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though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide;
By specifically saying that he was “one talent” Milton again alludes to the parable while also stating that he believes that authorship is his only one true calling and way to serve God. By using a term that is generally attributed to finances and money it can be postulated that Milton can actually be making a distinction between himself and the wicked servant or at least trying to justify it in his own mind. By saying “spent” he is stating that something has been done with his talent. The wicked servant did not spend his talents, instead he hid it and returned it to his master. It is also possible that Milton is using another meaning of “spent” as in used up or gone. This would means that instead of contemplating how he has used his talent or will continue to use it, he is simply reflecting on the fact that his vision is completely gone. Because this is Milton’s very first work dealing directly with his blindness, this is a viable postulation.
Milton refers to his new, sightless, world as one that is “dark and wide”. This is reminiscent of “the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”, which is where the master condemns his servant to after he does not properly spend his one talent. It could also be postulated that Milton was referring in this passage to Sampson’s time of as a blind slave in Gaza. He was helpless, diminished, and useless in a world without sight. It is quite possible that Milton believed that his master had “cast him into the land of gnashing teeth” shortly after he lost his sight. Just three months after acknowledging his complete blindness his first wife died just three days after giving birth to their fourth child. Shortly thereafter his one year old son also passed away. Just a few years later his second wife died giving birth to their first child and the infant passed away a few days later. Although his poem was written before all of these personal tragedies, it is very possible that Milton thought God was punishing him for not properly spending his granted Talent. In accordance to the parable, after the servant’s inability to properly invest his Talent, he was cast out of the master’s kingdom and into a life of turmoil. Milton assuredly thought something similar was happening in his own life.
Line three is the only place where Milton explicitly refers to the Parable of the Talents by saying “that one Talent which is death to hide”. Milton is stating that the punishment for hiding the one talent God has granted him is death. When the servant’s laziness is revealed his master condemns him to the land of gnashing teeth which is synonymous with hell. By hiding his talent, whether voluntarily or not, Milton believes he may be condemned to the same fate. This line can also be interpreted as Milton feeling that he is dying inside as a result of not being able to express his talent anymore. (Barton, 1998)
Lines 4-6 also serve as a potential distinction that Milton makes between himself and the wicked servant. While the servant was actually unwilling and disinclined to serve his master, Milton says that his, “Soul more bent/ To serve therewith my Maker”. Milton declares that he is willing to serve his master but his ability to do so in the manner he believes he should has been taken from him. This portion does however reinforce Milton’s role as a servant and therefore is another allusion to the parable. Perhaps in this section Milton wishes to view himself as one of the slaves who properly invested their talents he just merely lacks the ability to do so. Milton declares that he is worried that perhaps his master will “chide” him. Although most would characterize the master’s comments towards the slave in the parable far more than chiding, this language is reminiscent of a more personal relationship between Lord and man, one in which the master can personally admonish him for his lack of proper service like in the parable. (Shmoop, 2015)
To a modern reader, the structure of Milton’s poem might be confusing and disjointed. The first half of the first line, “When I consider how my light is spent” is actually not completed until the seventh line when he states, “I fondly ask” then Milton returns to the sixth line to say, “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”. So to put Milton’s main question linearly, he is asking “When I consider how my light is spent, I fondly ask, ‘Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?’” This is Milton’s main question to God regarding his new blindness; does God still expect him to fulfill what he believes his life’s purpose is even when the means to achieve that end have been taken away from him? Prominent Milton scholar Carol Barton stated, “reflect the tragic recognition of an accomplished visionary that the eyesight on which his service to man and God has depended throughout his lifetime is now no longer his to enjoy” (109). This resignation on behalf of Milton is the cornerstone of the first six lines of his poem. He is internally wrestling with the loss of his means to accomplish his life’s goal and meaning. Carol also made sure to note that it was not just for himself or for man that he wished to carry out his vocation, it was also for God. It is also important to note that at this time God was seen as completely omnipotent in all things so Milton’s blindness would have been directly attributed to God’s decision to take it away or indifference to his affliction, not like modern times when this affliction would have been attributed to degeneration or infection. Historians today theorize that Milton’s blindness was most likely the cause of untreated glaucoma due to the steady regression of his sight over many years, but at the time such a diagnosis was completely impossible. (American Academy of Poets), (Barton, 1998)
By referring to his light as “spent” Milton is making an interesting commentary about his sight. Instead of an assumed constant throughout our lives as sight generally is, in retrospect Milton seems to be viewing his sight as an oil lamp; something that has a limited amount of time and then will no longer be available. This is consistent with the parable in which the servants are given a set amount of time and money to complete their tasks to the best of their ability. The wicked servant however believed that not spending his allotted talents during his granted time was acceptable to which his master is obviously in disagreement. (Barton, 1998)
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" I fondly ask
As previously stated, by line 7 and 8 Milton is finally completing his original question that he began in his first line; “I fondly ask/ Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?” This is the pleaing question of a blind writer to God asking if he is still expected and required for his salvation to continue to write even though he no longer can. The word exact can be equated to a demand or a taking. Similarly to how the master exacted his payment from the slave in the parable, Milton hopes he will have something to show when God exacts his talents from him. The word fondly had an alternative meaning in the time that Milton wrote. In this context fondly means foolishly or naively. Milton feels unintelligent to even have to ask this question, presumably because he assumes the answer will be yes. (Shmoop, 2015)
by John Milton
But Patience, to prevent
That murmer, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or His own gifts."
“When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” is a poem in sonnet form. Although originating in Italy, sonnets became a popular form for English poets in his time period. Originating from the Italian word sonetto, by the 13th century the word sonnet came to signify a 14 line poem with a distinct rhyme scheme and structure. Writers of sonnets were often called sonneteers but because Milton wrote in a litany of different styles, he does not necessarily fall under this category. After the Restoration sonnets as a whole became unpopular in English literature for some time. Despite writing in the English context, Milton’s poem roughly follows the Italian style of sonnets but it does not perfectly fit into this format. In a classical Italian sonnet the first eight lines and the final six lines divide apart neatly but this is not the case in this poem. Instead Milton intentionally makes the poem appear disjointed to show how his original thoughts were cut off by Patience, the celestial voice answering his questions on behalf of God. As previously stated, Milton wrote in a litany of different poetic and literary styles by this piece itself most readily fits into the style of Italian sonnet. This poem also can be categorized as iambic pentameter because there is on soft syllable followed by one hard syllable five times in each line. With few small deviations, the poem does follow this pattern of iambic pentameter quite closely. (American Academy of Poets, 2015)
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest He returning chide;
“Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need
Either man’s work 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.
Before Milton can go too far into his line of questioning, Patience responds to his inquiry. Patience is never exactly defined but it is obviously some omnipotent being that has knowledge of both Milton and God’s thoughts. The rest of the poem is Patient’s attempt to answer Milton’s question about his necessity to fulfill his life’s purpose before he even has a chance to ask his entire question.
Patience’s reply to Milton creates some interesting theological conclusions when compared to the parable but it is actually in accordance to Jesus’ teachings. Just as Patience tells Milton that God himself does not need his work but instead his completed work must be personal and essentially for himself, the master in Jesus’ parable in not necessarily angry that his funds did not increase. Inflation not withstanding, the master lost no money in his transaction with the servant, instead he was angered by the servant’s evident laziness and lack of initiative to invest his talent wisely. Patience implies that it is not actually the end product of the work that God requires, instead it is the fact that the slave, or in this case Milton, did his best to use invest his talent. (Barton, 1995)
John Milton
'Who best
Bear His Mild yoke, they serve Him best.
Again Patience reiterates that what God desires is loyalty and service, not necessarily the product of service as Milton originally believed. In this passage Milton is positioning himself as a Job figure. Patiently waiting for Messianic release from his earthen afflictions. Because the Parable of the Talent is one of Jesus’ seven parables about preparation for end times and the return of the Messiah, Those who serve God best are those who will bear his yoke, like an oxen or other work animal, and pledge themselves to him. The practical value of a yoke also has implication for this poem. A yoke does not allow for any movement other than forward. Work animals cannot be distracted or backtrack while wearing a yoke and similarly Milton must not allow himself to be led astray by his affliction. Instead, he must continue to move forward with his life and with his work like an animal in a yoke because that is God’s intentions for his laborers. Finally, yokes do not allow animals to control themselves. It is only the work animals that try to control their own directions while yoked that cause their masters displeasure. Instead, Patience tells Milton that God wants his servants to let him guide them and determine their own course. Milton certainly believed that God was controlling his course by taking away his sight so it would have provided him some solace to know that he was yoked by God and the He was directing him. (Rata, 2011)
John Milton was a 17th century English poet born in London on December 9, 1608. Growing up in a middle-class family, he was extremely well educated; studying Latin, Italian, and English at St. Paul’s School and Cambridge. After originally planning on joining the clergy he decided during his collegiate years to pursue poetry. During his education Milton became proficient in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, and Italian while also focusing much of his studies on ancient texts. As a staunch supporter of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans, Milton became publicly theologically and politically radical during the English Civil War when he openly advocated the morality of divorce, freedom of the press, populism, and regicide the divinely ordained. After Charles II was restored to the throne, Milton lived a life of relative seclusion between 1660 and his death on November 8, 1674. During this time he wrote his most popular piece, Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost is a free verse epic chronicling the tales of Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden. Once again Milton became the topic of heavy theological debate as a result of this piece. During his period as a public servant under Cromwell, Milton went completely blind in February of 1652, just three years after Cromwell made England a republican commonwealth. Well before he became known as an established poet, Milton wrote “When I Consider How My Light is Spent” in 1655. This poem deals directly with his descent into blindness and uses the Parable of the Talents to wrestle with his new disability. (Academy of American Poets, 2015)
Conclusion
Bibliography
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.
Barton, Carol. “’They Also Perform the Duties of a Servant Who Only Remain Erect on Their Feet in a Specified Place in Readiness to Receive Orders’: The Dynamics of Stasis in Sonnet XIX (When I Consider How My Light Is Spent.’)”. Milton
Quarterly. (109-122) Dec 1998. Web. 20 Apr 2015.
“Italian Sonnets” Shmoop.com. 2015. Web. 16 Apr 2015.
“John Milton”. Academy of American Poets. Web. 8 Apr 2015.
“John Milton: Blindness & Tragedies”. Shmoop.com. 8 Apr 2015.
“When I Consider How My Light is Spent (On His Blindness). Shmoop.com. 8 Apr 2015.
Rata, Georgeta & Palicica, Maria, Ed. “Academic Days of Timisoara: Social Sciences of Today”. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. United Kingdom. 2011. Web. 9 Apr 2015.
“Sonnets”. The American Academy of Poets. 2004. Web. 16 Apr 2015.
John Milton's piece, When I Consider How My Light is Spent is a personal introspection about his recent descent into blindness using the Parable of the Talents to examine whether or not God still expects him to fulfill his life's duty even though the capacity has been taken from him. Although inspired by a specific event in his life, his statements about the uncertainty and apparent bleakness of his situation can be expanded to include the human condition more generally. Often life may seem dark and directionless, Milton argues that at times all we can do is believe that we do not serve the harsh master o the parable of instead are bearers of Jesus' gentle yoke.
Milton allows the reader to follow his train of thought from resigned acceptance of his fate to the end of the poem when he decides that he was still serving his master regardless of his capabilities. Milton uses the 6-8 style of sonnet formatting to accentuate this call and response dynamic between his initial angry self and his later reasoning, embodied by Patience.
Milton concludes that he is not the wicked slave both because he is continuing to serve his master and also because he does not have the same harsh master as the one in the parable.
In this final section Patience is remarking on the vastness of God’s kingdom and God’s omnipotence over it. Like a king, God has thousands of servants who perform all manner of tasks upon his bidding. It can be inferred that by saying this, Milton is implying that God has thousands of servants who can do those things that require sight and vision so God is not directly beleaguered by one of his servant’s lack of vision. The final line is where Milton sees himself in God’s kingdom and among his servants. “They also serve who only stand and wait.” Means that just because one is not constantly moving and actively serving God, that does not make them any less his servant. Instead Patience, fully living up to his name, says that God currently requires Milton to stand and wait for God’ bidding and direction. The Parable of the Talents is the sixth of seven parables about the end of times and judgment. In these parables, Jesus tells his followers to be vigilant and ready for His return and impending judgment of all men. By stating that those who stand and wait also serve God, Patience tells Milton to stay ready for the second coming of Jesus as well as God’s plan for his life given his new circumstances. (Rata, 2011)