on him to serve.
Quote #1
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, (line 2)
The poem does not start out on optimistic footing. The world is "wide" and full of possibility, but its "darkness" means that there is no way to distinguish between good and bad. The speaker is left to grope through this darkness without either his literal vision or the metaphorical vision of truth.
Quote #2
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, (lines 3-4)
The talent has not gone away – it is merely hidden or "buried" out of reach. It cannot be used, but its potential remains. The speaker worries that he will suffer a metaphorical "death" because of a condition he cannot control.
Quote #3
lest he returning chide (line 6)
In the "Parable of the Talents," a lord scolds his third servant after returning from a trip, and in this poem, the speaker believes that the lord is a stand-in for God. What trip would God be returning from? Maybe the speaker means that life is a brief separation from God, who will "return" after one's death.
3) When I Consider How My Light is Spent (On His Blindness) Theme of Principles
We've all heard the homespun wisdom "Patience is a virtue," which sounds almost mystical but is really like saying, "Blue is a color." The more interesting question is, what's a virtue? A virtue is a character trait that helps you achieve some desired good or outcome. Virtues are central to Christian theology. The speaker desires to serve God, but his impatience and sense of wounded pride threaten to get in his way by leading him to rashly criticize his "Maker." The virtue of patience helps him to remember that it's not all about him. Just because he thinks he has something to offer doesn't mean that God needs him to act right away.
Quote #1
though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker(lines 4-5)
The speaker claims that the desire for service is built into his constitution. His "Maker" is like a magnet that attracts his soul.
Quote #2
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" (line 9)
The speaker questions God's principles. Would God ask for the impossible? What would be the point of that? Think of "day-labour" as being like physical work that would require light.
Quote #3
But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; (lines 8-10)
Patience says that the speaker has God's principles all wrong. What this really means is that the speaker is correcting himself, because "patience" is one of his principles. All this virtue stuff can get confusing.
Quote #4
who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best.(lines 10-11)
The supreme principle of patience is that you have to endure difficulty and not question the hand that fate deals you. If you want to go left and fate decides you should go right, well, you're going right. A "yoke" is an instrument to bring people under submission, in this case to divine justice.
Quote #5
They also serve who only stand and wait." (line 14)
Not much to say here. This line pretty much defines "patience."
4) When I Consider How My Light is Spent (On His Blindness) Theme of Religion
John Milton was a Puritan who supported Oliver Cromwell's republican commonwealth after the execution of King Charles I of England. During this period, politics and religion were tied closely together, so that being "useful" to the government meant being "useful" to God, at least for Milton. The poem displays Milton's encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible but also his reforming instincts. Milton is not afraid to challenge the supposed moral of the New Testament "Parable of the Talents" by pointing out the difference between God and the lord from the story. The sonnet gives expression to intense religious emotions, but its rational and rhetorical qualities are equally important.
Quote #1
in this dark world and wide, (line 2)
The speaker begins with a very pessimistic vision of earth that sounds more like the Hell from Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. The earth is like a huge cavern full of places in which to get lost. He's not exactly full of spiritual hope here.
Quote #2
And that one Talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless,(lines 3-4)
The speaker gives an example of an "allegorical" reading of scripture. At this time in England, a big debate existed over whether Christians needed the clergy to help them interpret the Bible. Milton and other Puritans held the belief that each individual had the authority to interpret scripture for himself. This viewpoint helps explain the unique reading that the speaker applies to the "Parable of the Talents" in the Gospel of Matthew.
Quote #3
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?"(lines 4-7)
The tension between light and darkness is central to the story of Good vs. Evil presented in scripture. Also, the speaker's "Maker" seems more like the harsh and judgmental God of the Old Testament than the loving and forgiving God of the New Testament. Perhaps this is one of the mistakes that patience must correct.
Quote #4
"God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; (lines 9-10)
Patience points out what should be an obvious fact: God, the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe, does not need the extra labor of one guy toiling away down in bonny England. The point of spiritual work is not to increase God's profits; God isn't aFortune 500 company.
Quote #5
His state
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er Land and Ocean without rest:(lines 11-13)
Comparing God to a "King" recalls the parts of the New Testament in the Bible where Jesus Christ is described as "the king of kings." Patience forces the speaker to look at the big picture: God already has people doing "day-labour" to enact His will, so the speaker might need to take on a different role.
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