Plot Of On His Blindness By John Milton

It's a great joy to have "On His Blindness" by John Milton in naijapoets.com; one of the well loved European classic poem. John Milton is known to be Biblical with most of his poems like "Paradise Lost" "Lycidias" and "On His Blindness" is no exception.

The introduction to the poem is more personal than general; speaking of the current condition of the poet. John Milton became blind at the middle age of forty eight years old and his worries were expressed in the poem:
"When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,"

The poem speaks of how Milton devotes first half of his life to scholarly works; writing. he claims that he wish part of those early years and talent were channeled towards serving his Maker:
"And that one Talent which is death
to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my
Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker...."

He then worries that since he has become blind and less effective in his duties towards man and God that God won't be happy with him: "My true account, lest he returning
chide;"

In his worries his always wonder whether God truly cares if someone serves on earth or not then suddenly he got a reply that assures that God doesn't care whether someone works for him or uses his talent to serve because God already has countless numbers of servants all over the lands and oceans:
"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 w
ork 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."

According to the summary on the Enotes website the structure of the poem is a "sonnet—written in the “Petrarchan” rhyme scheme associated with the fourteenth-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca—is divided into an eight-line “octave” and a six-line “sestet.” The octave rhymes a/b/b/a/a/b/b/a. The sestet rhymes c/d/e/c/d/e.

The sonnet is therefore a typical
Petrarchan sonnet in form, but in
subject matter, the poem departs
from the topics usually associated
with Petrarchan poems. Petrarch
(the English version of Petrarca’s name) was most famous for writing about love; Milton departs from that conventional topic to deal with a very practical, very physical problem, but a problem with many broader spiritual implications."

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Samuel C. Enunwa aka samueldpoetry
(the Leo with wings flying)