On_His_Blindness

On His Blindness Unlike Shakespeare's poem, but still refusing to acknowledge the sonnet's traditional form, the story of Milton's "On His Blindness" is autobiographical and describes a man who has suffered enormously through the loss of his sight and his talents. These are equal to the author and he refers to them as punishments. The whole of the poem consists of questions ("Doth God exact day labour light-denied'") revealing Milton's pain and although humility is sensed, there still remains the inevitable and haunting "Why me'". However, he is answered by Patience that it is not the one who has talents who earns God's love but the one who is able to "bear his mild yoke". The idea by itself resembles the theme of stoical endurance. The main message of Milton's sonnet is emphasised by the use of symbolism. The imagery consists of references to time, light/darkness, which resemble life and talents and the loss of them, time and God, all aiming at clarifying the picture of the author's suffering. First, there is "half my days", then come the "light", spent in this "dark world and wide". The uneasy and agoraphobic atmosphere is hastened by the appearing of God's figure: "He", "my Maker" and the blindness, his, god, sonnet, poem, patience, talents, milton's, milton, wait, poet, one, light, god's, yoke, yet, way, time, through, talent, stoical, stand, spent, serve, servant, part, pain, milton’s, mild, loss, however, hero's, great, first, exact, endurance, doth