What is the poem when I consider how my light is spent?
‘When I Consider How My Light Is Spent’ 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.
When I consider how my light is spent Milton summary?
In his poem, “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” Milton meditates on how to best serve God. The speaker-much like Milton himself-is confronted with personal tragedy when he goes blind and can no longer write.
What is the poem light by John Milton about?
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 which he could see.
Why did John Milton write “on his blindness”?
John Milton wrote “On his Blindness” or ” When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” when he had to choose one situation between the two after deep analysis. As we all know that John Milton has served God through his writings. “Paradise Lost” is a great example of it.
Why did John Milton write when I consider how my light is spent?
Historical factors: John Milton went blind in 1651 due to glaucoma, though this did not keep him from writing. He wrote this sonnet, “When I consider how my light is spend,” as a meditation on his blindness.
What does light in Milton sonnet mean?
In terms of figurative language, Milton uses 'light' as a metaphor for vision. He reflects on how his light is spent and asks if God would "exact day-labour, light deny'd." He also makes an allusion, or a reference to another work, when he frets about wasting his Talent (the biblical parable).
How does Milton regret the loss of his light in on his blindness?
How does Milton regret the loss of his 'light'? Solution : Milton had become completely blind in the middle of his life. God had given him one precious talent, the talent of writing poetry. But this talent is now lying useless with him.
What is meant by my light is spent?
Text Solution. Solution : It means that the poet's eyesight has gone forever.
When I consider how my light is spent main theme?
'When I Consider How My Light Is Spent' 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.
When I consider how my light is spent figures of speech?
In the first line, Milton says, “I consider how my light is spent”. This phrase is an example of his metaphorical use in the poem because light cannot literally be spent. The literal meaning of the expression is the speaker questioning how he used the light he had before his blindness.
What is the moral lesson message of the poem?
The moral is the meaning that the author wants the reader to walk away with. They can be found in every type of literature, from poetry to fiction and non-fiction prose. Usually, the moral is not stated clearly.
What is the main theme of the poem On His Blindness?
The main themes in “On His Blindness” are loss and human frailty, biblical authority and duty to God, and grace. Loss and human frailty: Milton explores the experience of losing his sight and worries about the implications of his blindness in his relationship with God.
What is the one talent that Milton mourns his inability to use?
For example, the "one talent" that Milton mourns his inability to use is not necessarily his poetic ability ; it might as easily be his ability to translate texts from foreign languages, the task for which he was responsible in the Commonwealth government. However, the references to light and darkness in the poem make it virtually certain that Milton's blindness was at least a secondary theme.
Where is the sonnet from Milton's 1673?
The sonnet was first published in Milton's 1673 Poems in his autograph notebook, known as the "Trinity Manuscript" from its location in the Wren Library of Trinity College, Cambridge . He gave it the number 19, but in the published book it was numbered 16, so both numbers are used for it.
When I consider how my light is spent?from litcharts.com
In “When I consider how my light is spent,” Milton reflects on blindness. This was an important topic for him, since he lost his own sight in the mid-1650s. Milton was a writer and translator—someone who relied on his eyes. Yet though blindness would have presented a number of practical problems, in this poem Milton focuses on the spiritual issues associated with blindness: the poem's speaker believes that he or she should use his or her talents as a writer to serve God, yet the speaker's blindness makes this impossible. This implicitly calls into question the demands that God places on human beings, yet any tension is resolved by the end of the sonnet: the speaker ultimately asserts that people best serve God through faith, rather than work.
What was Milton known for?from interestingliterature.com
Milton had first developed a reputation for poetry while a student at Cambridge, where he was also renowned for his looks. As a young man he had written acclaimed poems such as his celebrated elegy ‘Lycidas’ (about the death of his university friend, Edward King, who had drowned) and the pair of poems ‘L’Allegro’ and ‘Il Penseroso’. He was an influential pamphleteer for Cromwell during the English Civil War. But then, in the early 1650s, his sight began to fail him in a serious way, and he knew he would soon be completely blind.
Why did Milton write a moving sonnet?from interestingliterature.com
Milton wrote a moving sonnet as a response to his loss of sight and the implications it has for his life. (It is thought he began to go blind in 1651; he wrote this poem about a year later.) The sonnet runs:
What is John Milton's biography?from litcharts.com
John Milton's Biography — A detailed biography of Milton, with links to additional resources, from the British Library. Milton's "Cambridge" Manuscript — A digital copy of the so-called "Cambridge" manuscript, where the first known copy of "When I consider how my life is spent" appears.
What did John Milton believe in?from genius.com
He believed in the promise of Christian salvation through Jesus Christ, as depicted in his work, Paradise Regained. John Milton - Wikipedia. —. Wikipedia.
What does it mean when a speaker loses sight?from litcharts.com
That literal meaning is probably the key one for the poem. But there is a secondary, symbolic meaning. In the Bible, God is often closely associated with light. Light is the first thing he makes when he creates the world, for example. Pious and faithful Christians are thus often said to “walk with the light” or to “have seen the light,” while people who live in sin or who have not been converted to Christianity are said to be in “darkness.” The loss of light is thus not simply the loss of sight: it also stands, symbolically, for the loss of faith or intimacy with God. The literal and symbolic meanings attached to "light" are thus connected to each other: because the speaker has lost sight, the speaker fears that he or she has lost "light" itself, that is, a connection to God.
What does Milton say about losing his sight?
In summary, Milton laments that he is losing his sight when he is barely halfway through life, with much of his important work still to be done. How can he complete his work, which God has given him the talent to do and which God expects him to complete, if he is deprived of his sight? He asks the question to himself, whether God expects him to work even when he has gone completely blind? Patiently, he answers himself: God does not require work or gifts from mankind, because God is a king.
When I consider how my light is spent?
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. (It is thought he began to go blind in 1651; he wrote this poem about a year later.) Below, we offer some words of analysis of the poem.
What is Milton's sonnet?
And Milton’s sonnet is a fine example of this. Milton had led a full and productive life in his youth. He’d proved a precocious poet even while still a (beautiful) student at Cambridge, and as a young man had written acclaimed poems such as his celebrated elegy ‘ Lycidas ’ and the pair of poems ‘ L’Allegro ’ and ‘ Il Penseroso ’.
Did Milton ever meet Galileo?
He’d travelled abroad on diplomatic missions: in 1638, while in Florence, he’d even met Galileo. Milton recorded his meeting with Galileo in his 1644 pamphlet Areopagitica, an important early defence of freedom of the press.
When I consider how my light is spent?
In “When I consider how my light is spent,” Milton reflects on blindness. This was an important topic for him, since he lost his own sight in the mid-1650s. Milton was a writer and translator—someone who relied on his eyes. Yet though blindness would have presented a number of practical problems, in this poem Milton focuses on the spiritual issues associated with blindness: the poem's speaker believes that he or she should use his or her talents as a writer to serve God, yet the speaker's blindness makes this impossible. This implicitly calls into question the demands that God places on human beings, yet any tension is resolved by the end of the sonnet: the speaker ultimately asserts that people best serve God through faith, rather than work.
What is John Milton's biography?
John Milton's Biography — A detailed biography of Milton, with links to additional resources, from the British Library. Milton's "Cambridge" Manuscript — A digital copy of the so-called "Cambridge" manuscript, where the first known copy of "When I consider how my life is spent" appears.
What does it mean when a speaker loses sight?
That literal meaning is probably the key one for the poem. But there is a secondary, symbolic meaning. In the Bible, God is often closely associated with light. Light is the first thing he makes when he creates the world, for example. Pious and faithful Christians are thus often said to “walk with the light” or to “have seen the light,” while people who live in sin or who have not been converted to Christianity are said to be in “darkness.” The loss of light is thus not simply the loss of sight: it also stands, symbolically, for the loss of faith or intimacy with God. The literal and symbolic meanings attached to "light" are thus connected to each other: because the speaker has lost sight, the speaker fears that he or she has lost "light" itself, that is, a connection to God.
When I remember how my light is spent?
My true account, lest he returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”.
When did John Milton write when I consider how my light?
Composed sometime between 1652 and 1655, John Milton’s “Sonnet 19 [When I consider how my light is spent]” grapples with the subject of the poet’s blindness later in life, as well as his changing relationship with God.
At what age John Milton lost his sight?
The year 1652 was not a good one for Milton. By March or April, at the age of 43 years, he was completely blind in both eyes; in May, his wife died 3 days after giving birth to their fourth child; and 6 weeks later, his third child and only son, John, also died.
What is meant by my light is spent?
The speaker thinks about how all of his light has been used up (“spent”) before even half his life is over. As a man without light, he now lives in a world that is both “dark and wide.” The speaker says that his light can be “spent,” and this word suggests that he is thinking of something like an oil lamp.
What is the meaning of sonnet 19?
The sonnet addresses time directly, as it allows time its great power to destroy all things in nature, but the poem forbids time to erode the young man’s fair appearance. The poem casts time in the role of a poet holding an “antique pen”. The theme is redemption, through poetry, of time’s inevitable decay.
What is the main idea of the poem On His Blindness?
The central idea of Milton’s sonnet “On His Blindness” is that though the speaker lacks sight, which he thinks would enable him to serve God better, the speaker would best serve God by submitting to His will, which may means patiently waiting.
What are Italian sonnets composed of?
The original Italian sonnet form consists of a total of fourteen hendecasyllabic lines (in English sonnets, iambic pentameter is used) in two parts, the first part being an octave and the second being a sestet.
What is the meaning of the light in Milton's poem?
This light and being a metaphor for life are also a literal representation of Milton’s life days in which he could see.
When I consider how my light is spent?
This means that the fourteen lines follow a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBACDECDE and conform to iambic 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 remaining six lines.
How soon hath time Milton?
Readers who enjoyed this poem should also consider looking into some of Milton’s other best-known works. These include ‘How Soon Hath Time’ and ‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.’. The latter, ‘On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity,’ is also known as Nativity Ode . It was written in 1629 when Milton was 29 years old.
Why does Milton use figurative language in the poem?
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.”.
What is the speaker's challenge in Milton's book?
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.
Where did John Milton go to school?
John Milton was born on December 9, 1608, in London, England. He came from a middle-class family and went to school at Christ’s College Cambridge, where he originally intended to enter the clergy. After leaving university, he changed his plan and spent the next years studying independently for a career as a poet.
When I consider how my light is spent to which it is sometimes called, is it written?
On His Blindness, Sonnet 19, or When I consider how my light is spent to which it is sometimes called, is a sonnet believed to have been written before 1664, after the poet, John Milton, had gone completely blind. The poem’s syntax is fairly complex, especially compared to contemporary poetry. Milton uses words like “yoke” ...
