The poem On his Blindness, written by John Milton is considered, aside from Paradise Lost, one of his best works. The way the poem was written did not appeal to me, as it was somewhat hard to read. Although I was not intrigued by the style of the sonnet, I greatly enjoyed the meaning and substance of the poem. It is easy to see why this poem would be placed amongst the greatest of all times, because of the way Milton expresses his thoughts on him becoming entirely blind. The sonnet was written in the petrarchian (Italian) form, with a rhyme scheme of abbaabbacdecde. The light Milton speaks about in the first line of the poem refers to the light of day. He is thinking about how his sight is fading and how the world is becoming more and more dark.
Milton uses the word talent referring to his gift of writing. In that same line he continues to write about how his talent is death to hide, this makes the first part of the line much clearer. If there were any question of the meaning of the word talent, it makes it known that it means a gift, a gift that would be a sin to contain. In my opinion, throughout the poem, Milton keeps a pretty hopeful outlook. He never writes about how he feels sorry for himself or about expecting anyone to do so. He first presents to the reader his blindness and then his gift of writing, and serving God with that gift.
Next, he writes that although he may not be able to write, his resources are rich and many are willing to do his work quickly. I find that this poem is not written in the style of a typical Cavalier poem. Normally Cavalier poetry is written with notions of honor, loyalty, and an attitude of carpe diem. In On His Blindness, Milton does not write about honor, nor does he write about loyalty, and he does not take the position of carpe diem. The tone of Cavalier poetry is usually witty and melodious. Even though Miltons poem is not dark or pessimistic, it does not take on those attributes of a model Cavalier poem.
The Essay on On His Arrival at the Age of Twenty- Three Poem Analysis
On his arrival at the age of twenty-three, written by John Milton was created during the puritan period. John Milton was born in cheapside, London, in 1608, he grew up in a wealthy family that gave Milton all the opportunity’s to be well educated and attend Cambridge University one of the most highly decorated schools in Europe and the World. Milton grew up during the puritan age, literature ...
