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BA ENGLISH LITERATURE
FIRST
YEAR - SEMESTER I
CORE I – INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE
UNIT II - POETRY
When I Consider How My Light Is Spent by John
Milton
About
Author:
John
Milton was born on 9 December 1608 at Bread Street, City of London, United
Kingdom. He was an English poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant
for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under
Oliver Cromwell. He got education from Christ’s College Cambridge, St Paul’s
School and the University of Cambridge. His famous works are Paradise Lost,
Lycidas etc.
About Poet:
‘When
I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ (Also known as "On His Blindness") is
a sonnet written by the poet John Milton (1608-74). The poem is about the
poet’s blindness: he began to go blind in the early 1650s, in his early
forties, and this sonnet is his response to his loss of sight and the
implications it has for his life.
As a sonneteer, Milton widened the range of the sonnet and revived the classical or the Petrarchan sonnet from, falling into parts: the first, an octave (eight lines) rhyming ABBA ABBA, reveals the poet’s fears and complaints; and the second, a sestet (six lines) rhyming CDE CDE, teaches us total submission to God’s design.
Text:
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
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.’
Summary:
This poem was written in 1655; three years after Milton become completely blind, and was marked by a brooding sense of despondency arising out of his blindness. It was written when Milton was in his forty-fourth year. The poem can be divided into two parts. In the first half of the poem, he expresses his sadness at the loss of his eye-sight.
He
finds himself alone in this dark and wide world. God has given him the talent
of writing poetry. This gift is lying useless within. He is expressing his
unhappiness about the fact that the best part of his life would go waste
without producing any work of creative importance. It is like death for him to
hide his talent. He fears that God will rebuke him for not using his talent
because he want to serve God with this gift. He grumbles against God and he,
thus, raises the question of the justness of God’s ways to man in relation to
his own loss of sight. He foolishly asks himself whether God demands work from
him although the God has made him blind. Thus the first half of the poem
reflects the poet’s mood of sadness and murmuring.
However,
the second part of the poem expresses Milton’s feeling of resignation and his
undiminished faith in God’s justice. He accepts total submission to the will of
God. The poet’s inner faith consoles him and stops his murmur. He realises that
God does not need anyone’s praise or work. Those who bear the duties given by
God served him best. God only want complete faith in him. Those who patiently
serve God and wait for his orders are also his true servants. The sonnet
teaches us to be content with our lot in life and also that it is man’s duty to
stand in readiness to serve God without any complaint or protest.
Detailed
Summary:
In
first stanza, the speaker begins the poem by reflecting on his life and how he has
spent half of his days in a “dark world and wide,” which could refer to his
blindness or to the difficulties he has faced in life. He also mentions that he
has been given a talent, or skill, that is “death to hide,” meaning that it is
so important that he cannot keep it to himself. However, he feels that this
talent has been wasted because he is unable to use it, even though his soul is
eager to do so.
In
second stanza, the speaker goes on to explain that his talent is meant to be
used to serve God and to present a true account of his life when he returns to
face judgement. He is worried that God will be angry with him for not using his
talent, but then he realizes that it is impossible to work when he is denied
the light he needs to see. He asks whether God really expects him to work when
he cannot even see, but he quickly realizes that he needs to have patience in
order to accept his situation and to prevent himself from becoming too upset.
In
third stanza, the speaker then hears a voice that tells him that God does not
need his work or his gifts, as God is already all-powerful and does not require
any help. Instead, the best way to serve God is to accept his “mild yoke” and
to do his will. The voice reminds the speaker that God’s state is kingly and that
there are thousands of other beings who obey his commands.
The final stanza of the poem is perhaps the most famous. The speaker concludes that even though he cannot work as he once did, he can still serve God by being patient and waiting for his will to be done. He 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.” Content selection is disabled! reminds himself that “they also serve who only stand and wait,” meaning that simply being obedient and accepting God’s plan is a form of service in itself. The poem ends on a note of acceptance and resignation, with the speaker acknowledging that his blindness does not prevent him from fulfilling his spiritual duty.
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