When I consider how my light is spent", and "How Soon Hath Time", the poet refers to his blindness and the use of time. From the death of his infant son, to the death of his wife, down to Milton becoming blind, surprisingly, he had yet to let these obstacles stop him from being the amazing writer/Poet we was. "When I considered how my light is spent", is a sonnet referring to his blindness nd his secret obsession with time.
Towards the end of this sonnet he questions his God as to why Milton's "one talent" (line 3) was taken from him (his sight) and how it is possible to serve God with his blindness. Milton knows that he is talented, "though my Soul more bent to serve therewith my Maker, and present my true account, lest he returning chide;" (lines 4-6) his soul desires "bent" to use his skills in the service of his "Maker," God, but doesn't know how to deal with it: "And that one talent which is death to hide" (line 3). It is ironic because here is a man who is incredibly talented, et isn't able to use his talents.
Because its "Lodged with [me] useless, though my soul more bent", where he almost bluntly states that he knows he has an amazing talent, which is his astounding ability to write amazing poems and such writings. "He does consider his blindness briefly in the poem, but taking Milton's work so literally as to suppose that his blindness was all that he was talking about doesn't give credit to Milton's completely abstract thinking nor his depth of understanding holy literature. "( Georgii ). The start of the poem goes smooth as he tells the reader is view of being blind.
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Then midstream the poem he slips into the conversation about god as his maker and how Milton is supposed to serve God in his blind state. He refers to "Light", which is also referred to in the bible. He attempts to describe man's relationship with god. I believe he is referring to light in the form of which Jesus speaks of light when quoting the Bible (all forms) Jesus says, "and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Matthew 5:15;Contemperary English Version): "Jesus proceeded here to show them that the very reason why they were enlightened was that others might also see the light, and be benefited by it.
When people light a candle, they do not conceal the light, but place it where it may be of use. So it is with religion. It is given that we may benefit others. It is not to be concealed, but suffered to show itself, and to shed light on a surrounding wicked world" (Barne's). In the scripture it also says "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that ill not be known or brought out into the open. (Luke 8:17). As I am still referring to Milton's "Light". His talent is nothing to hide, but feels as though, due to his loss of sight. Because he can no longer see light he is forced to "see" in another way. Fore his blindness does not attect ni ty to write, but it only makes it more difficult but not impossible. The bible also states, "The light of the body is in the eye; therefore when thine eye is single thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body is full of darkness.
If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light" Here, eye does not literally mean eye in the sense of seeing but in the sense of what is within a person. Solely speaking that Milton isn't necessarily an evil person but due to his own insecurities feels as though. Because of his "dark world and wide", feels he has not yet seen the light. Milton claims his talent is "useless", and by not using his talent to write an epic poem, Milton thinks he's wasting it.
In the Biblical story, "a master gives servants oins (talents) to turn a profit on them; when one servant buries the talent instead, the master chides him for not putting it in the bank and earning interest. The master is supposed to be God" (web. ) So this chimes into "lest He returning chide", that he wants his "true account" meaning he wants to be recognized for what he's worth. His One talent was far more than a biblical day-laborer could expect to earn. "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".
Meaning that god is holy and bove all, because he created your talent he only serves those who wait. By the end of this poem he shows that he has learned the conclusion to his hidden talent which is not to sit and do nothing or wait without any effort or prolonging for what you want but Instead, he's trying to say that god only serves those who wait for better or remain faithful to his kingly name. While this amazing epic poem stresses the fact that god is behind you, one of his other sonnets expresses otherwise, "How soon hath time", talks about aging and how it happens so fast.
Hes Just turned 24 and everything is feeling like its going so fast. His life is excelling at a faster rate than he'd like, and he Just wants to do great things with his life. I don't think he feels as he's done enough for where he is, even though he clearly has. At the end he calms down and takes a break. He says the heavens will lead him to where he should be. And he wants to use all of his talents God gave him, and use them to his full potential. "My hasting days fly on wtih full career, But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th. Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth,
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Biography of John Milton. (2018, Jun 24). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/john-milton/
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